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Sally Wainwright

Kirsty Young talks to Sally Wainwright, screenwriter of Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Sally Wainwright.

TV is her chosen medium and Last Tango In Halifax, Happy Valley or Scott & Bailey are watched by millions of viewers. Her ear for dialogue and talent for story-telling place her among the cream of small screen dramatists: she majors in whip-smart phrasing and plot lines that twist the innards with their tension, but never strain plausibility.

Her passion for every day drama was honed at her mother's knee: in the 60's and 70's as Mrs. Wainwright watched Coronation Street, young Sally tuned in too, developing an affinity with the power of the portrayal of language as it is spoken and life as it is lived. She would later go on to write for the show.

She says, "When I was seven I started writing down the things people said - it was something I just had to do. I think I was born with it - it's like being able to draw or paint."

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 10 Oct 2014 09:00

Music Played

  • Victoria Wood

    Fourteen Again

    • Lucky Bag.
    • ELECSTAR.
  • Rock Follies

    The Band who Wouldn't Die

    • Rock Follies of 77.
    • Polydor.
  • Katia Lab猫que & Marielle Lab猫que

    Maple Leaf Rag

    • Gladrags.
    • EMI Records.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Rhapsodien op. 79

    Performer: Martha Argerich.
    • Liszt: Sonate H-Moll in B minor.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
  • Phillip Dyson, 麻豆社 Philharmonic & Rumon Gamba

    Comedy Suite (Exploits for Orchestra) from The Belles of St Trinian's

    • The Film Music of Sir Malcolm Arnold, Volume 2.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Castaway's Favourite

    • George Frideric Handel

      The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba

      Performer: Richard Baker. Performer: Raphael Terroni.
      • An Entertainment.
      • UNICORN.
  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Hark! The herald angels sing

    Performer: The Bach Choir. Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: John Rutter.
    • The Colours of Christmas.
    • DECCA.
  • Fr茅d茅ric Chopin

    Ballade No. 1 g-moll op 23 in G minor

    Performer: Krystian Zimerman.
    • Frederic Chopin Krystian Zimerman Andante 聟.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
  • Book Choice

    • Female Fortune: Land, Gender and Authority - Jill Liddington

  • Luxury Choice

    • A small art shop full of goodies

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Sally Wainwright
Producer Cathy Drysdale

Broadcasts

  • Sun 5 Oct 2014 11:15
  • Fri 10 Oct 2014 09:00

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