“A scriptwriter of intelligence and sophistication.”
Christopher Byram Jury is an award-winning UK-based script writer.
He has been a Development Executive at the BBC, run his own TV production company and developed drama and comedy projects for all major UK Broadcasters.
Since 1997 he has worked as a successful freelance writer in theatre, television and film but specialising in episodic television drama.
Born in Coventry in the English Midlands, Chris studied Drama/English at Hull University and began working as an actor in the theatre with such names as Mike Bradwell, Danny Boyle and Anthony Minghella; And with companies as diverse as Hull Truck, The Bush and Stratford East.
Under the name Chris Jury, he also worked extensively in film and TV as an actor appearing most notably as Eric Catchpole in over 50 episodes of the BBC’s long running series, Lovejoy.
His theatre play, The Liberty Tree, was one of the winners of the Script6 national playwriting competition run by The Space.
His historical play, Nadya, about Stalin’s second wife, Nadya Alliluyeva, was a finalist in the Screencraft Stage Play competition, and was presented by The Production Exchange, at The Park Theatre, London, starring Michelle Terry, Stephen Tompkinson, Phyllis Logan, Shaun Prendergast, Dominic Mafham, Rupert Holiday Evans, David Robb and Jamie Foreman.
He has lectured on scriptwriting and Film & TV production at the University Of West London, Leeds Metropolitan University, Ruskin College Oxford and Bath Spa University.
His TV pilot script Rednecks, an historical television drama series set in the coal mines of 1920’s West Virginia, won the 2020 Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship and is currently under consideration by US commissioners including Netflix, Amazon, HBO and AMC.
He has written and directed numerous episodes of many long-running UK drama serials including The Bill, Holby City, Casualty, Eastenders and Coronation Street.
He has been commissioned to develop his own series ideas by all UK Broadcasters and many leading UK Indies.
He is currently developing television drama projects for the UK and US markets.
CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT
TESTIMONIALS
“Incredibly well written.” BEN DAVIS, Executive VP Scripted Programming at AMC Studios
“A great read!” ADAM FRATTO, VP Scripted Programming, History Channel/A&E Studios
“Very compelling.” NANCY COTTON, Executive VP & Head of Scripted Programming, EPIX
“The cultural nuances and visceral quality to this series feels both immediate and politically complex. This is made all the more remarkable when one considers that this is inspired by true… The story itself is timeless and one and feels more applicable than ever with this notion of the working-class poor having fallen victim to the greed and protected power of corporate America.” FRANCESCI ORSI, EVP and Head of Drama, HBO
” Very much in the same vein as David Milch’s Deadwood, there is a clear sense of, and attention to, detail… and without getting too hyperbolic, Rednecks feels like a southern, period-piece, capitalist centric, version of The Wire, as it explores this central business issue from so many different sides, while being uniquely American.” WE SCREENPLAY
“I would like to applaud you for the sense of authenticity and realism you’ve brought to Rednecks. Clearly you thoroughly did your research into this period of time and came to a complex and layered understanding of the West Virginia Mine Wars. I never once questioned your understanding of the world you so vividly brought to life on the page. Additionally, you deserve real kudos for your jaunty, naturalistic style of dialogue and the way in which you deftly relayed information without it coming across as pat. All the core of the ensemble mostly spoke just as I would expect them to in real life… This project is a powerful historical drama which pairs a tightly crafted survival story with a weighty emotional core… a unique, character-driven historical drama pilot.”
SCRIPT READER PRO
“I personally am a big fan of this pilot script of Rednecks. There’s not only distinction in the story itself, but in the way it’s being told. The writer’s own particular voice is always present in the pages. the moment-to-moment read is a lot of fun… Without one singular glaring issue, Rednecks succeeds in wrapping me up in the original world and providing enough conflict to carry a series. After flying through these pages, I wanted to continue reading. Really that’s all that a pilot script can hope for.”
MIAMI SCREENPLAY AWARDS
“I think your Stalin play, Nadya, is a huge achievement… It is beautifully written and I think you have tackled the narrative thrust excellently. The characters feel real and the group scenes are excellent… many congratulations. I am in awe of the research and work you have put into it and how you have pulled it off…. It really is very good.” Nick Kent, Artistic Director, The Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn
“Your play is a terrifying and sad story. You’ve obviously done all the research and assimilated it into a play, which paints the atmosphere within Stalin’s charmed circle with the right blend of knockabout machismo and vulgarity on the one hand, and cringing sycophancy and murderous paranoia on the other.” Sebastian Born, Literary Editor, National Theatre
“It’s a very well written play and you excel at bringing the atmosphere of Stalin’s inner circle to life.”
Sasha Yevtushenko, BBC Radio Producer
“You have written a compelling and suspenseful drama that certainly held me… It is cleverly constructed.” Jenny King, Theatre Producer
”The Liberty Tree is Visually and sensorially intense, the action reflects a very powerful narrative… A fantastic combination of energy, pace and play… The ghosts of Eisenstein, Meyerhold and Piscator come to life… The best use of swearing in a play ever… A politically very sophisticated piece of writing but also such great fun… Full of the right energy and indignation – at once old and new. And horribly pertinent!”
Audience Social Media Feedback
TV Writing Credits
Holy City x 4 Episodes BBC TV
Casualty x 4 Episodes BBC TV
The Bill x 4 Episodes Talkback Thames/ITV
Doctors x 2 Episodes BBC TV
Mancini’s Empire x 1 Episode + Bible LWT
Puke Fiction 2 x 1 Episode + Bible C4 Comedy Dep.
One Inch Of Heaven x 1 Episode + Bible BBC TV
Roeg’s Rage x Detailed Treatment + Bible Chrysalis
The Hub x Bible/Budget/Schedule Chameleon TV/Grey Cat Productions/ITV
Wired x 1 Episode & Bible Above The Title Productions (Radio)
The Watsons x 1 Episode & Bible Grey Cat Productions/BSkyB
Critter’s Corner x 1 Episode & Bible BBC Children’s TV
The Wanderers x 1 Episode & Bible BBC Children’s TV
Suits x Treatment & Bible Box Television/BBC
Murder & Mayhem x 3 Episodes & Bible BBC Scotland/Picture That
Shady x 1 Episode & Bible Carlton Television/Noel Gay/Picture That
Queen Of Clubs x 1 Episode & Bible BBC/Picture That
Moonstomping x 3 Episodes & Bible Channel 4 Drama Dep.
The Innocent Pagoda x Treatment Picture That
Seven Eleven x Treatment Picture That
Big Cat x Treatment Picture That
Scripts Currently in Development
Lost Souls – 8 x 60’ Series, Pilot Episode & Series Bible
Rednecks – 13 x 60’ Series. Pilot Episode & Series Bible.
Hardwired – 6 x 60’ Series. Pilot Episode & Series Bible
Running In the Family – 6 X 30’ series. Pilot Episode & Series Bible.
Goombah – 6 x 60’ Series. Pilot Episode & Series Bible
Police & Thieves – 6 x 50’ Series. Pilot Episode & Series Bible.
The Kill – 6 x 50’ Series. Pilot Episode & Series Bible.
Theatre Credits
PEGGY RAMSEY FOUNDATION A substantial grant from The Peggy Ramsay Foundation, to travel to USA to research a .play about the West Virginia Mine Wars.
PEGGY RAMSEY FOUNDATION A substantial grant from The Peggy Ramsay Foundation, to further develop Nadya after the reading.
NADYA Writer. A play about Stalin’s second wife, Nadya Alliluyeva, which was given a rehearsed reading at The Park in London with a cast including Michelle Terry, Stephen Tompkinson, Phyllis Logan, Shaun Prendergast, Dominic Mafham, Rupert Holiday Evans, David Robb and Jamie Foreman.
THE LIBERTY TREE Writer/Director. A two act comedy juke-box musical inspired by the work of Erwin Piscator produced by Public Domain at The Cockpit Theatre in London as a community/trade-union theatre project.
DEFIANCE A two-act drama written as part of the Script6 programme. Performed at The Space, London, in June 2014 and published in an anthology of new plays by Play Dead Press.
PEGGY RAMSEY FOUNDATION A substantial grant from The Peggy Ramsay Foundation to make a research trip to Moscow and Georgia for a play about Stalin’s private life.
SCRIPT6 NATIONAL PLAYWRITING AWARD Run by The Space Theatre in London, the Script6 national playwriting competition enabled six up-and-coming playwrights to write a brand-new full-length play through a programme of workshops and script development.
REALITY CHOKES Director. Premiere of New Comedy as part of the 40 year Anniversary Celebrations of Pentameters Theatre in Hampstead. Also Executive Producer of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival remount of the original London production.
THE DIG Co-Writer. The Cambridge Theatre Company. National Tour.
Chris Jury 