{{Short description|Welsh screenwriter and playwright}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Emma Jane Reeves''' is a Welsh screenwriter and playwright, best known for her extensive work in children's television series such as the ''Tracy Beaker'' franchise. She is currently Chair of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.
==Early life and education== Reeves grew up in Wrexham. She gained a First Class degree in English from Magdalen College, Oxford and an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia.<ref name="bafta">{{cite web|url=https://www.bafta.org/supporting-talent/elevate/emma-reeves|title=Emma Reeves|website=BAFTA|date=27 June 2018|access-date=30 December 2021}}</ref>
==Career== Reeves has written extensively for theatre, including shows based on material she would also work on in television, such as ''Hetty Feather'' and ''The Worst Witch'', as well as adaptations of ''Cool Hand Luke'' and ''Little Women''. In 2005, she moved into television, gaining her first credit on BBC One's ''Doctors''. She became a prolific children's writer following working on ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'', writing for series like ''Half Moon Investigations'', ''Chuggington'' and ''Young Dracula''. She would return to the ''Tracy Beaker'' franchise several times, writing for ''Tracy Beaker Returns'', spin-off ''The Dumping Ground'' and in 2021, ''My Mum Tracy Beaker''.<ref>{{cite news |title=My Mum Tracy Beaker: Dani Harmer to reprise role in reboot after 15 years |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/my-mum-tracy-beaker-dani-harmer-bbc-cast-jacqueline-wilson-a9650996.html |access-date=10 February 2021 |work=The Independent |date=3 August 2020 |archive-date=16 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216121755/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/my-mum-tracy-beaker-dani-harmer-bbc-cast-jacqueline-wilson-a9650996.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This was followed by ''The Beaker Girls'' that same year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Following the record-breaking series My Mum Tracy Beaker, The Beaker Girls are back for a hotly-anticipated new TV series |url=https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2021/the-beaker-girls |website=BBC Media Centre |publisher=BBC |access-date=17 December 2021 |date=18 August 2021}}</ref>
In 2015, she co-created with David Chikwe the CBBC science-fiction series ''Eve''. It starred Poppy Lee Friar<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1655719/|title=Poppy Lee Friar|work=IMDb|access-date=27 September 2015}}</ref> and follows the adventures of a gynoid, a female android, named Eve (also known as ''Project Eternity'') living with a family in suburbia, trying to make sense of human life as a teenage girl.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2015/01/eve|title=BBC - Eve - Media Centre|work=bbc.co.uk|access-date=27 September 2015}}</ref> It concluded on 14 December 2016 with an hour-long episode, which was later split into two parts when it was repeated in January 2017. Reeves developed and wrote a new adaptation of ''The Worst Witch'',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a607329/the-worst-witch-writer-reveals-new-tv-adaptation-is-in-development/|title=The Worst Witch writer reveals new TV adaptation is in development|work=Digital Spy|last=Alexander|first=Susannah|date=2 November 2014|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> which ran for four series between 2017 and 2020. She would win 'Best British Children's Television' at the British Screenwriters' Awards for her work.<ref name="BWW">{{cite web |author=BWW News Desk|title=THE WORST WITCH Flies Into The West End For A Strictly Limited Season |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/THE-WORST-WITCH-Flies-Into-The-West-End-For-A-Strictly-Limited-Season-20190403 |website=BroadwayWorld |access-date=7 December 2020 |language=en |date=3 April 2019}}</ref> In 2019, she helmed a sequel-reboot of ''The Demon Headmaster'' for CBBC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a26283882/the-demon-headmaster-revival-back-reboot-cbbc-crackerjack/|title=The Demon Headmaster is being revived by CBBC to terrify a new generation|first=Catherine|last=Earp|date=11 February 2019|website=Digital Spy}}</ref> While well received, it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reeves returned to adult drama in 2024, writing on the period drama ''The Hardacres''. In 2025 she adapted the ''Gifted'' series of novels by Marilyn Kaye into the television series ''Gifted'' for Black Camel Pictures and Media Valley which was then released by the BBC. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Black Camel and Media Valley unveil Gifted|url=https://blackcamel.co.uk/2025/03/26/black-camel-and-media-valley-unveil-gifted/ |access-date=2026-01-18|language=en}}</ref>
Reeves has written audio plays for the Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' ranges, starting with ''Torchwood: Forgotten Lives '' in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/torchwood-forgotten-lives-1296|title = 03. Torchwood: Forgotten Lives - Torchwood - Monthly Range - Big Finish}}</ref> She also wrote for the spin-offs ''The Diary of River Song'' and ''The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield ''. Outside of the UK, Reeves co-wrote the Lifetime Television movie ''The Murder of Princess Diana''.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=1802801}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Emma}} Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia Category:21st-century British women writers Category:21st-century Welsh women writers Category:Welsh women dramatists and playwrights Category:Welsh women screenwriters Category:Welsh television writers Category:Welsh science fiction writers Category:British women television writers Category:British women science fiction and fantasy writers Category:Year of birth missing (living people)