ACTOR AND SCREENWRITER
Martyn Hesford has had a remarkable career acting, writing and directing, working with some of the stars of stage and screen and winning a number of theatre and television awards.
Born in 1960, Martyn attended Salford Grammar School in the early 1970s. He was soon attracted to drama and appeared in a number of school plays directed by the very talented teacher Philip Dent.
Set on following the path into drama, Martyn was encouraged by Mrs Duffy who helped him with his audition pieces for London’t Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Once he was accepted Martyn never looked back.
As an actor he worked at the National Theatre and London’s Royal Court Theatre and also took many leading roles in dramas on television. When Martyn won the Radio Times Drama Award for his first screenplay – A Small Touring starring Alison Steadman – he made the transition from acting to screenwriting. He is is one of only eight people to date, to have both appeared and written for Coronation Street.
Martyn has written two notable film scripts. Fantabulosa, the biography of famous Carry On actor Kenneth Williams and starring multi-award winning actor Michael Sheen. It gained Martyn his first BAFTA nomination.
Next came Mrs Lowry & Son which told the story of the famous Salford painter and his complex relationship with his mother. It starred the extraordinary acting talents of Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall in the title roles.
Since then he has published his first collection of poetry, Lilac White, and followed this up with a second collection The Moon is Blue, both of which have received excellent reviews.
