Nigel McCrery

Nigel Colin McCrery (born 30 October 1953 in London) is an English screenwriter and ex-police officer. He is the creator of the long-running crime dramas Silent Witness (1996-present) and New Tricks (2003-15). Early life Because of his father's (Colin George McCrery 1928–1990) RAF service, Nigel spent much of his early childhood travelling around the world before finally settling in Toton, Nottinghamshire. He attended Bispham Drive Junior School, followed by George Spencer Secondary School in Stapleford. The school later named a building after him, the Nigel McCrery Learning and Inclusion Centre which was opened on Thursday 14 March 2013. Later he attended Beeston College of Further Education in Beeston, Nottinghamshire. He married in 1976 at the age of 23 and moved to West Bridgford. He and his then wife Gill had three children. Nigel and Gill are now divorced. He joined the Nottinghamshire Constabulary in 1978, aged 25 serving in West Bridgford, Clifton, The Meadows, Carlton and St Ann's. During his service he also worked on a number of murder cases and became interested in forensic science. McCrery retired from the police in August 1987 before attending Trinity College, Cambridge from October of the same year to read Modern History. In 1988 he persuaded Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram to race around the Great Court at Trinity College, a race made famous in the film Chariots of Fire; Coe won by a whisker. The event raised of £50,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital. He also organised the first ever debate between Cambridge University and Harvard University, once again raising a considerable amount of money for children's charities. Career He was selected for the BBC's Graduate Entry Scheme in 1990. After working on a variety of BBC documentaries, he joined the BBC drama department in 1992 becoming the researcher on the award-winning Our Friends in the North. He then went on to create the series Backup (1995/1997), Silent Witness, All The King's Men (1999), Born and Bred (2002/2006), Impact (2003) and New Tricks (2003/2015).