Jed Mercurio

Gerald Gary "Jed" Mercurio OBE (born September 1966) is a British television writer, producer, director and novelist. A former hospital doctor[5] and Royal Air Force officer,[6] Mercurio has been ranked among UK television's leading writers.[7][8] In 2017, Mercurio was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Television Society[9] and the Baird Medal by RTS Midlands.[10]

Jed Mercurio
Jed Mercurio in May 2019
Born
Gerald Gary Mercurio[1][2][3][4]

September 1966 (age 54–55)
Nelson, Lancashire, England
NationalityBritish
EducationUniversity of Birmingham Medical School
OccupationTelevision writer, producer, director and novelist
Partner(s)Elaine Cameron
Children2

His works for television include the series Line of Duty, Bodyguard, Bodies (based on his 2002 novel), The Grimleys, and Cardiac Arrest. His books are Bodies (2002), Ascent (2007), American Adulterer (2009) and, for children, The Penguin Expedition (2003).[11]

Early life

Mercurio was born in Nelson, Lancashire, but grew up in Cannock, Staffordshire. His parents were Italian immigrants, with his father working as a coal miner.[12] He studied at the University of Birmingham Medical School;[5] in his third year, in August 1988, he was commissioned as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force Medical Branch[6] and received flying training with the University Air Squadron,[5] with the intention of specialising in aviation medicine.[13][14] He was promoted flying officer in June 1991,[15] but resigned his commission in February 1992.[16]

During practice as a hospital physician, Mercurio answered an advertisement in the British Medical Journal and, despite little writing experience,[5] scripted the BBC medical drama Cardiac Arrest under the pseudonym John MacUre.[17] Subsequently he retired from medicine to pursue a writing career under his own name.

Career

Mercurio's writing debut, Cardiac Arrest (1994–96), caused controversy due to its realist depiction of hospital life.[18][19] The series was twice nominated in the Best Original Drama category by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain[20] and topped a poll of UK medical professionals as the most realistic medical drama of all time.[21] Mercurio served as medical advisor on the second series of Cardiac Arrest, which he cites as his apprenticeship in producing/directing.[13]

Jed Mercurio entered a new genre when he created The Grimleys, a comedy series set in the Black Country which ran for three seasons (1999-2001) on ITV.[22]

Mercurio adapted his first novel, Bodies (2002),[23] into an award-winning television series.[24] Mercurio assumed the producer/showrunner position for the first time on Bodies (2004–06), a role he has fulfilled on all his subsequent original series.[13] The Times ranked Bodies in "Shows of the Decade" and The Guardian placed it in "The Greatest TV Dramas of All Time."[25] The series won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series, was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series and Mercurio was also twice nominated as Best Drama Writer by the Royal Television Society.[26]

His critically acclaimed second novel, Ascent (2007),[27] was ranked among the 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read.[28]

Mercurio's next original drama series, Line of Duty (first broadcast 26 June 2012), premiered as BBC2's then best-performing drama series in 10 years with 4.1 million viewers.[29] A well-received second series (first broadcast 12 February 2014) resulted in the BBC commissioning two further series for production in 2015 and 2016.[30] The first series was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series and earned Mercurio his third nominations as Best Drama Writer by the Royal Television Society and The Writers' Guild of Great Britain.[31] In 2014, Line of Duty was named in the Top 50 BBC2 Shows of All-Time,[32] and named best television drama of the year by The Observer,[33] and in 2016 ranked among the best BBC shows of all time[34] and among the best police series of all time.[35] In 2015, the second series won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series.[36] and was nominated for four BAFTA Awards.[37][38] Series 3 of Line of Duty became the most watched drama series broadcast on BBC2 in the multichannel era.[39] Series 4 transferred to BBC One, consisting of six episodes broadcast from 26 March 2017.[40]

Mercurio's third medical drama series, Critical, ran for 13 episodes on Sky1 from 24 February 2015 to predominantly positive reviews,[41][42][43][44] but was cancelled on 15 July 2015 after one season.[45]

Mercurio created and wrote Bodyguard, serving as showrunner on the six-part series starring Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes.[46] The series began broadcasting on BBC One on 26 August 2018,[47] achieving the highest viewing figures for a new BBC drama in the multichannel era.[48]

Mercurio was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to television drama.[49]

Personal life

Mercurio's long-time partner is Elaine Cameron, a producer and script editor, and they have two children.[50]

Filmography

Bibliography

Awards and nominations
YearAssociationCategoryResultWork(s)
1994Writers' Guild of Great Britain AwardsBest Original Drama SerialNominatedCardiac Arrest
1996Best Original Drama SeriesNominated
2003Sheffield Children's Book AwardsShorter NovelNominatedThe Penguin Expedition
2004Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominatedBodies
Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama WriterNominated
BAFTA Television AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
2005Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama SeriesWon
Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama WriterNominated
BAFTA Television AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
2012Crime Thriller AwardsThe TV DaggerNominatedLine of Duty
Royal Television Society Midlands AwardsBest Drama/Fictional ProgrammeWon
2013Broadcast AwardsBest Drama Series or SerialNominated
Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest TV DramaNominated
South Bank Sky Arts AwardsTV DramaNominated
Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama WriterNominated
2014Freesat AwardsBest TV DramaWon
Crime Thriller AwardsThe TV DaggerNominated
Writers' Guild of Great Britain AwardsTV Drama - Long FormNominated
2015Broadcast AwardsBest Drama Series or SerialNominated
Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
Best Drama WriterNominated
2015 Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama SeriesWon
BAFTA Television Craft AwardsWriter: DramaNominated
BAFTA Television AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
2015 South Bank Sky Arts AwardsTV DramaNominated
Royal Television Society Northern Ireland AwardsBest DramaWon
2016TV Choice AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
Royal Television Society Northern Ireland AwardsBest DramaNominated
2017Broadcast AwardsBest Drama Series or SerialNominated
Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest TV Drama SeriesNominated
Royal Television Society AwardsDrama SeriesNominated
Royal Television Society AwardsDrama - WriterNominated
Celtic Media Festival AwardsBest Drama SeriesWon
TV Choice AwardsBest DramaNominated
British Screenwriters' AwardsBest Crime Writing on TelevisionWon
Royal Television Society Northern Ireland AwardsBest DramaWon
2018Writers' Guild of Great Britain AwardsTV Drama – Long FormNominated
National Television AwardsCrime DramaNominated
Irish Film and Television Academy AwardsDramaNominated
Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest Drama SeriesWon
Writer's AwardWon
Voice of the Listener & Viewer Awards for Excellence in BroadcastingBest TV Drama ProgrammeWon
BAFTA Television AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
Televisual Bulldog AwardsBest Drama SeriesWon
South Bank Sky Arts AwardsTV DramaNominated
Edinburgh TV AwardsBest UK DramaNominated
2019Golden Globe AwardsBest Television Series – DramaNominatedBodyguard
BAFTA Television AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
Gold Derby AwardsBest Drama SeriesNominated
Best Drama Episode of the YearNominated
Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Drama SeriesNominated
Outstanding Writing for a Drama SeriesNominated
2020 Edgar Allan Poe Award[51]Best Television Episode TeleplayWon Line of Duty

References
  1. Dowell, Ben (14 May 1998). "Jed Day". The Stage. p. 35. Retrieved 12 May 2019. ...the fact that his very cool first name, Jed, is in fact short for Gerald...
  2. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007
  3. "HTM Television Limited - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  4. "HTM Television". HTM Television. Retrieved 12 May 2019. Hat Trick Mercurio Television Ltd (HTM Television) is a UK production company co-owned by Jed Mercurio and Hat Trick Productions.
  5. Albiston, Isabel (24 February 2007). "The world of ..." The Telegraph.
  6. "No. 51518". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1988. p. 12221.
  7. "Broadcast Hot 100 2013". broadcastnow.co.uk. 5 December 2013.
  8. Lazarus, Susannah (18 September 2017). "Radio Times TV 100". Radio Times.
  9. Harding, Laura (13 September 2017). "Russell T. Davies among RTS fellowship recipients". Irish Independent.
  10. "Royal Television Society Midlands Awards 2017 - Winners Announced". Film Birmingham. 1 December 2017.
  11. Jed Mercurio Author Profile at Rogers, Coleridge & White Literary Agency website, Rcwlitagency.com, archived from the original on 2 October 2013, retrieved 6 October 2013
  12. Laws, Roz (24 March 2017). "Who is the man behind gripping TV drama Line of Duty?". Birmingham Mail.
  13. Brown, Maggie (10 February 2014). "Line of Duty's Jed Mercurio". The Guardian.
  14. Llewellyn-Smith, Julia (23 March 2014). "Line of Duty:'Sometimes justice is not done in the real world'". Telegraph.
  15. "No. 52646". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 1991. p. 13423.
  16. "No. 52857". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 March 1992. p. 4255.
  17. Curtis, Chris (20 September 2012), Jed Mercurio: taking aim at the target culture, Broadcastnow.co.uk, retrieved 6 October 2013
  18. Dillner, Louise (23 April 1994). "Frightening realism". The British Medical Journal.
  19. Revill, Jo (10 September 2006). "Nurse! Let's put this medical drama back on the screens". The Guardian.
  20. "Cardiac Arrest at the International Movie Data Base".
  21. "Top of the TV Medics". BBC Online. 9 November 1999.
  22. Rampton, James (6 March 1999). "Still Crazee Now - Arts & Entertainment". The Independent. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  23. Myerson, Julie (6 April 2002). "Close to the Bone". The Guardian.
  24. Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2005, Rts.org.uk, retrieved 6 October 2013
  25. Lusher, Tim (12 January 2010). "The Top 50 TV Dramas of All Time". The Guardian.
  26. "Bodies at the International Movie Data Base".
  27. Faber, Michel (10 March 2007). "Rocket Man". The Guardian.
  28. "1000 Novels Everyone Must Read". The Guardian. 22 January 2009.
  29. Curtis, Chris (20 September 2012). "Jed Mercurio: taking aim at the target culture". Broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  30. Sweeney, Mark (8 April 2014). "Line of Duty set to return for third and fourth series". Guardian.
  31. Sandwell, Ian (5 December 2014). "Writers' Guild shortlist unveiled". Screen International.
  32. Hogan, Michael; et al. (18 April 2014). "The Top 50 BBC Two shows of all-time". The Telegraph.
  33. Ferguson, Euan (7 December 2014). "The best British TV Dramas of 2014". The Observer.
  34. Tate, Gabriel; et al. (2 November 2016). "The 80 Best BBC Shows of All Time". The Telegraph.
  35. Ross, Graeme (12 November 2016). "The 20 Greatest TV Cop Shows of All Time". The Independent.
  36. Klompus, Jack (18 March 2015). "Casualty, Harry & Paul, Line of Duty win at RTS Programme awards". Digital Spy.
  37. "Bafta TV Awards 2015: Winners in full". BBC News. 10 May 2015.
  38. "BAFTA TV Craft Awards 2015".
  39. Plunkett, John (28 April 2016). "Line of Duty outranks Wolf Hall to take BBC2 ratings crown". The Guardian.
  40. "Line of Duty to move to BBC1 for two more series". Radiotimes.com. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  41. Billen, Andrew (25 February 2015). "TV Review: Critical; Immigration Street". The Times.
  42. Jones, Ellen E. (25 February 2015). "Critical, Sky1 - TV Review". The Independent.
  43. Wollaston, Sam (25 February 2015). "Last Night's TV". The Guardian.
  44. Hogan, Michael (25 February 2015). "Critical episode 1 review". The Telegraph.
  45. Jeffrey, Morgan (15 July 2015). "Sky1 calls time on Critical: No second series for medical thriller". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  46. "Meet the cast of Bodyguard on BBC1".
  47. Hughes, Sarah (12 August 2018). "Jed Mercurio on Bodyguard, jeopardy … and the next Line of Duty". the Guardian.
  48. Corrodus, Corrine (4 September 2018). "Bodyguard is the biggest drama on British TV in over a decade". The Telegraph.
  49. "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N13.
  50. Lawrence, Ben (25 September 2018). "From the RAF to Bodyguard: the dramatic life of Jed Mercurio". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  51. "Edgar Award Nominees". www.theedgars.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
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