Gareth Roberts (writer)

Gareth John Pritchard Roberts(born 5 June 1968) is a Britishtelevisionscreenwriter,novelistandcolumnistbest known for his work related to the science-fiction television seriesDoctor Who.He has also worked on various comedy series andsoap operas.

Early life

Roberts studied drama at King Alfred's College (now theUniversity of Winchester) and Liverpool Polytechnic (nowLiverpool John Moores University). He has also worked as a clerk at theCourt of Appeal.

Career

Roberts has worked on some of the most popular British soap operas, includingChannel 4's now-defunctBrooksideas a scriptwriter (1999–2003), and as a story associate onITV'sCoronation Streetin 1997. In 1998 he worked as ascript editoron ITV's other long-running soap,Emmerdale,moving across to write several episodes himself the following year.

Doctor Whoand others

During the 1990s, Roberts was associated with the range ofDoctor Whospin-off novelspublished byVirgin Books.He contributed several novels to both theirNew AdventuresandMissing Adventuresranges ofDoctor Whofiction. He also wrote someCrackernovelisations for Virgin, and a gay erotic novel namedThe Velvet Webunder the pseudonym Christopher Summerisle, the title of which also happened to be an episode of theDoctor WhoserialThe Keys of Marinus.

He continued his association withDoctor Whoin the 2000s, penning several feature articles and comic strips forDoctor Who Magazine,co-writingaudio playsand short stories based on the series withClayton HickmanforBig Finish Productions,and in 2005 writing anotherDoctor Whonovel,Only Human,based on the characters from the new series launched that year, forBBC Books'New Series Adventuresrange. A further novel,I am a Dalek,was released in 2006 and featured theTenth Doctor.I am a Dalekis part of a Government "Quick Reads initiative". He also co-wroteThe New GodswithRebecca Levene,the firstTomorrow Peopleaudio drama for Big Finish.

Roberts appeared as a contributor to the documentarySerial Thrillers,exploring the popularPhilip Hinchcliffeera ofDoctor Whobetween 1975 and 1977, which featured as an extra on the 2004 DVD release of the serialPyramids of Mars.

On 25 December 2005, a special 'interactive' mini-episode ofDoctor Whowritten by Roberts,Attack of the Graske,was broadcast, and can now be accessed on theBBC website(only available to UK Broadband Users). Roberts also wrote a series of "TARDISODEs",short videos available online and viamobile phonespromoting the 2006 series ofDoctor Who.

He has written four full episodes ofDoctor Who,"The Shakespeare Code"in 2007,"The Unicorn and the Wasp"in 2008,"The Lodger"in 2010 and"Closing Time"in 2011.He co-wrote 2014's "The Caretaker"with showrunnerSteven Moffat.

Roberts also co-wrote, withRussell T Davies,"Invasion of the Bane",the pilot episode of theDoctor Whospin-off seriesThe Sarah Jane Adventures.He wrote two two-part stories for the full series ofThe Sarah Jane Adventures,which began broadcasting in the autumn of 2007, and another two two-part stories for the 2008 series.

Roberts co-wrote with Davies again for the second of the 2009 specials ofDoctor Who,"Planet of the Dead".

Gareth Roberts has also written a novelisation ofShada,the uncompletedTom Baker(Fourth Doctor) story written byDouglas Adams,that was due to be the finale ofseason seventeenofDoctor Whoin 1979 before it was abandoned due to industrial action. The book was published by BBC Books on 15 March 2012.

Other work

In comedy, Roberts has worked in collaboration withThe Fast Showwriter and performerCharlie Higsonon thesitcomSwiss Toni,aspin-offfromThe Fast Show.He also collaborated with Higson on scripts for the second series ofRandall and HopkirkforBBC Onein 2001. He would reteam with Higson for the superhero-style seriesJekyll & Hyde,based on the novel. It was not renewed for a second series.

Roberts has also contributed sketches to theChannel Fivesketch showSwinging,and wrote for the fantasy seriesThe Librarians.

Roberts andGary Russellwrote Virgin Books' episode guide toThe Simpsons,I Can't Believe It's an Unofficial Simpsons Guide(1997), under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood.Text from the book's expanded edition,I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide(2000), was subsequently published on theBBC website's Cult TV section.

Transphobia controversy

On 3 September 2017, Roberts posted on his Twitter account, "I [love] howtrannieschoose names likeMunroe,ParisandChelsea.It's never Julie or Bev is it? "Later that same day he wrote" It's almost like a clueless gayboy's idea of a glamorous lady. But of course it's definitely not that. "These comments were condemned by some Twitter users.

In June 2019, it was leaked that Roberts' contribution for aDoctor Whoshort story collection had been dropped due to his previous tweets, as well as the threat from other writers to withdraw their contributions. Roberts responded with a blog post onMediumin which he stated: "I don't believe in gender identity. It is impossible for a person to change their biological sex."

In 2024, he authoredGay Shame: The Rise of Gender Ideology and the New Homophobia,which argued that the transgender rights movement and "gender ideology"is anti-gay.

Personal life

Roberts is openly homosexual.

Bibliography

Books

• The Highest Science(Doctor WhoNew Adventure,1993)
• Tragedy Day(Doctor WhoNew Adventure, 1994)
• Zamper(Doctor WhoNew Adventure, 1995)
• The Romance of Crime(Doctor WhoMissing Adventure,1995)
• To be a Somebody(Crackernovelisation, 1996)
• Best Boys(Crackernovelisation, 1996)
• The English Way of Death(Doctor WhoMissing Adventure, 1996)
• The Plotters(Doctor WhoMissing Adventure, 1996)
• The Well-Mannered War(Doctor WhoMissing Adventure, 1997)
• Only Human(Doctor WhoNew Series Adventure,2005)
• I am a Dalek(Doctor WhoNew Series Adventure, 2006)
• Shada: The Lost Adventure by Douglas Adams(Doctor Who Novelisation. 2012)
• Gay Shame: The Rise of Gender Ideology and the New Homophobia(Forum, 2024)

Short stories

Short stories in:

• Decalog 2: Lost Property(1995)
• Decalog 3: Consequences(1996)
• More Short Trips(1999)
• Short Trips and Sidesteps(2000)
• Short Trips: The Muses(2003)
• Doctor Who Annual 2006(2005)
• The Doctor Who Storybook 2007(2006)

Television scripts

Production	Notes	Broadcaster
Emmerdale	Several Episodes (1999)	ITV
Springhill	Multiple Episodes (1996-1997)	Channel 4
Brookside	Multiple Episodes (1999-2003)	Channel 4
Randall and Hopkirk	"Whatever Possessed You?" (co-written withCharlie Higson) (2001) "Painkillers" (co-written withMark GatissandJeremy Dyson) (2001)	BBC One
Swiss Toni	Staff Writer (2003)	BBC Three
Swinging	Staff Writer (2005)	Five
Doctor Who	"Attack of the Graske"(2005) "The Shakespeare Code"(2007) "The Unicorn and the Wasp"(2008) "Planet of the Dead"(co-written withRussell T Davies) (2009) "The Lodger"(2010) "Closing Time"(2011) "The Caretaker"(co-written withSteven Moffat) (2014)	BBC One
The Sarah Jane Adventures	"Invasion of the Bane"(co-written with Russell T Davies) (2007) Revenge of the Slitheen(2007) Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?(2007) Secrets of the Stars(2008) The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith(2008) "From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love"(co-written withClayton Hickman) (2009) The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith(2009) The Empty Planet(2010) Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith(co-written with Clayton Hickman) (2010) The Man Who Never Was(2011)	CBBC
Wizards vs Aliens	Fall of the Necross(2012) The Curse of Crowe(2013)	CBBC
Jekyll & Hyde	"The Incubus" (2015)	ITV
The Librarians	"And the Curse of Cindy" (2017)	TNT

External links

• Gareth RobertsatIMDb
• Disposable Media Issue 9 Interview
• BBC Books to publish novelisation of Douglas Adams' Shada
• SFX interview about adapting "Shada"