About me

Claire Ingham is a producer and film and television script developer. She works on projects at all stages of development, currently ranging from the first draft of Eoin Colfer’s bestselling novel The Wishlist (Eastside Films), to the final draft of the psychological drama feature, Stratford Road which she commissioned for Red Room Films. Stratford Road is written by novelist and dramatist Helen Cross (My Summer of Love), supported by the UK Film Council and Screen West Midlands, and Executive Produced by Kevin Loader (Brideshead, Venus, Enduring Love). The director will be Emily Young (BAFTA winner: Kiss of Life).

Claire has also worked on projects with writers at all levels of experience - from Oscar winner Colin Welland’s feature Tower to mentoring first time filmmakers through the UKFC ‘Digishorts’ scheme.

Before launching her own company, Claire worked for a number of other film and television companies in reading/development roles, including Red Rooster, Alibi Film and Television, Sly Fox Films, SWISH and Ecosse Films. She was Head of Film and Television Drama Development at Impossible Pictures for four years, where worked with the UK’s best writers and headed a small development team, commissioning and developing a range of projects for all the major broadcasters and BBC Films. These included Jed Mercurio’s contemporary retelling of Frankenstein, and Michael Chaplin’s family film Pickles.

Claire has also been involved in commissioning and producing several short drama films - and produced and directed a series of ‘Behind the Scenes’ documentaries for Hallmark UK featuring major projects like Charles Sturridge’s Gullivers Travels. In addition, she has been a screenwriter for TV series and film, a commercials director, award-winning trailer producer/director for Granada Television, Central Television, Carlton and The Movie Channel, Creative Director of Children’s ITV, a PACT trainer - and a visiting lecturer in screenwriting to universities in the UK and abroad.

In addition, Claire has written a number of articles exploring ideas about structure, adaptation, distribution and games/online drama for Scriptwriter/Twelvepoint Magazine – and has a particular interest in fairy tales, which she collects.

Claire and her company Red Room Films have also been commissioned a number of times to run talent development schemes by SCRIPT and Screen West Midlands. One of these schemes, ‘Big Screen Visions’, was designed to introduce professional novelists/playwrights and journalists to screenwriting via an eight month programme of workshops, screenings, ‘masterclasses’ with screenwriters, producers and agents - all with the support of a script editor or producer. All ten writers who have taken part in two versions of the programme to date have since either had their feature work optioned, gained agents, and/or had short films produced.

Past projects

Associate Producer: Frankenstein ITV1 Drama Event (2007)

Producer: Romance: Short Film (2007) - Digital Generation: Edinburgh Film Festival, Soho Shorts Festival, Napa Wine Valley Festival (USA), Moondance Festival (USA). Transmitted on Propeller TV (UK) Can be seen on BBC Film Network.

Script Executive: Pickles ITV1 Family Drama Event (2006)

Producer, Director and Writer: Hearing Things. Short Film (2004) - Winner, Best Film, Moondance Festival, (USA). Winner, Jerwood Short Film Script. Winner, Audience Award, Stratford International Film Festival. Transmitted on Sky Arts TV (UK) Can be seen on BBC Film Network

Writer: Crossroads ITV1 Drama Series (2002)

Writer: Barricades: Digital Feature (2001) - Winner, Sherrill Corwin (MTC Theatres) Award (USA) Shortlisted for Universal Studios Chesterfield Writers' Project (USA)

Director: Out and About. Features for BBC2 Factual Entertainment Series (1999)

Producer/Director: Behind the Scenes On... Six-Part Factual Entertainment Series. The Hallmark Channel (1999)

Creative Producer, Childrens' ITV 1996 - 1998 - Winner of 2 Gold and one Silver Promax International Marketing Awards 1997 and 1998

Promotions Producer/Director, Central Television 1994-96 -
Winner of Gold Promax International Marketing Award 1996

Trailermaker/Scriptwriter, Granada Television 1992 - 94 - Winner of Bronze Promax UK Marketing Award 1993

Writer: All Up In the Air (Radio) (1992)

Current productions

Stratford Road: Feature: Developed with the assistance of Screen West Midlands the UK Film Council

Two people’s lives collide on a single day. One is a thirteen year-old muslim girl, who has stolen a gun – the other, a grieving white father, who has lost his teenaged daughter. Over the course of their day, both David and Shahida come to realise that there may be an unsettling reason for their meeting…

Stratford Road is a haunting psychological thriller with a ghostly edge written by Helen Cross (My Summer of Love). Executive Producer is Kevin Loader (Brideshead Revisited, The History Boys, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).

Firebird: Feature: Developed with the assistance of the New Zealand Film Commission

Set in the 1930s and inspired by the true story of notorious dancer, Freda Stark, Firebird tells the story of an intense love triangle - and the shocking murder that led to New Zealand's most notorious court case Firebird is a co-production with Blueskin Films, New Zealand. The Writer/Director is Christine Parker

Men About Town: Series of Short TV Dramas, developed with Writer/Director Sean Spencer

The Hunted: Science Fiction Thriller Drama Series, developed in partnerships with TXTV

Dead And Gone: Short Film