Spotlight on Screenwriter Sarah Phelps

Sarah Phelps is the phenomenal writer trusted to adapt the works of some of the biggest names in literature for the small screen. Her writing career spans theatre, radio, film and TV, with recent successes including her thrilling 2015 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, which has been enjoyed by millions of people around the world.

Before taking on her first Agatha Christie drama, Sarah adapted the works of other literary greats including J.K. Rowling and Charles Dickens. The Guardian described her take on Oliver Twist as 'modern, yet also faithful – somewhere between melodrama and gritty realism.' A few years after Oliver Twist, Sarah applied her captivating writing style to Great Expectations, managing to achieve a fresh, bold take on one of Dickens’ most adapted stories. Last year Sarah adapted her first J.K. Rowling novels, The Casual Vacancy. Rowling described Sarah as, “a writer at the top of her game,” confirming that she was, “happy and confident to hand over the job of crafting my novel for the small screen.”

Following the success of And Then There Were None, this year Sarah takes on Christie’s short story, The Witness for the Prosecution. Producer Colin Wratten describes Sarah’s adaptation as combining “a very successful author in Christie and a writer of Sarah Phelps’ calibre with a story that has a completely dark heart at its centre.”

Watch Sarah Phelps talk about her adaptation of The Witness for the Prosecution and how she got involved in the project.