<p>Subscribe for free: robertmurphy.substack.com</p><p><em>Doctor Who, Spooks, Luther</em>: some of Britain’s best-loved TV crime dramas have scripts written by Neil Cross.</p><p>The Bristolian who now lives in New Zealand created Idris Elba’s beloved London detective on a spur-of-the-moment during a meeting with BBC managers.</p><p></p><p>And, more recently, he devised the fast-paced, twisty, laugh-out-loud thriller <em>The Iris Affair</em>, featuring Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander.</p><p>In this interview, Neil describes how his life changed in a chance-moment at a careers advice meeting at university.</p><p>He describes the difference between writing for an established show with an engaged following - like <em>Doctor Who -</em> compared with creating his own series.</p><p></p><p>And, in this open, confessional interview, he talks about his tough upbringing in Bristol and Scotland, being expelled from school, spending years unemployed, before getting into university and embarking on his writing career.</p><p>You can find out more about Neil here: http://www.neil-cross.com/</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe</a>