Frank Cottrell Boyce

Writing

Frank Cottrell Boyce

Born 1959-09-23 · Liverpool

​​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Frank Cottrell Boyce (born 23 September 1959) is a British screenwriter, novelist and occasional actor, known for his children's fiction and for his collaborations with film director Michael Winterbottom. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Cottrell Boyce, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Millions poster
6.4

Two boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of a bag of bank robbery loot in the week before the United Kingdom switches its official currency to the Euro. What's a kid to do?

Millions

2005

No artwork available
10.0

The programme offers unique access to Julia Donaldson, her family, her rich archives and home movies, and the remarkable cast of characters that have sprung from her imagination. Specially commissioned animations from Julia's long-term illustrator Axel Scheffler bring her biography to life. With contributions from well-known admirers and collaborators, this is a tribute to the woman who has created the characters and stories that have become a fixture of children’s bedtime routines all around the world and spawned multi-award-winning adaptations for stage and screen. Looking at her works, the programme uncovers the surprising stories behind how Julia's iconic characters were created and what they mean to a generation of readers. It also explores why Donaldson’s books appeal to both children and adults alike – tackling serious themes of love, loss, fear and bullying in a poignant but subtle way.

The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson

2020

No artwork available
6.0

This was of course a fitting look into the world of Julia Donaldson, whose books have kept the BBC in Christmas animations for the last few years, and will probably do so for years to come.

The Magical World of Julia Donaldson

2020

Framed poster
4.1

The National Gallery in London has flooded, and senior curator Quentin Lester has a dramatic solution. He proposes that the entire collection of priceless paintings should be removed from London and stored in an abandoned slate mine inside a Welsh mountain, as they were during the Second World War. Soon after Quentin is settled in North Wales admittedly more at home in a cave among his paintings than he is with other people he unwittingly sets in motion a series of events that wake up this sleepy, charming town. After mistaking local boy Dylan Hughes for an art history genius, Quentin finds himself in the middle of mayhem.

Framed

2009

Of People And Place poster
NR

Exploring the Liverpool suburb of Walton through the eyes of its residents – highlighting grassroots initiatives and the transformative power of art.

Of People And Place

2025

The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved poster
NR

Produced over four years with full access from Ken’s widow Lady Dodd, the film takes an in-depth look into Doddy’s private world, exploring the many secrets of his comic talent, revealing never-before-seen home-videos, stage performances and extracts from some of the thousands of Ken’s diary notebooks which he’d asked his wife to burn after his death. Wrestling with her conscience for quite some time, Lady Dodd, finally agrees with entertainment historians, museum curators and many of Ken’s admirers like Stephen K Amos, Harry Hill, Shaparak Khorsandi, Lee Mack, Paul O’Grady, Johnny Vegas, and Sir Ian McKellen to preserve Doddy’s notebooks for posterity. These stars explore their passion and memories of Ken in this candid, insightful film which takes you backstage behind the red curtain to reveal a far more intriguing man than the public or even his wife ever realised.

The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved

2024

One Night In 2012 poster
NR

Co-produced by Rogan Productions and BBC Studios. London. The Summer of 2012. As rehearsals take place in a rainy Dagenham car park, Director Danny Boyle reveals a glimpse of his Opening Ceremony to the press. Some denounce it as the “Tellytubby Olympics” - others fear that it can never compete with the spectacle of Beijing. Everything pointed to an embarrassing failure. So how did one night in 2012 become 'The Greatest Show on Earth'? This is the story of a unique night when the Brits began to believe in themselves again. A night which showed the country what it could achieve when extraordinary people pulled together. A night which went beyond everyone’s expectations. For the first time since that night, Danny Boyle and the creative team behind the ceremony reunite in the company of Alan Yentob to explain the thinking that went into creating one of the country’s finer moments.

One Night In 2012

2016

No artwork available
NR

The spectacle of The Return of Colmcille on the River Foyle in the summer of 2013 was the brainchild of writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, who delivered the stand-out moment of Derry-Londonderry’s year as the UK City of Culture. In a magical reworking of the story of St Columba, the story began on the Isle of Iona several weeks beforehand when the small community of 14 children created the gift of a book which was ferried across the Irish Sea by a 12-man currach, making the reverse journey that Derry’s patron saint travelled 1,500 years before. In a surprise, mythical twist the Lough Ness monster plans a showdown. The excitement and sense of wonder by the thousands who lined the banks of the river was the culmination of two days of colour, sound, dance, and music which engulfed the whole city – reaching a pyrotechnic climax as the Loch Ness monster sailed up the river to confront his nemesis, St Columba, once again.

The Return of Colmcille

2013

Behind the camera

Goodbye Christopher Robin poster
7.0

The behind the scenes story of the life of A.A. Milne and the creation of the Winnie the Pooh stories inspired by his son Christopher Robin.

Goodbye Christopher Robin

2017

Code 46 poster
6.2

In a dystopian future, insurance fraud investigator William Gold arrives in Shanghai to investigate a forgery ring for "papelles", futuristic passports that record people's identities and genetics. Gold falls for Maria Gonzalez, the woman in charge of the forgeries. After a passionate affair, Gold returns home, having named a coworker as the culprit. But when one of Gonzalez's customers is found dead, Gold is sent back to Shanghai to complete the investigation.

Code 46

2003

Earth: One Amazing Day poster
7.7

An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles.

Earth: One Amazing Day

2017

The Beautiful Game poster
6.3

A group of advocates to end homelessness organize an annual tournament for homeless people to compete in a series of football matches known as The Homeless World Cup.

The Beautiful Game

2024

The Railway Man poster
6.8

A victim from World War II's "Death Railway" sets out to find those responsible for his torture. A true story.

The Railway Man

2013

24 Hour Party People poster
7.0

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

24 Hour Party People

2002

Revengers Tragedy poster
5.8

A film adaptation of the 1606 satirical tragedy by Thomas Middleton, relocated to a post-apocalyptic Liverpool. Christopher Eccleston plays the revenge-obsessed Vindice, who has sworn to kill the evil Duke (Derek Jacobi) who murdered his one true love.

Revengers Tragedy

2002

Millions poster
6.4

Two boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of a bag of bank robbery loot in the week before the United Kingdom switches its official currency to the Euro. What's a kid to do?

Millions

2005

Kensuke's Kingdom poster
7.2

A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.

Kensuke's Kingdom

2024

Welcome to Sarajevo poster
6.5

Follow a group of international journalists into the heart of the once cosmopolitan city of Sarajevo—now a danger zone of sniper and mortar attacks where residents still live. While reporting on an American aid worker who’s trying to get children out of the country, a British correspondent decides to take an orphaned girl home to London.

Welcome to Sarajevo

1997

Hilary and Jackie poster
6.6

The tragic story of world-renowned cellist Jacqueline du Pré, as told from the point of view of her sister, flautist Hilary du Pré-Finzi.

Hilary and Jackie

1998

Butterfly Kiss poster
6.4

Deeply mentally unbalanced drifter Eunice roams grim northern Britain committing psychosexual serial murders of both men and women while ostensibly searching for an unknown woman named Judith. She spares the life of lonely but kind-hearted gas station cashier Miriam, who abandons her dismal life to follow her damaged new lover. While attempting to hide the evidence of her multiple crimes, Miriam tries to understand Eunice's bizarre quest.

Butterfly Kiss

1995

A Cock and Bull Story poster
6.1

Steve Coogan, an arrogant actor with low self-esteem and a complicated love life, is playing the eponymous role in an adaptation of "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" being filmed at a stately home. He constantly spars with actor Rob Brydon, who is playing Uncle Toby and believes his role to be of equal importance to Coogan's.

A Cock and Bull Story

2005

The Claim poster
6.0

A prospector sells his wife and daughter to another gold miner for the rights to a gold mine. Twenty years later, the prospector is a wealthy man who owns much of the old west town named Kingdom Come. But changes are brewing and his past is coming back to haunt him. A surveyor and his crew scouts the town as a location for a new railroad line and a young woman suddenly appears in the town and is evidently the man's daughter.

The Claim

2000

Pandaemonium poster
5.0

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an unstable but brilliant poet, becomes friends with the unknown William Wordsworth, and together they set out to recreate English poetry in the spirt of liberty and democracy. As time goes by, cracks begin to appear in the relationship. Sam becomes addicted to opium, while William's ego and ambition distance him further from his friend.

Pandaemonium

2001

Sometimes Always Never poster
6.4

Alan is a stylish tailor with moves as sharp as his suits. He has spent years searching tirelessly for his missing son Michael who stormed out over a game of Scrabble. With a body to identify and his family torn apart, Alan must repair the relationship with his youngest son and solve the mystery of an online player who he thinks could be Michael, so he can finally move on and reunite his family.

Sometimes Always Never

2019

God on Trial poster
6.8

In the Jewish tradition of arguing with God, Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz decide to put God on Trial.

God on Trial

2008

Grow Your Own poster
6.5

A refugee family are given an allotment plot and are met with suspicion by the people who have worked the gardens for years

Grow Your Own

2007

London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder poster
7.7

The London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place at 9pm on 27 July 2012. Titled 'Isles of Wonder', the Ceremony welcomed the finest athletes from more than 200 nations for the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, marking an historic third time the capital has hosted the world’s biggest and most important sporting event. The Opening Ceremony reflected the key themes and priorities of the London 2012 Games, based on sport, inspiration, youth and urban transformation. It was a Ceremony 'for everyone' and celebrated contributions the UK has made to the world through innovation and revolution, as well as the creativity and exuberance of British people.

London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder

2012

Saint-Ex poster
4.3

Poetic biography of author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Saint-Ex

1996

New York Crossing poster
4.0

A family reunion is disrupted by possibly the real Santa Claus collapsing in Penn Station - minor miracles ensue across the city of New York.

New York Crossing

1996

Framed poster
4.1

The National Gallery in London has flooded, and senior curator Quentin Lester has a dramatic solution. He proposes that the entire collection of priceless paintings should be removed from London and stored in an abandoned slate mine inside a Welsh mountain, as they were during the Second World War. Soon after Quentin is settled in North Wales admittedly more at home in a cave among his paintings than he is with other people he unwittingly sets in motion a series of events that wake up this sleepy, charming town. After mistaking local boy Dylan Hughes for an art history genius, Quentin finds himself in the middle of mayhem.

Framed

2009

Paddington Meets The Queen poster
7.5

Paddington learns that The Queen also loves marmalade sandwiches. He shows Her Majesty where he hides his sandwiches, and The Queen also shows where she keeps hers.

Paddington Meets The Queen

2022

No artwork available
9.0

Two Scottish soldiers stationed in Germany head to Budapest to see a Simple Minds concert and fall for a local girl.

Forget About Me

1990