He also created The Tunnel from the Scandinavian original of “The Bridge” as well as adapting “The Cuckoo’s Calling," the first in Robert Galbraith’s Strike series for BBC1.
[1] Before writing novels and TV dramas, he worked for three years as a housing officer in Newham and Islington, London.
As a research student at UCL's Department of Geography[2] he spent a year investigating public housing in Chile and on his return to Britain began his first novel "to alleviate the boredom of analysing questionnaires" for his PhD thesis.
His novels are Throwing the House out of the Window (1996), Don't Step on the Lines (1997), The Silver River (1999), A Sweetheart Deal (2001), The Mermaid and the Drunks (2004) and Confidence (2006).
As a screenwriter, Richards has written for the BBC (Spooks and Party Animals), ITV (The Fixer) and Channel 4 (No Angels).