Fay began his television career on Brookside, although he states in an interview that it took him 16 years and several speculative scripts to get taken on to the writing staff full-time.
[3] In 2005 he received the British Academy Television Award for Best Continuing Drama, sharing the BAFTA with Coronation Street producer Tony Wood and director Ian Bevitt.
One of his notable scripts for Coronation Street was "Richard Hillman's murder confession" which attracted over 19 million viewers.
[1] Fay wrote two episodes of the award-winning third series of Torchwood, subtitled Children of Earth, which aired 7 and 9 July 2009.
[1] His father died shortly before he came to write Children of Earth, which Fay acknowledges when retroactively considering his views on the serial.