In 2013, her seventh novel entitled Apple Tree Yard, was published and became a number one bestseller, selling over half a million copies in the UK alone.

The series, which starred Emily Watson in the lead role and adapted by Amanda Coe, received widespread critical acclaim and consolidated viewing figures of 7 million per episode, making it the most-viewed new BBC drama at that time since The Night Manager.

[5] Her most recent book, Platform Seven (2019), was adapted as a four-part drama, by Paula Milne, with Dancing Ledge Productions for ITV in 2023.

In her first original drama for television, Doughty wrote the three-part thriller Crossfire, about a gun attack on a holiday resort, made by Dancing Ledge Productions for BBC One.

[4] Doughty's sixth novel, Whatever You Love, was short-listed for the Costa Book Award for fiction in 2010,[5] and long-listed for the Orange Prize in 2011.

[6] Apple Tree Yard, was selected as a Richard & Judy Book Choice in the spring of 2014.