Simon Ashdown

He was involved in the creation of the Slater family, and along with other writers, developed the characters around the actors themselves, rather than the other way round.

He created the character of Max Branning and was responsible for numerous key episodes such as Ethel Skinner's death, Stacey Slater's bipolar and the "Who Killed Archie?"

More recent episodes that he has written include Pat Evans' death, Mandy Salter's second exit, Janine Butcher's temporary exit, the aftermath of David Wicks' return and the Jake Stone and Sadie Young reveal.

He has worked on numerous other drama series including City Central, Casualty and has acted as story consultant on numerous productions including Crash Palace for Sky and Come Fly With Me for the BBC.

He recently adapted Franz Kafka's The Trial with Jeremy Dyson for the BBC.