Stephen Mallatratt

Nigel Stephen Mallatratt (15 June 1947, Mill Hill, London – 22 November 2004) was an English playwright, television screenwriter and actor. He is best known for his television work on the ITV series Coronation Street, The Forsyte Saga (2002) and Island at War (2004), and for his stage adaptation of the novel The Woman in Black which has run in the West End since 1989. He was also an actor, appearing in minor roles in Chariots of Fire and Brideshead Revisited. Mallatratt was married three times, to Vanessa Mallatratt, Eileen O'Brien and stage manager Emma London. He had a daughter, Hannah, with O'Brien. He died of leukaemia in 2004.

Stephen originated from a lower-middle-class background. As a child, he was a pupil at Orange Hill Grammar School in Edgware where he excelled at drama, English, and swimming. He was feted for his performances in school plays. Among his various roles, he played Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew with his manservant, Grumio, played by David Troughton. He was considered Oxbridge material but instead briefly entered the building trade, prior to becoming involved in acting.

His love of acting was sparked in his teenage years when watching a performance at the Watford Palace Theater. In 1968, he entered Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1971. After his studies he joined the Ipswich theatre, and later the Stephen Joseph Theatre, in Scarborough, at the invitation of actor and playwright Alan Ayckbourn. While in Scarborough, he appeared in several important productions, including Absent Friends, Bedroom Farce, The Breadwinners and The Brontes of Haworth, by Christopher Fry, in 1985.

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