Alumni and honorary graduates Neal Purvis’ and Robert Wade’s latest project received its prime-time airing during February 2017.
Adapted from a Len Deighton novel, SS-GB is a counter-factual thriller that imagines life in Britain following a successful occupation by the Nazis in 1941.
Purvis and Wade – described by The Times as ‘one of Britain’s most successful screenwriting partnerships’ – were commissioned by the BBC to start work on the script back in November 2014. The mini-series, which is comprised of five one-hour episodes, is broadcast on BBC1.
Neal Purvis studied Film and Photographic Arts, while Robert Wade studied Film Theory and English at the University. Since then, they have forged a successful career writing screenplays together. Their first success was in 1991 with the screenplay of the controversial drama Let Him Have It. The critically-acclaimed film was screened for Parliament and played a part in Derek Bentley’s eventual posthumous pardon.
They have worked in a variety of genres with screenplays such as the highwayman film Plunkett & MacLeane, the spy comedy Johnny English and The Italian Job remake. As well as co-writing the James Bond films The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day, they wrote and co-produced the thriller Return to Sender as well as Stoned, the last days of Rolling Stone Brian Jones.
For Bond-film Casino Royale, they received two BAFTA nominations as well as an EDGAR nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. They have since co-written the critically- and commercially-acclaimed Bond films Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.
In 2013, they each received receive honorary Doctor of Arts degrees from the University.