William (Billy) Ivory (born 1964)[1][2] is a British screenwriter, playwright and actor. He is a three-time BAFTA nominee.[3]
Early life and career
Ivory was born in Southwell,[4]Nottinghamshire and has set many of his works in Nottingham.[5]
He was a pupil at the Minster School in Southwell.[6] He dropped out of his English degree at the University of London after three weeks, going on to work as a binman for nearly three years, writing in his spare time.[1] After he broke his arm, he wanted a less arduous job and so applied to be a stagehand at the Nottingham Playhouse,[1] eventually acting there.[2] He went on to play several roles in television adverts and drama series.[2][3] Ivory's first television writing credit was Journey to Knock, in 1991,[2] and he has since created and written many television dramas. Ivory's first stage play, The Retirement of Tom Stevens, was produced in 2006.[2] He wrote the screenplay for Made in Dagenham (2010),[2] and for the 2023 film starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson, The Great Escaper.[7]
Ivory is the son of Bill and Edna Ivory; Bill was a local newspaper journalist with the Nottingham Evening Post. Ivory has two older sisters, Lorraine and Sally-Ann.[10] His mother Edna suffered from motor neurone disease, and Ivory's first television drama, Journey to Knock (1991), was inspired by her experience of the disease.[1] Ivory is a fan of Notts Countyfootball team.[11] In 2015 one of Nottingham Express Transit's trams, Tram 232, was named after Ivory.[12][13]
