Henrietta & Jessica Ashworth
Writers
Film, TV & Theatre
Film, TV & Theatre
Named as Broadcast 'Hotshots' 2013, selected for Screen’s Stars of Tomorrow in 2012 and listed in the the BBC’s New Talent Hotlist in 2017, Jessica and Henrietta wrote their first script The Shakespeare Club – a farce about authorship controversy – at the age of 15.
Their feature script Olivia & Jim was placed third on the Brit List in 2011 and is currently in development with producer Ivana Mackinnon supported by the BFI. Following on from their TV work on the third series of Fresh Meat and the BAFTA-winning Dixi (CBBC), Jessica and Henrietta are now writing on the second series of Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Killing Eve for BBC America. They are also developing projects with Warp, BBC, BBC Films, BFI, Baby Cow, and their first US Project, Code Name: Verity, with New York production company Levantine Films.
Jessica also works as an actress, appearing in Julian Jarrold’s Becoming Jane and writing and performing with sketch group The Dudes. Henrietta directed their award-winning Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival 'Best Debut' show Call Of Dudey last year. Henrietta is a graduate of the University of Sussex, and was awarded the prestigious Arts & Humanities Research Council Award scholarship. She studied for a Masters in Film at University College London, completing it in 2013 with a Distinction.
The Ashworths are developing feature film Siren, about a young girl who develops terrifying powers, produced by Helen Gladders of Gingerbread Pictures.
Tell It To The Bees, adapted from Fiona Shaw’s novel of the same name, is their feature film debut. Produced by Daisy Allsop, Riverstone and the BFI, the film is directed by Annabel Jankel and stars Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger. The film received its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and UK premiere at the 2019 Glasgow Film Festival.
Their recent script Queen's Gambit was featured on the Brit List 2018.
In Development
Production | Company | Notes |
---|---|---|
I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW 2019 | Warp | Original Sci-Fi Series |
THREE ROOMS IN VALERIE'S HEAD 2019 | Wall to Wall | Adaptation of graphic novel by David Gaffney |
WEIRD 2019 | Sarah Brocklehurst/BFI | A high school comedy about a teenage girl who fakes her Facebook profile in order to be popular then struggles to live up to the lies she's posted |
CODE NAME: VERITY 2019 | Levantine Films | Feature adaptation of the WW2-set Young Adult novel by Elizabeth E. Wein |
QUEEN'S GAMBIT 2019 | Baby Cow | Adaptation of Elizabeth Fremantle's novel, which looks at the life of Henry VIII's last wife, Katherine Parr. Produced by Gaby Tana. Chosen for the Brit List 2018 |
MATTER OF LIFE AND SEX 2019 | Fable Pictures | Feature film based on the true story of the first National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles undertaken by four women in 1986 due to an urgent need for information on the emergence of HIV/AIDS |
OLIVIA & JIM 2019 | Equation Pictures/Stray Bear/BFI | Comedy-drama feature. OLIVIA & JIM featured 3rd on 'The Brit List' 2011 |
US VS THE WORLD 2019 | Warp | Television pilot |
KILLING EVE Series Two 2019 | Sid Gentle/BBC Films |
Film
Production | Company | Notes |
---|---|---|
TELL IT TO THE BEES 2018 | Archface/BFI | Feature adaptation of Fiona Shaw's book of the same name, directed by Annabel Jankel and starring Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger. TELL IT TO THE BEES received its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and UK premiere at the 2019 Glasgow Film Festival |
Television
Production | Company | Notes |
---|---|---|
DIXI (Series 2) 2015 | Kindle Entertainment/CBBC | Wrote on series 2 of the BAFTA-winning online show |
2014 | Kindle Entertainment/CBBC | Episodes written by Jessica & Henrietta Ashworth. Winner of Best Children's Interactive Show at BAFTA's Children's Awards 2014 |
FRESH MEAT (Series 3) 2013 | Objective Productions/C4 | Episode 303 |
Short Films
Production | Company | Notes |
---|---|---|
FAN GIRL 2015 | Writers and co-producers. Directed by Kate Herron and starring Steve Oram, FAN GIRL follows a group of super-fans who break into the house of a faded 90's popstar. Nominated for Best Comedy and Best Woman Director at the 2016 London Short Film Festival; nominated for the Discovery Award at LOCO Comedy Festival; nominated for the Grand Prix Award at Encounters Short Film Festival; nominated for Best Comedy and People's Choice Award at Aesthetica Film Festival; Screened at the East End Film Festival and Flickers Rhode Island Film Festival where it was nominated for Best Short Film |