Writer-director Mike Leigh was born in 1943 in Salford, Lancashire. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, at Camberwell and Central Art Schools in London, and at the London Film School, of which he has been Chairman of the Governors since 2000.

His first feature film was Bleak Moments (1971); this was followed by the full-length television films, Hard Labour (1973), Nuts in May (1975), The Kiss of Death (1976), Who’s Who (1978), Grown-Ups (1980), Home Sweet Home (1982), Meantime (1983), and Four Days In July (1984), which was shot entirely on location in Belfast.

His later feature films are High Hopes (1988), Life Is Sweet (1990), Naked (1992), Secrets and Lies (1996), Career Girls (1997), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All Or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), and most recently Happy-Go-Lucky (2008).

Mike Leigh has written and directed over twenty stage plays, the best known of which is Abigail’s Party (1977), which he also directed for television. His other plays include Bleak Moments (1970), Wholesome Glory (1973), Babies Grow Old (1974), Ecstasy (1979), Goose-Pimples (1981), Smelling A Rat (1988), Greek Tragedy (1989), It’s A Great Big Shame! (1993) and Two Thousand Years, which Mike created for the National Theatre in London in 2005.

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