Kevin Cecil

Kevin Robert Cecil (born 1969 in London) is a British screenwriter. Writing alongside Andy Riley (with whom he has been friends since attending Aylesbury Grammar School), he has won two BAFTA awards, the first for writing the Comic Relief one-off special Robbie the Reindeer in 2000, and the second for Black Books in 2005. He has also written for The Armando Iannucci Shows, Armstrong & Miller, Little Britain, Trigger Happy TV, So Graham Norton, Smack the Pony and Spitting Image and on radio he co-created The 99p Challenge. Kevin also co-created and wrote a Sci-Fi comedy series for television entitled Hyperdrive. The first series aired on BBC2 in 2006, and the second series aired on the same channel in 2007. The programme starred Nick Frost, Kevin Eldon and Miranda Hart who was nominated for best newcomer in the British Comedy Awards in 2006 for her role in the programme. An animated series Slacker Cats he and Andy Riley created was broadcast on the ABC Family Channel in 2007. He has worked on a number of feature films including Gnomeo and Juliet, the Aardman adaptation of Gideon Defoe's The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists and The Corpse Bride (uncredited). In 2013, he co-wrote Gangsta Granny. In 2016 he won a Writers Guild of America award for his work on Veep. He has also appeared in the episode of the IT crowd 'Something happened', where he starred as Norman the geeky keyboard player.

Works

Gangsta Granny Strikes Again

We join Ben a year on as he is getting used to life without his beloved Gran. With the memory of their daring Crown Jewel heist still fresh in his mind, he is stunned to learn another spate of thefts are beginning to occur - with all the clues pointing to The Black Cat, better known to Ben as Granny!

Release Date:2022-12-16

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:4

Hansel & Gretel: After Ever After

Hansel and Gretel have fled the gingerbread house, but what if the wicked witch survived after all?

Release Date:2021-12-23

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:28

Ron's Gone Wrong

In a world where walking, talking, digitally connected bots have become children's best friends, an 11-year-old finds that his robot buddy doesn't quite work the same as the others do.

Release Date:2021-10-14

Department:Crew

Job:Additional Writing

Vote Count:1878

Year of the Rabbit

Set in the dark heart of Victorian London, Detective Inspector Rabbit is a hardened booze-hound who's seen it all. Rabbit's been chasing bad guys for as long as he can remember, but these days his heart keeps stopping at inopportune moments.

Release Date:2019-06-10

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:6

Vote Count:48

The Midnight Gang

When Tom gets hit on the head by a cricket ball, he finds himself on the miserable children's ward of St Hugo's Hospital, where he is greeted by a terrifying-looking porter and wicked matron. But things aren't as bad as they seem and Tom is soon to embark on the most thrilling journey of a lifetime!

Release Date:2018-12-26

Department:Crew

Job:Script

Vote Count:8

Sherlock Gnomes

Garden gnomes Gnomeo & Juliet recruit renown detective Sherlock Gnomes to investigate the mysterious disappearance of other garden ornaments.

Release Date:2018-03-15

Department:Writing

Job:Story

Vote Count:718

Grandpa's Great Escape

Many years ago, Grandpa was a World War II flying ace, but sadly he is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease. When his family can no longer look after him, he is moved to Twilight Towers, an old people's home. It soon becomes clear that Miss Dandy is running Twilight Towers for her own ulterior motives, and it is up to Grandpa and grandson Jack to make a daring escape. Failure could have the direst of consequences, but success will give Grandpa a final chance to relive his past and take to the sky once again in his beloved Spitfire.

Release Date:2018-01-01

Department:Writing

Job:Adaptation

Vote Count:16

Tracey Breaks the News

Tracey Ullman and her cast of characters react to the outcome of the 2017 British election.

Release Date:2017-06-23

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:4

Billionaire Boy

The story of Len, who made a billion dollars from inventing a new toilet roll, and his 12-year-old son Joe who appears to have everything he could want but what he really needs is a friend.

Release Date:2016-01-01

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:27

The Boy in the Dress

Dennis feels different - an ordinary boy in an ordinary house in an ordinary street, playing football with his mates and living with his dad and brother, but frustrated by the boring grey world he inhabits. Life has never really been the same since his mum left. However, transformation can happen in the most unexpected places. Aided by Lisa, the coolest girl in the school, Dennis creates a whole new persona and puts it to the ultimate test - but can a boy wear a dress, and what will the headmaster, his dad and his friends on the football team think if they find out?

Release Date:2014-12-26

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:35

Gangsta Granny

A young boy is bored spending time with his dull grandma until he discovers she's an international Jewel thief.

Release Date:2013-12-26

Department:Writing

Job:Adaptation

Vote Count:31

Big School

A comedy about a dysfunctional staff room, unrequited love and interactive whiteboards set in an urban secondary school. Chemistry teacher Mr. Church is hopelessly in love with the school's new French teacher, who in turn is being chased by a lothario gym teacher.

Release Date:2013-08-16

Department:Writing

Job:Script Editor

Episode Count:6

Vote Count:27

Veep

A look into American politics, revolving around former Senator Selina Meyer who finds being Vice President of the United States is nothing like she expected and everything everyone ever warned her about.

Release Date:2012-04-22

Department:Writing

Job:Teleplay

Episode Count:4

Vote Count:452

Arthur Christmas

For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in a one-night high-tech operation. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur Claus, the current Santa’s misfit son deemed ineligible for the title, who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present halfway around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

Release Date:2011-11-10

Character:Elf (voice)

Vote Count:1503

Gnomeo & Juliet

A version of Shakespeare's play, set in the world of warring indoor and outdoor gnomes. Garden gnomes Gnomeo and Juliet have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with plastic pink flamingos and lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find lasting happiness?

Release Date:2011-01-13

Department:Writing

Job:Story

Vote Count:1966

The Great Outdoors

The Great Outdoors was a British television sitcom. The show follows the friendships of a misfit rambling club in Southern England in which patronising group-leader Bob becomes embroiled in a battle of wills against new arrival and deputy group-leader Christine, who is determined that things should be done her way. She previously lived and rambled in Barnstaple and appears to perhaps be autistic and have an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The show comprised three episodes, first airing on Wednesdays between 28 July and 12 August 2010 on BBC Four.

Release Date:2010-07-28

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:3

Vote Count:2

Slacker Cats

The strange misadventures of Eddie and Buckley, two domesticated housecats dealing with life in the urban jungle.

Release Date:2007-08-13

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:4

Vote Count:4

Hyperdrive

Set in 2151 and 2152, it follows the crew of HMS Camden Lock as they stumble through their heroic mission to protect British interests in a changing galaxy.

Release Date:2006-01-11

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:12

Vote Count:28

The Armando Iannucci Shows

The Armando Iannucci Shows is a series of eight programmes focused on specific themes relating to human nature and existentialism, around which Iannucci would weave a series of surreal sketches and monologues. Recurring themes in the episodes are the superficiality of modern culture, our problems communicating with each other, the mundane nature of working life and feelings of personal inadequacy and social awkwardness. Several characters also make repeat appearances in the shows, including the East End thug, who solves every problem with threats of violence; Hugh, an old man who delivers surreal monologues about what things were like in the old days; and Iannucci's barber, who is full of nonsensical anecdotes.

Release Date:2001-08-30

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:8

Vote Count:13

Black Books

Black Books centres around the foul tempered and wildly eccentric bookshop owner Bernard Black. Bernard’s devotion to the twin pleasures of drunkenness and wilful antagonism deepens and enriches both his life and that of Manny, his assistant. Bearded, sweet and good, Manny is everything that Bernard isn’t and is punished by Bernard relentlessly just for the crime of existing. They depend on each other for meaning as Fran, their oldest friend, depends on them for distraction. Black Books is a haven of books, wine and conversation, the only threat to the group’s peace and prosperity is their own limitless stupidity.

Release Date:2000-09-29

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:8

Vote Count:519

Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire

Robbie the Reindeer arrives at the North Pole, ready to take his place as navigator on Santa's Christmas sleigh team. However, Robbie is soon plagued by doubt regarding his ability, and sets out to regain his self-respect and the admiration of his team-mates.

Release Date:1999-12-25

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:32

Spaced

Spaced: the anti-Friends, in that it examines the lives of common 20 somethings, but in a way that is more down to earth and realistic. Here we have Daisy and Tim; two 'young' adults with big dreams just trying to get by in this crazy world. They are thrown together in a common pursuit of tenancy, which they find by posing as a couple. The house has a landlady and an oddball artist living there. The series explores the ins and outs of London living.

Release Date:1999-09-24

Character:Robot Club Leader

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:443

Big Train

Twisted and original sketch show from the minds of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, starring Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap.

Release Date:1998-11-09

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:48

The Saturday Night Armistice

The Saturday Night Armistice was a British satirical television comedy programme presented by Armando Iannucci with Peter Baynham and David Schneider, which ran from 1995 to 1999. The programme took an irreverent and often surreal look back at topical events, and featured studio discussions, sketches and setups. Like many 1990s British comedy series it included appearances and writing contributions by a large number of UK comedians including amongst others Arthur Mathews, Graham Linehan, Simon Pegg, Andy Riley, Kevin Cecil, Kevin Eldon, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Omid Djalili, Al Murray, Ben Moor, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.

Release Date:1995-06-24

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:3

Vote Count:3