Writer and director Steven Knight started a freelance writing partnership with Mike Whitehill in 1988, providing material for television and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which Knight co-created. He has published four novels The Movie House, Alphabet City, Out of the Blue and the children’s novel, The Last Words of Will Wolfkin.
Knight’s first screenplay, Dirty Pretty Things, was directed by Stephen Frears and was selected to open the prestigious London Film Festival. Dirty Pretty Things won four British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), the 2005 Humanitas Prize for Film and an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 76th Annual Academy Awards®, among other honors.
He has written a number of high-profile screenplays including Eastern Promises, Amazing Grace, Woman Walks Ahead, Spencer, Maria and the new Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, released in March 2026, along with 3 he also directed – Hummingbird, Locke, Serenity.
Knight is also the creator, executive producer and writer of the BAFTA-winning television series Peaky Blinders starring Cillian Murphy. He was also the creator, executive producer and writer on the FX Networks and BBC series Taboo, which starred Tom Hardy.
Other television series include House of Guinness, A Thousand Blows, SAS Rogue Heroes (adaptation of Ben Macintyre’s book SAS: Rogue Heroes), Great Expectations, This Town, The Veil and All the Light We Cannot See (based on the book of the same name) which achieved many award nominations including a Golden Globes 2024 nomination for ‘Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television’.
Knight was part of the creative team behind the opening ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
In March 2023, Digbeth Loc. Studios, a new TV and Film studio complex was officially launched in Birmingham, from which This Town was made. The studios have also been used to shoot Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man and the upcoming Peaky Blinders spin-off, a two-season sequel series.
Knight received a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2020 for services to Drama, Entertainment and the community of Birmingham. He also has the highest honor from the Royal Television Society’s Midlands Centre – the Baird Medal – and in 2023 the Royal Television Society further awarded Steven a Fellowship for his contribution to the UK television industry. He also has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Worcester and an Honorary Degree of Doctor from the Birmingham City University and a UCL Honorary Fellowship.