David Pirie is a screenwriter, film producer, film critic, and novelist. Screenwriting Work As a screenwriter, Pirie has achieved a reputation for his noirish original thrillers, classic adaptations and period gothic pieces, including most recently the hit ITV series Murderland starring Robbie Coltrane, which drew what the Guardian called an "impressive" 6.3 million people for its opening episode, beating all other shows in its slot each week and averaging 5.8 million throughout its run. Pirie was nominated for a BAFTA for his adaptation of Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White. He also originated a completely new approach to Sherlock Holmes in the two episode pilot Murder Rooms which was partly based on Arthur Conan Doyle's early life. Echoing many other reviews the UK's Telegraph wrote "a premise with a real touch of genius ...the script skillfully weaved episodes from Doyle's own past into a richly textured, constantly wrong-footing plot ... with a denouement as clever as anything that had gone before." Variety wrote 'Writer David Pirie has crafted a clever blend of historical evidence and fiction in the grand manner of a traditional Holmes mystery."