Martin Phipps

Coming from a musical background (he is Benjamin Britten’s godson), Martin read drama at Manchester University – fortunately for the acting world, he decided to concentrate his energies on writing music. Martin's music is consistently innovative, and strikes at the emotional heart of the drama.

Following the early critical success of Eureka Street he went on to score the BBC period dramas North and South and Elizabeth - The Virgin Queen; an enchanting score, in which he incorporated the wonderful voices of the Medieval Babes to excellent effect, and for which he was recognised with the Ivor Novello Award 2007 and an RTS Award for Best Original Score.

Martin scored the gripping drama Low Winter Sun, for Channel 4, starring Mark Strong and Brian McCardie and Ruby In The Smoke, the first of the Sally Lockhart Mysteries adapted and written by Phillip Pullman for the BBC. He scored Persuasion, the most recent ITV adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, and Grow Your Own, a feature for Warp Films. He also scored the BBC's adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Andrew Davies. Martin was then commissioned to score the BBC's most recent Oliver Twist adaptation, for which he was recognised with the Ivor Novello Award 2008 for Best Television Soundtrack.

Martin recently finished scoring the Rowan Joffe helmed drama Hurndall for Talkback Thames, as well as Whitechapel alongside Ruth Barrett for Carnival Films. He also scored Wallander for Yellow Bird/Left Bank Pictures, starring Kenneth Branagh, for which he was recognised with the BAFTA Craft Award 2009 for Best Original TV Music. He also recently scored the film feature Endgame, starring William Hurt, Derek Jacobi, Mark Strong, Johnny Lee Miller and Chiwitel Ejiofor, which chronicles the breakdown of 'apartheid' in S. Africa, and was directed by Pete Travis. It has been entered into competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Martin recently completed scoring Small Island for Ruby Films/BBC, winning the BAFTA Craft Award 2010 for Best Original Television Music.

In the summer of 2005 Martin wrote a haunting score to the film Pierrepoint, directed by Adrian Shergold. Other credits include The Wife of Bath from the BBC’s contemporary adaptation of the Canterbury Tales, the acclaimed contemporary drama Dirty Filthy Love, as well as the thriller She’s Gone which starred Ray Winstone. Martin also scored the British feature film, The Flying Scotsman, and the BBC adaptation of the 2004 Man Booker prize winning The Line Of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst. He most recently completed scoring the forthcoming feature film, Harry Brown for Cutting Edge/Marv Films, starring Michael Caine. Martin is currently scoring Rowan Joffe's feature adaptation of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock.

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Film Credits

BRIGHTON ROCK

BBC Films / Kudos

Director: Rowan Joffe

Producer: Paul Webster

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Helen Mirren, John Hurt

HARRY BROWN

Cutting Edge/Marv Films

Director: Daniel Barber

Producers: Keith Bell, Kris Thykier, Matthew Vaughn

Starring: Michael Caine

ENDGAME

Daybreak Pictures
Director: Pete Travis
Producer: Hal Vogel

Starring: Mark Strong, William Hurt, Johnny Lee Miller, Derek Jacobi, Chiwitel Ejiofor

GROW YOUR OWN
Warp Films
Director: Richard Laxton
Producer: Luke Alkin / Barry Ryan / Carl Hunter
Starring: Eddie Marson, Djallili

PIERREPOINT - THE LAST HANGMAN
Granada
Director: Adrian Shergold
Producer: Christine Langan

Starring: Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson

THE FLYING SCOTSMAN
Mel Films
Director: Douglas Mackinnon
Producer: Peter Broughan
Starring: Johnny Lee Miller

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Television Credits

SMALL ISLAND

Ruby Films/BBC

Director: John Alexander

Producers: Grainne Marmion, Joanna Anderson, Vicky Licorish

Starring: Naomie Harris, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ruth Wilson

*BAFTA Craft Award 2010: Best Original TV Music*

WALLANDER
Yellow Bird/Left Bank Pictures
Director: Philip Martin
Producers: Kenneth Branagh, Andy Harries Francis Hopkinson,

Simon Moseley
Starring: Kenneth Branagh

*BAFTA Craft Award 2009: Best Original TV Music*

WHITECHAPEL
Carnival Films
Director: S. J. Clarkson
Producers: Marcus Wilson, Sally Woodward-Gentle
Starring: Rupert Penry-Jones

THE SHOOTING OF THOMAS HURNDALL

Talkback Thames
Director: Rowan Joffe

Producer: Barney Reisz

Starring: Steve Dillane, Kerry Fox

OLIVER TWIST
BBC

Director: Coky Giedroyc
Producer: Sarah Brown
Starring: Timothy Spall, Sophie Okenedo, Tom Hardy

*Ivor Novello Award 2008*

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
BBC
Director: John Alexander
Producer: Anne Pivcevic
Starring: David Morrisey

*RTS Award Winner 2008: Best Original Title Music*

*BAFTA Craft Nomination 2009: Best Original TV Music*

PERSUASION                                                      
ITV
Director: Adrian Shergold
Producer: David Snodin
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Rupert Penry-Jones

RUBY IN THE SMOKE                                          
BBC
Director: Brian Percival
Producer: Kate Bartlett
Starring: Billie Piper, Julie Walters, J.J. Field

LOW WINTER SUN                                             
Channel 4
Director: Adrian Shergold
Producer: Rhonda Smith
Starring: Mark Strong, Brian McCardie

THE LINE OF BEAUTY
BBC
Director: Saul Dibb
Producer: Kate Lewis
Starring: Dan Stevens

THE VIRGIN QUEEN
BBC
Director: Coky Giedroyc
Producer: Paul Rutman

Starring: Anne Marie Duff, Tom Hardy

*Ivor Novello Award 2007*
*RTS Award 2006: Best Original Film Score*

NORTH & SOUTH
BBC
Director: Brian Percival
Producer: Kate Bartlett
*Ivor Novello Nomination 2005*

DIRTY FILTHY LOVE
Granada
Director: Adrian Shergold
Producer: Christine Langan

SHE'S GONE
Size Nine Productions/ITV
Director: Adrian Shergold
Producer: Joshua St Johnstone

CANTERBURY TALES - Wife of Bath
BBC
Director: Andy de Emmony
Producer: Kate Bartlett

READY WHEN YOU ARE MR.MCGILL
Working Title TV

Director: Paul Seed
Producer: Lynn Horsford
Written by Jack Rosenthal

THE DEBT
BBC
Director: Jon Jones
Producer: Pier Wilkie
Starring: Warren Clark, Hugo Speer

NICE GUY EDDIE
BBC Northern Ireland
Director: Douglas McKinnon & Alan Macmillan
Producer: Paddy Higson
Starring: Ricky Tomlinson
*RTS Nomination 2003*

BOB & ROSE
Red Productions for ITV
Director: Julian Ferrino, Joe Wright
Producer: Annie Harrison-Baxter, Nicola Schindler
Starring: Alan Davis

FABULOUS BAGEL BOYS
Skyline Productions
Director: John Alexander
Producer: Sophie Gardiner

HEARTS AND BONES (SERIES I & II)
United Productions for BBC1
Directors: Tom Shankland, John Alexander
Producer: Sally Haynes

KID IN THE CORNER
Tiger Aspect Production for C4
Director: Billie Eltringham
Producer: Kate Anthony

EUREKA STREET
Euphoria Films for BBC2

Director: Adrian Shergold
Producer: Sophie Gardiner

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