Stephen Gallagher (born 13 October 1954) is an English screenwriter and novelist. Gallagher was born in Salford, Greater Manchester.
Gallagher has written novels and television scripts, including for the BBC television series Doctor Who - for which he wrote two serials, Warriors' Gate (1981) and Terminus (1983) - as well as for the series Rosemary & Thyme and Bugs, for two seasons of which he was script consultant along with Brian Clemens. He adapted his own novel Chimera as a 90-minute dramatized audio drama for BBC Radio 4 in 1985,[1] and as a miniseries of the same name that was shown on ITV in 1991. He also directed the miniseries adaptation of Oktober, as well as writing the feature-length episode The Kingdom of Bones for the BBC series Murder Rooms.
He created and wrote a science-based series for ITV, Eleventh Hour, starring Patrick Stewart as a government science investigator and advisor. The programme was rumoured to be ITV's answer to the new series of Doctor Who, but was more in the tradition of the hard-science thriller. Gallagher's series format was acquired for a US television remake by the CSI trio of CBS, Jerry Bruckheimer and director Danny Cannon. The series aired on CBS and starred Rufus Sewell and Marley Shelton.
Life Line, broadcast in 2007, was a two-part supernatural mystery starring Ray Stevenson, Joanne Whalley and Jemima Rooper. Gallagher was later lead writer and story supervisor on NBC's 13-part series Crusoe, screened in 2008/2009, and contributed two episodes to the US version of Eleventh Hour including Medea, the season finale. In 2009 he served as Co-Executive Producer on Bruckheimer's crime show The Forgotten, starring Christian Slater. Legacy, a two-part story for season 16 of the BBC's Silent Witness, was Best Drama winner in the 2013 European Science TV and New Media Awards. He later wrote episodes of Stan Lee's Lucky Man.
Warriors’ Gate - 1981 (BBC)
Terminus – 1983 (BBC)
Moving Targets – 1988 (BBC)
Prophecy – 1995 (YTV)
Here Comes the Mirror Man – 1995 (YTV)
Assassins, Inc – 1995 (Carnival Films/BBC)
Down Among the Dead Men – 1995 (Carnival Films/BBC)
Stealth – 1995 (Carnival Films/BBC)
Pulse – 1995 (Carnival Films/BBC)
Schrodinger’s Bomb – 1996 (Carnival Films/BBC)
The Bureau of Weapons – 1996 (Carnival Films/BBC)
A Cage for Satan – 1996 (Carnival Films/BBC)
Blaze of Glory – 1997 (Carnival Films/BBC)
The Revenge Effect – 1997 (Carnival Films/BBC)
Renegades – 1997 (Carnival Films/BBC)
The Kingdom of Bones – 2001 (BBC Films)
The Memory of Water – 2004 (Carnival Films)
The Cup of Silence – 2005 (Carnival Films)
Resurrection – 1983 (Granada TV)
Containment – 1987 (Granada TV)
Rum – 2008 (NBC/Power TV)
Gunpowder – 2008 (NBC/Power TV)
Sacrifice – 2008 (NBC/Power TV) (uncredited)
The Traveler – 2009 (NBC/Power TV)
The Return – 2009 (NBC/Power TV)
Resurrection – 2008 (CBS/Bruckheimer TV) (story by)
Containment – 2008 (CBS/Bruckheimer TV) (story by)
Subway – 2009 (CBS/Bruckheimer TV)
Medea – 2009 (CBS/Bruckheimer TV)
Canine John – 2010 (CBS/Bruckheimer TV)
Patient John – 2010 (CBS/Bruckheimer TV)
Legacy, Part 1 – 2013 (BBC)
Legacy, Part 2 – 2013 (BBC)
Charm Offensive – 2016 (Carnival Films/POW! Entertainment/Sky)
Key to collections: CA=Comparative Anatomy, OOHM= Out of his Mind, PM=Plots & Misadventures
| width=25% | Title | Year | First published | Reprinted/collected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Mystery for Julie Chu | 2021 | Beyond the Veil, ed Mark Morris, Flame Tree Press | CA | Hunting magical memorabilia | |
| Blame the French | 2013 | Twisted Histories, ed Scott Harrison, Snowbooks | CA | Odysseus in a pub | |
| By the River, Fontainebleau | 2001 | Aug 1986 . [<!--accessdate=--> By the River, Fontainebleau ]. . 71 . 2 . 77–90 . | OOHM | French Impressionist horror | |
| Casey, Where He Lies | 1991 | Imagination 8, ed Ian Murphy, Kingfisher Press | OOHM | Master tape of the dead | |
| Comparative Anatomy | 1990 | Night Visions 8, Dark Harvest | CA | Mystery sea cruise | |
| Dead Man’s Handle | 1990 | Night Visions 8, Dark Harvest | Northern Chills, ed Graeme Hurry, 1994 | Low-rent park ride haunting | |
| DeVice | 1991 | Hotter Blood, ed Jeff Gelb | BDSM goes wrong | ||
| Doctor Hood | 2003 | The Dark, ed Ellen Datlow, TOR Books | PM | Scientific ghost hunt | |
| Dracula | 2018 | Dark Mirages, ed Paul Kane, PS Publishing | Commissioned BBC screenplay, 2 parts | ||
| Driving Force | 1989 | Fear Magazine, ed John Gilbert, May/June 1989, July 1989 (in two parts) | OOHM | Meat eating car | |
| EELS | 2007 | Spring 2007 . [<!--accessdate=--> Eels]. Postscripts Magazine . 1. 10 . | CA | Eel breeding neighbour | |
| Eternal Flame | 2013 | Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, ed Jacob Edwards, issue 55 | Magic gas tank | ||
| Fancy That! | 1995 | Shivers for Christmas, ed Richard Dalby, Michael O’Mara Books | OOHM | Rat breeder and customer | |
| Feeding Frenzy | 2001 | Walking in Eternity, ed Julian Eales, Factor Fiction | Doctor Who charity short | ||
| God’s Bright Little Engine | 1994 | Tombs, ed Peter Crowther and Edward E Kramer, White Wolf Publishing | OOHM | Repairman revenant | |
| Heroes and Villains (alt:Cheeky Boy) | 2015 | The Doll Collection, ed Ellen Datlow, TOR Books | CA | Creepy ventriloquism | |
| Homebodies | 1992 | Dark at Heart, ed Karen and Joe R Lansdale, Dark Harvest | Precursor to Red, Red Robin | ||
| Hounded | 2022 | Bonus e-story, Subterranean Press | Scheming dogs | ||
| Hunter, Killer | 1990 | Night Visions 8, Dark Harvest | PM | A bit like Predator | |
| In Gethsemane | 1995 | Heaven Sent, ed Peter Crowther, DAW Books | CA, OOHM | Conjuror vs Spiritualist | |
| Jailbird for Jesus | 2003 | The Best British Mysteries, ed Maxim Jakubowski | PM | Convenience store, undercover cop | |
| Life Line | 1989 | Dark Fantasies, ed Christopher Morgan, Legend | CA, OOHM | Haunted chat line | |
| Like Clockwork | 1987 | Mar 1987. [<!--accessdate=--> Like Clockwork ]. . 72 . 3 . 21–35 . | PM | Body part replacement tech | |
| Like Shadows in the Dark | 1987 | Shadows 10, ed Charles L Grant, Doubleday | OOHM | Precursor to The Boat House (1) | |
| Little Angels | 2004 | Out of his Mind, collection, PS Publishing | CA, OOHM | Grandma’s revenge | |
| Little Dead Girl Singing | 2002 | Mar 1987. [<!--accessdate=--> Like Clockwork ]. Weird Tales . Darrell Schweitzer . George H Scithers . DNA Publications . 55 . 3 . | CA, PM | Weird Child in a contest | |
| Magpie | 1991 | Final Shadows, ed Charles L Grant, Doubleday | CA, OOHM | Schoolboy revenge | |
| Melody James | 2018 | The Brooligan Press | The carny and the spy | ||
| Misadventure | 2007 | Inferno, ed Ellen Datlow, TOR Books | CA | Spooky leisure centre | |
| Modus Operandi | 1989 | New Crimes, ed Maxim Jakubowski, Robinson | OOHM | Child and a burglary | |
| Mousetrap | 1992 | The Little Book of Horrors, ed Sebastian Wolfe, Xanadu | Short short | ||
| My Repeater | 2001 | Jan 2001 . [<!--accessdate=--> My repeater ]. . 100 . 1 . 122–136 . | CA, PM | Time travelling failures | |
| Night Flight | 2023 | Great British Horror 8, ed Steve J Shaw, Black Shuck Books | Author stalks fan | ||
| Nightmare, with Angel | 1983 | Nov 1983 . [<!--accessdate=--> Nightmare, with Angel ]. . 65 . 5 . | Arizona motel killer. Unrelated to the novel of the same title | ||
| No Life For Me Without You, Vodyanoi | 1985 | Sep 1985 . [<!--accessdate=--> No Life For Me Without You, Vodyanoi ]. . 69 . 3 . | OOHM | Precursor to The Boat House (2) | |
| Not Here, Not Now | 1995 | Cold Cuts 3, ed Paul Lewis, Steve Lockley, Alun Books | CA, OOHM | Reckless driver comeuppance | |
| O, Virginia | 1997 | Shades of Blonde, ed Carole Nelson Douglas, Forge | CA, OOHM | Parts of the stars | |
| Old, Red Shoes | 1998 | Jack the Ripper, ed Susan Casper and Gardner Dozois, Futura | OOHM | Ripper office pranksters | |
| One Dove | 2014 | Subterranean Magazine, ed William Schafer, Subterranean Press | CA | Edwardian crime | |
| Out of Bedlam | 2012 | Crimetime Online | Edwardian crime | ||
| Poisoned | 1997 | Kimota 6, ed Graeme Hurry | OOHM | Childhood accident with a twist | |
| Restraint | 2004 | Postscripts Magazine 1, ed Peter Crowther, PS Publishing | CA, PM | Pursued by ex, night, road, kids | |
| Ribbon of Darkness, Over Me | 1989 | Aug 1989 . [<!--accessdate=--> Ribbon of Darkness, Over Me ]. . 77 . 2 . | Precursor to Down River | ||
| Shepherds’ Business | 2017 | New Fears, ed Mark Morris, Titan Books | CA | Scottish island horror | |
| The Adventure of the Seven Unnatural Women | 2022 | Gaslight Ghouls, ed Charles Prepolec and J R Campbell | Sherlock Holmes | ||
| The Back of His Hand | 1990 | Night Visions 8, Dark Harvest | CA, PM | Tattoo removal shocker | |
| The Backtrack | 2022 | Comparative Anatomy, Subterranean Press | CA | Buried secrets in a scrapped car | |
| The Beautiful Feast of the Valley | 2018 | The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories, ed Stephen Jones, Skyhorse Publishing | CA | Plutarch in the machine | |
| The Blackwood Oak | 2007 | Plots and Misadventures (collection) | Hunting fairies with pickup truck and cattle prod | ||
| The Boy Who Talked to the Animals | 1985 | Feb 1985 . [<!--accessdate=--> The Boy Who Talked to the Animals ]. . 68 . 2 . | CA | Theme park behind the scenes | |
| The Box | 2006 | Retro Pulp Tales, ed Joe R Lansdale, Subterranean Press | CA | Haunted helicopter escape | |
| The Bucket Woman | 2006 | British Fantasy Society calendar | Short short horror | ||
| The Butterfly Garden | 2006 | Joe R Lansdale’s Lords of the Razor, ed William Schafer and Bill Sheehan, Subterranean Press | CA | Teen of the Flies | |
| The Drain | 1990 | Fantasy Tales, ed Stephen Jones, David A Sutton | OOHM | Kids on a quest | |
| The Governess | 2021 | The Brooligan Press | CA | Winner of the Arthur Conan Doyle Society’s inaugural award for fiction | |
| The Horn | 1989 | Arrows of Eros, ed Alex Stewart, New English Library | OOHM | Dead Mistress in a snowstorm | |
| The Kairos Ring | 2021 | BBC Audio original | Dr Who spinoff novella | ||
| The Jigsaw Girl | 1986 | Shadows 9, ed Charles L Grant, Doubleday | OOHM | Fortune telling toy | |
| The Plot | 2006 | Subterranean Magazine 5, ed William Schafer, Subterranean Press | CA, PM | Revenge on Victorian cleric | |
| The Price | 1985 | May 1985 . [<!--accessdate=--> The Price ]. Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. 9 . 6 . | CA | Twist of fate | |
| The Sluice | 1992 | Narrow Houses, ed Peter Crowther, Little, Brown | OOHM | Uncanny care home tale | |
| The Visitors’ Book | 1991 | Darklands, ed Nicholas Royle, Egerton Press | CA, OOHM | Dread in a holiday home | |
| The Wishing Ball | 1987 | Winter Chills 2, ed Peter Coleborn, British Fantasy Society | PM | Snuffing mom’s ex | |
| To Dance by the Light of the Moon | 1986 | Jan 1986 . [<!--accessdate=--> To Dance by the Light of the Moon ]. . 70 . 1 . | CA | Stalking the late night DJ | |
| Twisted Hazel | 2020 | Tales of Dark Fantasy, ed William Schafer, Subterranean Press | CA | Young ghost made homeless | |
| With Her in Spirit | 2013 | Thirteen (audio original), Fantom Publishing | Inspired by true story |