Becky Simpson(I)

Becky Simpson was born in Greater Manchester and raised in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. She grew up in a creative environment. Her father Dave Simpson is a professional writer behind such stage plays as Girls Night Out and Raving Beauties. Her mother Diane Whitley started her career as an actress, later moving into writing, producing and directing. It was therefore natural for Becky to follow in their footsteps and she has always had an interest in the arts. Becky has written short plays, stories, poetry and films.

At 8 years old Becky was given the opportunity to play the role of Lottie in a radio adaptation of The Little Princess, which was produced by a friend of the family. Her parents noticed Becky had a talent for acting and asked her whether she would be interested in doing more. Contacts in the industry were helpful and she had a string of radio roles, culminating in being offered the part of Spoonface Steinberg - the inner monologue of an 8 year old autistic girl dying of cancer. The play, written by Kate Rowland and directed by Lee Hall was a 60 minute monologue for BBC Radio 4 which caused a stir when first released in 1997. Becky was asked to attend the Talkie awards where she picked up the Best Radio Drama and Talkie Of The Year awards. Shortly after this success, Becky was signed up with Jane Hollowood Associates who began to represent her in the acting world. She moved into television, getting guest roles in Always and Everyone (1999), Peak Practice (1993) and Doctors (2000). Her biggest TV role was in See How They Run (1999), a 6 part drama for CBBC about a family on the run from gangsters. Half the series was filmed in Australia - quite an adventure for Becky at just 12 years old!

Becky took a break from acting in 2004 to study Creative Writing at the University of Leeds. She graduated in 2007. She has been a keen writer since the tender age of 9, so it was only natural for her to study Creative Writing. She attended the University of She wrote and produced her first film Thinking Straight (2011) in 2010, which was snapped up for several festivals round the world including London Independent Festival, Melbourne Queer Fesitval, Cannes Short Film Corner, Mix Milano and London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Becky has written two feature films which she is keen to get into development. She enjoyed the experience of producing and would definitely venture down that road again, although she is also keen to try her hand at directing. She has also written several treatments and first episodes for various TV dramas she is hoping to get off the ground. She wrote a trial script for Hollyoaks, and she took it upon herself to write a Sherlock script and a Doctor Who script, both of which she is hoping to use to try and get her further work in the industry.

Becky was the youngest member of The Wes Paul Band. She had been playing in bands in Manchester since the age of 14. She plays guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and violin. She first appeared as a guest with Wes Paul and the Liverpool band Nashville on the 8th of October 2006. It was the first time she had attended Liverpool's Cavern Club showcase, and was her dream to play at the Cavern Club. Becky became involved with The Wes Paul Band shortly after by publicising the showcase events, and distributing flyers throughout Liverpool during the day of the shows. She subsequently became the bands publicity manager and began work on developing the Cavern Showcase website. In February 2007, Wes asked her to become the bass player in the new line up of the band, which she accepted. As of the 1st of January 2014, Becky no longer wished to be part of the band, and left shortly after. She also writes her own songs.