THE television listings for Friday night have put Ryde screenwriter Daisy Coulam up against herself.

At 9pm on ITV is the fifth series of Grantchester, the series she created in 2014, adapting the stories of James Runcie for the hit show.

At the same time, but on Channel 4, is her latest creation, Deadwater Fell, a four-part series starring David Tennant.

Daisy, a former pupil of Ryde High School, is particularly excited about Deadwater Fell, which is her first true crime series.

"After we'd finished filming the fourth series of Grantchester, which starred James Norton and Robson Green, a friend in the business suggested I write something unfiltered and from the heart.

"My new show has come from that idea. I am very excited but terribly nervous about it. I hope the response is good."

Deadwater Fell is a tragic fictional story set in a small Scottish village and involves a serious fire.

Two of the main characters, Jess and Steve, are going through the rigours of IVF. This poignantly reflects on Daisy's current real-life situation with her husband Gavin.

The show features several well-known television faces, other than David Tennant, including Laurie Brett, who played both Jane Beale in EastEnders and Christine Mulgrew in Waterloo Road.

Ironically, Daisy has written and was the executive producer on two of the new episodes of Grantchester, which could air at the same time as Deadwater Fell.

Daisy initially had dreams of becoming an actor and went to the University of London to take drama and theatre studies.

She decided against acting and joined a television company to make the tea and work her way up.

Her early jobs were on Where The Heart Is and The Bill, which gave her the ambition to become a writer. Her great inspiration was the late Anthony Minghella.

Her first writing credit came on Doctors and then Holby City and Casualty. Over several years she wrote 26 episodes of EastEnders, and her other writing credits include Humans and Death In Paradise.

  • Another young Islander, Colin Michael Carmichael, was seen in the recent new adaption of Worzel Gummidge, which was seen by more than four million viewers. He played the evil Soggy Bogart.

Don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.