Biography
Joe Ainsworth is an English screenwriter. He wrote more than 150 episodes of the soap opera Brookside and contributed 75 scripts to Holby City between 2004 and 2022, making him the serial's most prolific writer. One of his Holby City episodes, "Past Imperfect", won a BAFTA award for best continuing drama.
Ainsworth has also written episodes of Call the Midwife (2021), Death in Paradise (including a 2025 episode), Whitstable Pearl, Sanditon and The Good Ship Murder. His feature film credit includes the screenplay for The Last Bus (2021).
He studied English at Edge Hill College from 1986, graduating in 1989. In 2021 the university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Literature, and a hall of residence is named in his honour.
