---
name: "Willy Russell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/willy-russell"
fi1m_id: "willy-russell"
imdb_id: "nm0751516"
tmdb_id: 138410
wikidata_id: "Q761466"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "23 August 1947"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-18T09:30:00.729476+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Willy Russell

## Identity

Willy Russell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/willy-russell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** willy-russell
- **IMDb ID:** nm0751516
- **TMDB ID:** 138410
- **Wikidata ID:** Q761466
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Russell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q761466, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751516/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/138410

Writer. Born 23 August 1947 in Whiston, Merseyside, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 23 August 1947, Whiston, Merseyside, England, UK
- **Active:** 1970–1983
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Russell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q761466, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751516/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/138410

## Biography

Willy Russell is an English playwright, screenwriter, lyricist and composer. Born on 23 August 1947 in Whiston, Merseyside, he left school at 15 and worked as a women's hairdresser before training as a teacher at St Katharine's College in Liverpool.

He began writing drama in the early 1970s. His breakthrough came with the musical *John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert* (1974). Russell is best known for the plays *Educating Rita* (1980) and *Shirley Valentine* (1986), both of which he adapted into films released in 1983 and 1989 respectively. Other notable works include the musical *Blood Brothers* and the television play *Our Day Out*.

Russell received an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy for *Educating Rita* and has been nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay of the film adaptation.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, willyrussell.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Educating Rita* (1983), Fi1m 71, Screenplay, Theatre Play — [page](https://film.one/film/educating-rita.md)

## Complete filmography (20)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Blood Brothers* (2014), Writer
- *Germans de sang* (1996), Original Story
- *Terraces* (1993), Screenplay
- *Julie Walters and Friends* (1991), series, Actor
- *Julie Walters and Friends* (1991), Writer
- *Färdknäpp* (1991), Theatre Play
- *Dancin' Thru the Dark* (1990), as Sourface · Writer, Musical
- *Shirley Valentine* (1989), Screenplay, Original Music Composer
- *One Summer* (1983), series, Writer, Creator
- *Educating Rita* (1983), Theatre Play, Screenplay — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/educating-rita.md)
- *A Time to Die* (1982), Screenplay
- *The Boy with the Transistor Radio* (1980), Writer
- *The Daughters of Albion* (1979), Writer
- *Lies* (1978), Writer
- *Our Day Out* (1977), Writer
- *Break In* (1975), Writer
- *The Death of a Young Young Man* (1975), Writer
- *Second City Firsts* (1973), series, Writer
- *Play for Today* (1970), series, Writer
- *ITV Playhouse* (1967), series, Writer

## Gallery

- ![Willy Russell](https://film.one/media/person/118005/gallery-21f230b87b64.jpg) Willy Russell — Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/One_of_a_series_of_test_shots_for_Willy_Russell%27s_debut_album_%22Hoovering_The_Moon%22._This_was_taken_in_Kate_Rusby%27s_recording_studio_at_her_home_near_Barnsley%2C_South_Yorkshire._%2882088943%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Underneath the Stars festival 2016](https://film.one/media/person/118005/gallery-0d576e5c9618.jpg) Underneath the Stars festival 2016 — Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Willy_Russell%2C_Underneath_the_Stars_festival_2016_%2828537114195%29.jpg/1280px-Willy_Russell%2C_Underneath_the_Stars_festival_2016_%2828537114195%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Costa del Folk, Portugal (2015)](https://film.one/media/person/118005/gallery-d4dbc74f69c8.jpg) Costa del Folk, Portugal (2015) — Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Willy_Russell_and_Barbara_Dickson_%2822268189092%29.jpg/1280px-Willy_Russell_and_Barbara_Dickson_%2822268189092%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1984: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Educating Rita*

### Other awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical 1993: Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominated), for *Blood Brothers*
- honorary Master of Arts 1983: honorary Master of Arts (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/willy-russell