Rachel and The Moonstone co-creator Sasha Hails are the adaptors and lead writers of Enid Blyton’s iconic boarding school stories, the Emmy-nominated Malory Towers, now shooting its fifth series.  

Malory Towers returned to CBBC and BBC2 for Christmas 2022 with a two-part Christmas Special (now on the BBC iPlayer), ahead of the series 4 launch in 2023. Series 5 is coming in 2024.

Series 1-4 are currently available on the BBC iPlayer alongside the S3 trailer.

Series 1 (13 episodes), produced by UK indie King Bert, and Canadian prodco WildBrain for CBBC and The Family Channel, was an early lockdown and critical hit, transmitting on CBBC from 6th April 2020.

Series 1 and Series 2 garnered BBC2 repeats from Christmas Day 2021. 

Malory Towers was Rose d’Or-nominated inn 2020 and 2022, Canadian Screen Award-nominated and Emmy-nominated in 2023, and S1 was Pick of the Week in The Sunday Times, Mail Weekend and **** in The Guardian, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Mail Weekend, The i paper, and TV Times.

Internationally, Malory Towers transmitted in Canada on The Family Channel and streamer CBC Gem, in Australia on ABC, in the US on BYUtv, and worldwide including ZDF (Germany), YLE (Finland), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), Toonix and HBO (Nordics & CEE) and Hot (Israel).

Rachel co-created and wrote the hit BBC1 mystery series Father Brown, based on GK Chesterton’s priest detective character, now in its 10th series and 110th episode, set to transmit from January 2023.

Father Brown is now one of the most successful shows the BBC has ever syndicated. It has so far sold to 232 territories globally, with 90% carriage in America alone. The show transmits in weekend prime time in territories including Australia (where it was the top-rating Saturday night drama) and the US. Season 10 is currently available on the iPlayer.

Rachel and Father Brown co-creator Tahsin Guner continue to collaborate on original drama series development.

In 2018/2019, Rachel was on the writing team for ITV’s Anna Friel detective drama Marcella (S3, Netflix/ITV). Rachel continued her collaboration with Marcella prodco Buccaneer when she joined the Whitstable writers’ room in 2020.

In 2017/2018, Rachel wrote two episodes of thriller series Sanctuary for Swedish indie Yellow Bird. This 8-part drama, adapted by Charlie Fletcher from the bestselling Scandi thriller The Devil’s Sanctuary, starred Josefin Asplund and Matthew Modine. Sanctuary (Himmelsdalen) transmitted internationally across 2019/2020, including on Starzplay in the UK, Sundance Now in the US and Canada (from April 2020), and on Sweden’s TV4.

Rachel co-developed and co-wrote, with Sasha Hails, the BBC’s critically-acclaimed adaptation of Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone (****  Telegraph, Financial Times, Daily Mail).

The Moonstone, directed by Lisa Mulcahy (Ripley Road, Years and Years, Blood S1), transmitted on BBC1 and the iPlayer from 31st October 2016, and repeated on BBC1 over Christmas 2016.

Rachel has been writing primetime British television drama for over fifteen years, including extensive work in BBC Continuing Drama, notably on EastEnders and Casualty.