Lou Wakefield is a writer, director and actor, starring in the BBC's Inside Out and YTV's The Refuge and appearing in countless theatre plays. Her directing career began in theatre with productions at the Royal Court and Liverpool's Everyman. She has since directed many hours of television drama including Desmond's, Coronation Street and Brookside. She wrote ITV's Firm Friends, starring Billie Whitelaw and Madhur Jaffrey, which won a Royal Society of Television Award, and wrote and directed Never Say Die for Channel 4, starring Irene Handl. She has also written numerous highly acclaimed novels, including Tuscan Soup and Sleeping Partners. Carole Hayman has written several novels, and also writes for TV, radio and film - including the hit drama series Rides for BBC1 and the comedy series The Refuge for Channel 4. She has published many short stories and literary articles, including features for The Independent, The Guardian, The Express, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail and a regular column, 'My Lofty Life', for the Saturday Independent. Her first film as producer/writer, f2point8, was shortlisted for a BAFTA, while her second, the short animation Lofty Life, has appeared in several global film festivals and won an award from the UK Film Council. Her novel Hard Choices was shortlisted for the Saga Award for Wit - known as the Silver Booker.