The Bay writer Daragh Carville - first to know where the bodies are buried

An average of over seven million viewers are hooked on ITV crime drama The Bay, which first aired in 2019.

The show, set in the small seaside town of Morecambe in Lancaster, is on its third season, with a fourth in the works. And the man behind the critically acclaimed and hugely popular whodunnit was born and bred right here in Armagh.

Daragh Carville brought the complex characters and stories to life as writer and co-creator of The Bay and while it’s probably his best-known work, the screenwriter, playwright and university lecturer has produced plenty of fine work over the years.

The recipient of numerous awards from stage to screen, Daragh has more than proven that he is a true talent. His first feature film, Middletown, was nominated in nine categories at the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2007, including Best Film and Best Screenplay, with Irish actress Eva Birthistle winning Best Actress. And his second film, Cherrybomb’ starring Harry Potter’s  Rupert Grint, Love /Hate alumnus Robert Sheehan and our very own James Nesbitt, also picked up awards at the Berlin and Belfast Film Festival.

The theatre is where it all started for Daragh, but whatever the platform, his works have translated successfully on radio, and stage as well as on the big and small screen.

Daragh is a proud Armagh man, a place that he still calls home despite settling in Lancaster with his novelist wife Jo Baker and their two children. The family come back to Armagh regularly to visit and  it’s in Armagh where his career began.

He says writing was a vocation for him, with an innate love of film, music, books, comics and art pulling him in that direction. But it was a special and inspirational English teacher in St Pat’s Armagh, who encouraged Daragh to pursue his interests. That teacher nurtured his talents, and sent him on the path that led to the career that he loves.

And for this week’s podcast, Daragh tells us how it all happened and allows us a glimpse into the mind of a successful writer.