Jack Thorne On Capturing Collective Imagination & Making The Late Queen Laugh

You might not know his face, but you know Jack Thorne’s writing. This multi-award winning writer is the man behind everything from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Stranger Things: The First Shadow to His Dark Materials and – he really hit the jackpot here – Adolescence. Below, Thorne reflects on what drives him, what terrifies him, and what he hopes the world might look like in 2050 (spoiler alert: baldness will be eradicated, and AI will have solved carbon capture).

The Rurbanist: Jack Thorne

What is your greatest treasure?

My son Elliott and the TV Access Project. They’re my favourite things I’ve ever been part of making.

What’s annoying you most right now?

Me. Always me. I’m the most annoying person I know. Also people who know the answers to things. Also not enough people knowing the answer to things.

What keeps you awake at night?

The hate I see around me. From all sides.

What could you have been arrested for?

Being part of a group who shut down a Vodafone store ten or so years back to make a statement about their non-payment of taxes. There were other groups similarly targeted by an organisation called UK Uncut. I still believe tax avoidance is the forgotten issue in our modern world of outrage.

A conversation that changed everything?

One with Shane Meadows, my friend and writing partner, about how to be a dad. I can’t tell you what was said, but I can say it changed how I felt about how to do it.

Best life hack?

Sleep is a superpower.

Where do you go to escape?

I’m one of those terrible people who like cold water swimming. I know. I hate me too.

What would you like to come back as?

A martialis heureka [an ant from the Brazilian Amazon].

What’s the best way to put a smile on your face?

A hug from my son.

You wouldn’t know it but…

I was born in the hospital which used to be the exterior for Casualty. I was literally blessed at birth by television.

What does sustainability mean to you?

An answer to the problem of carbon and carbon capture.

Your greatest triumph?

The mad surprise of getting married. It wasn’t something I expected to do. I’m still shocked she likes me.

Your greatest failure?

I wasn’t there enough for a friend and he died.

What’s bringing you joy right now?

Watching Indiana Jones with my son.

Advice you’d give to your 15-year-old self?

Enjoy your hair. At 15 I have ten years before it leaves me. And maybe calm down a bit.

What should we bring back to Britain?

Optimism would be nice.

What book inspires you most?

My Brilliant Friend. I think Elena Ferrante captures something about humanity that is both beautiful and profound.

What is your comfort dish?

Spaghetti Bolognese.

If you could change one thing?

Hair. A new respect for disability. Less hate.

What has been your most embarrassing moment?

I bowed too low in front of the late Queen and she laughed. Not really my most embarrassing moment, but the most palatable of an array of embarrassing moments.

What drink do you order repeatedly?

I have a place I get juice where they know what my usual is – they trust me to allow me to order off menu – and it’s spinach, carrot, beetroot and ginger.

What do you love best about Britain?

That moment when we all feel like we’re excited about the same thing – be it the Olympics or Celebrity Traitors.

What do you keep by your bed?

A book and a bag with headphones in it. I’m a terrible sleeper.

We’re in 2050: what does it look like?

Baldness has been eradicated, and AI has helped find an answer to carbon capture. But it’s a strange one.

Your epitaph would read…

He tried really hard.

Enola Holmes 3 – written by Thorne and starring Millie Bobby Brown – was released on 1 July.