Career
His books feature the hard-bitten, soft-centred Nathan Hawk, a police officer who was "required to retire" and now works as a private detective. Known for his wit and fiery temper, Hawk is on his fifth case. The first four books are entitled Haggard Hawk, Easy Prey, Scattered Remains and Evil Turn.
Watkinson has written literally hundreds of scripts for television, contributing to Lovejoy, Boon, Juliet Bravo, Agatha Christie"s Poirot and Midsomer Murders.
He also wrote the first daytime drama to be produced in the United Kingdom, Foreign Maddie with Love. He has written four stage plays.
Let"s Do lieutenant My Way, Caesar and Maine, The Dragon"s Tail and The Wall Watkinson was born into an army family and his father served throughout World World War II and beyond. He was killed in Palestine by The Stern Gang in 1947.
His death is the inspiration for Watkinson"s most recent play The Wall, in which a middle aged man visits a military cemetery in Ramleh, Israel and meets a young British soldier who turns out to be his father.
Educated at Haberdashers" Aske"s, Watkinson later attended East 15 Acting School, where his first plays were performed. Their four grown up children have left home. He continues to write from a shed in the garden.
