Ellie Irving was born in Bristol, but raised in a hamlet on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea, by a family of avid readers. So avid, in fact, her mum enrolled her in the local library before she'd even emerged from the womb, which was awkward for all concerned.

When she was seven, Ellie's passion for writing stories flourished when her parents bought her a Petite Super International typewriter for Christmas, and there was no stopping her. After studying a 4 year broadcasting degree at the University of Leeds, Ellie realised there were too few home makeover shows in the world, and worked on a number of DIY and Garden programmes for UK Style. Ellie returned to studying and graduated from an MA in Screenwriting course at the London College of Communication in 2008.