Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, Trish Cooke is an award winning playwright, author, actor and television presenter. After graduating with a BA in performing arts Cooke initially worked as a stage manager at the Black Theatre Co-op in London, before becoming an actor. Her stage plays include Back Street Mammy staged at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith London in 1989; Running Dream; Gulp Fiction and Pinocchio, produced at The Theatre Royal Stratford East. Cooke was commissioned to write the Theatre Royal Stratford East's 2007 Christmas show Cinderella, and Talawa Theatre Company's 2007 Christmas production of Anansi.