Stephen Poliakoff CBE is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter who was born in London and attended King's College in Cambridge. Poliakoff is widely acknowledged as one of the most powerful people in British culture thanks to his acclaimed success in Britain's television. In an interview with the BBC’s Culture Show presenter, Mark Kermode, Polikoff talked about how he has maintained his status as an auteur. Kermode introduces Poliakoff as one of ‘Britain’s leading writer/directors’. During the programme there were contributions from leading British actors who have worked with Poliakoff including Sir Michael Gambon and Rupert Penry-Jones who said of him … ‘he’s one of the geniuses working in television today and I don’t think there are that many in terms of directors and writers.’ David Walliams said of Poliakoff that ‘his work defies genre and always takes you somewhere you have never been before’. Poliakoff was awarded the C.B.E in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours list for his services to drama.