Tommy Donbavand facts for kids

Tommy Donbavand (28 November 1967 – 14 May 2019) was an English actor, teacher and writer, best known for his books and comics for children from Liverpool, such as Scream Street. He often wrote under pseudonyms.

Background

Donbavand had a varied career which saw him working as a clown, a holiday camp entertainer and a performer in Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story in London's West End. He also ran acting and writing classes, wrote, produced and directed a number of theatre productions, and wrote a series of non-fiction books in his Quick Fixes for Bored Kids series.

Career

In 2006, Donbavand began writing as B. Strange for the Too Ghoul For School book series, published by Egmont. This led to his own series – Scream Street – being picked up by Walker Books. The first in this series of thirteen novels – Scream Street: Fang of the Vampire – was published in October 2008. In 2015, the animated television series, produced by Coolabi Productions, began airing on CBBC. A second series was confirmed in 2020.

In April 2013, his Doctor Who novel Shroud of Sorrow featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswald was published by BBC Books. He also co-wrote the Shadow Vanguard series of science fiction books under the pseudonym of Tom Dublin.

Donbavand wrote for The Beano comic, initially starting with strips for Calamity James, Gnasher and Gnipper and The Bash Street Kids. Six months later, he was made the main writer for The Bash Street Kids. He also worked on the Badger Graphic Novels range, aimed at struggling readers.

He wrote another children's series, Fangs, Vampire Spy, as well as the writing handbooks 13 Steps to Beating Writer's Block in 2015, 101 Stunning Story Starters in 2017, and 101 Quick and Quirky Questions in 2018.

Cancer and death

In March 2016, Donbavand was diagnosed with inoperable, stage four throat cancer. He died from the illness in May 2019.

In July 2020, his Doctor Who short audio play, What Lurks Down Under was released posthumously by Big Finish Productions as part of Time Apart, starring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor.

• Too Ghoul For School (2007–2008)
• Scream Street (2008–2011)
• Wolf (2011)
• Uniform (2012)
• Doctor Who: Shroud of Sorrow (2013)
• Tommy Donbavand's Funny Shorts
• Teen Reads
  • Home
  • Kidnap
  • Ward 13
  • Dead Scared
  • Just Bite
  • Copy Cat
  • Raven
• Gems
  • The Terrible Tale of Melody Doom
  • Once Upon a Time…
• Fangs, Vampire Spy (2013–2014)
  • Operation: Golden Bum
  • Codename: The Tickler
  • Assignment: Royal Rescue
  • Target: Nobody
  • Project: Wolf World
  • Mission: Lullaby
• Space Hoppers
• Time Trek
• 13 Steps to Beating Writer's Block: Free your creativity today! (2015)
• Snow-Man (2016)
• 101 Stunning Story Starters (2017)
• 101 Quick and Quirky Questions (2018)
• Shadow Vanguard (2018–2019)
  • Gravity Storm
  • Lunar Crisis
  • Immortality Curse
  • Ultimate Payback