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Age: 43, Profession: Writer
As a child, the Lancashire-born, award-winning creator of a host of TV dramas such as Clocking Off, State of Play and Channel 4's recent acclaimed series Shameless was given anything but a hopeful start in life.
Abbott was the second youngest of 10 children living in a poverty-stricken, two-bedroom house in Burnley. His mother ran away when he was just nine years old and two years later his father also left. His eldest sister, then 17, took over the care of the family.
All this turmoil took its toll on the young writer. In his mid teens, Abbott had a breakdown and spent two years in foster care. He was married and divorced by the time he reached the age of 20.
'I never knew where my bed would be from one night to the next. The house was minuscule,' he has said in interviews.
He was attracted to writing to escape the chaos of his daily life, joined a local writing group and got his first big break in his late teens when writer Alan Bennett agreed to be his sponsor to enter a Radio Times competition. Abbott's play, Jennifer, was made into a Radio 4 drama, although it did not win the competition.
Later, at 23, he became the youngest ever story-editor on Coronation Street. Paying tribute to his background, Shameless is semi-autobiographical.
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