The Yo! Diary! series of books are now published in The UK, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal. There have also been 2 thirteen part television series based on the books.

Not bad for a hastily scribbled one line idea.

That’s how it all started though. Back in (I think) 1998 my literary agent suggested I go down to London to meet the boss of a publisher called Piccadilly Press. The publisher was called Piccadilly Press by the way - not the boss - she was called Brenda. Still is as a matter of fact. Anyway I duly hopped on the train at Edinburgh armed with a bunch of ideas for picture books about fluffy bunnies and whatever. Hmm, should’ve done a bit of research. The first thing I learnt about Piccadilly was that they mainly did teenage stuff. Doh! Up until this point I’d never thought of writing for teenagers, but Brenda asked if I’d like to think up some ideas. So I did. And one of them - literally a couple of lines - said something like “a bunch of school kids keep diaries for a year”. Not wildly original I know - but I kept on developing the idea more and more - and Brenda kept on liking it - to the point where the first book was commissioned.

So anyway Yo! Diary! appeared in the summer of 1999, followed the next year by Yo! Diary! 2 - and Another Thing and in 2001 by Yo! Dot UK.

Even before the first book was published there was interest from The BBC to turn YO! into a TV series. It took a mighty long time - but it eventually did become a TV series. The first 13 episodes (8 of which were written by yours truly) were first transmitted on CBBC in the autumn of 2002. The second series (all of which was written by yours truly - I also play the part of Seb’s Dad incidentally - Complete meglomaniac? Moi? I tell you, if I could have done the costumes and the makeup too I would’ve done) was first transmitted on CBBC in the autumn of 2003.

What’s it about? Well hopefully you may already know what it’s about. It’s about a bunch of teenagers - Seb, Meera, Mandy, Clare, Craig and Steven Stevens saying stuff, thinking stuff and doing stuff. Universal stuff. Funny stuff. Teenage stuff. Stuff stuff.

By the way if you don’t know what it’s about I’m not going to tell you here am I? What am I? Stupid or something? Go and buy it! Or borrow it from your local library. (But preferably buy it).

So there you go. The story of YO! Funny isn’t it? From small acorns - grow slightly bigger acorns.