Peter McDougall is a noted television playwright from Greenock, who first came to prominence in the 1970s.

He was born in 1947 and was working in the Glasgow shipyards at fourteen alongside a young Billy Connolly.

He eventually left Scotland for the bright lights of London where he was employed as a house-painter.This turned out to be a life altering event when McDougall found himself painting the home of Academy Award winning writer and actor Colin Welland. He entertained his employer with stories of growing up in Scotland and taking part in the annual Orange Walk.

It was Welland that encouraged McDougall to write about his experiences, which resulted in the Award winning television play `Just Another Saturday`. it was filmed by future `The Long Good Friday `director,Scotsman John MacKenzie and is regarded as a masterpiece, winning the illustrious Prix Italia award.

He wrote about the sectarianism issue once again, in his first produced script `Just Your Luck`. It told the story of a Protestant girl who falls in love with a Catholic boy, based on his sisters wedding.

However, following `Just Another Saturday` McDougall took a change of pace with the short comedy `A Wily Couple`. He also penned another Play for Today `The Elephants Graveyard` starring Billy Connolly.

Peter McDougall and John  MacKenzie teamed up once more for the anti-violence drama abut the Greenock razor gangs `Just a Boys Game` which featured blues singer Frankie Miller in a starring role.

However, their final collaboration may have been their most controversial. It was the television film` A Sense Of Freedom`, based on the life story of notorious Glasgow gangster Jimmy Boyle.

It is thought that some of McDougall's later work, the heroin drama `Shoot For The Sun` with Jimmy Nail and `Down Where The Buffalo Go`,featuring Hollywood actor Harvey Keitel as a US Marine stationed at Greenock, failed to reach the heights of those earlier plays.

He also wrote the television film `Down Among The Big Boys`which reunited him with Billy Connolly, playing a gangster whose daughter marries the son of a policeman.

Peter McDougall wrote three short plays in 2004 as part of the experimental A Play, A Pie And A pint, which saw dramas being performed in pubs at lunchtimes by such prominent actors as Robbie Coltrane among others.

He is working on many projects, including remakes of classic films `Whisky Galore` and `The Maggie`.