Henry Normal founded the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Manchester Literature Festival) and co-founded the Nottingham Poetry Festival. He co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family, and co-wrote and script edited the award-winning Mrs Merton Show and its spin-off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. With Steve Coogan, he co-wrote the Bafta-winning Paul and Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan's Run, Tony Ferrino, Doctor Terrible, all of Steve's live tours, and the film The Parole Officer. Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1999, Henry executive produced all and script edited many of the shows throughout his 171/2-year tenure as MD. Highlights of the Baby Cow output during this time include the multi-Oscar-nominated film Philomena, Gavin and Stacey, The Mighty Boosh, Moone Boy, Hunderby, Nighty Night, Red Dwarf and Alan Partridge. Since retiring in 2016, Henry has written and performed eleven BBC Radio 4 shows combining comedy, poetry and stories about his life and family: A Normal... Family, Life, Love, Imagination, Nature, Universe, Communication, Ageing, Community, Home, and Journey.
