Vale Philip Dalkin

Philip Dalkin (centre) with Glenda Wilson and Pino Amenta.

The Australian television industry is mourning the death of legendary screenwriter Philip Dalkin, who passed away earlier this month.

Philip died at the age of 67 following a short illness.

Over a four-decade career, Philip worked as a writer, producer, script editor and showrunner in film and television across multiple genres, including drama, comedy, documentary and children’s TV. His contribution to the Australian children’s audience is immeasurable, having worked on hundreds of hours of local kids content. His legacy includes Crash Zone, Legacy of the Silver Shadow, The Deep and The Genie from Down Under, Get Ace, The Jar Dwellers, Buzz Bumble, The Flamin’ Thongs, The Woodlies, Dogstar, The Legend of Enyo, H20 Just Add Water, The Elephant Princess, Pirate Islands, Wicked Science, Faireez, Scooter: Secret Agent and The Eggs.

Bernadette O’Mahony, ACTF Head of Content and producer on Crash Zone said: “Philip was one of a kind. Confident, funny, opinionated, and so, so talented. He hadn’t forgotten what it was like to be a kid and how they can find the littlest thing funny.  He mentored so many new writers over his career, writers who now have successful careers, in part thanks to Philip.  

“Philip was a highly valued contributor to each and every series he worked on, whether that was as story producer, editor or writer, and most of us remember his often seen reaction to the arrival of investor notes – the initial huff and puff, then a little while later he’d comment that they weren’t much and he’d addressed them all, and actually the scripts were better!

“He always made me laugh. I will miss him.”

Dogstar producer Colin South said: “He understood innately what was going to work for children. He understood what made kids laugh but in the construct of making sure there was an intelligent story, it wasn’t patronising at all… [Dogstar] was always about the kids.

“There was a very soft side to Philip where he really did want to look after and had great respect for performers and artists and fellow writers. What I remember mostly about him was just his general positive sense of humour. I always found his conversations fun. He’ll be sorely missed.”

Producer Avrill Stark worked with Philip across all four seasons of The Deep over the past eight years and recalls: “He was the ‘Captain of our Writing Team’ as both story editor and writer, steering 65 episodes and keeping them perfectly on course through both calm and rocky seas. ‘Character and stakes – it’s all about character... and stakes’, he would say – and Philip was a character. I called him Flipper – he was faster than lightning when it came to turning a script around, solving story problems and taking on notes. He was a dear friend and creative partner who I had huge respect for. He will be missed.”

Philip Dalkin had a passion and love for Aussie kids ‘TV and always set the bar high. He was loved and valued by all of us who worked with him and part of his legacy will be that children will be watching episodes with his name on them for many years to come.  

Our thoughts are with Philip’s family.