Chrissy Combes is married to David, a linguist, and they have two daughters, Liz and Jo. Throughout her life, Chrissy has combined her love of writing with her passion for theatre. She trained as a journalist on the Portsmouth Evening News and later retrained as a drama teacher.
Her varied teaching career has included two years at East Sutton Park Women’s Prison, where she staged productions, and ten years at Maidstone Adult Education Centre, where she led an “Acting for All” class for amateur actors.
In 1989, Chrissy became Head of Theatre Studies at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls and directed annual productions there, several of which she wrote specifically for the students. Among these were her version of the York Mystery Plays, The Millennium Mysteries; a musical, Golden Dreams, co‑written with musical director Alan Hitchcock and based on the lives of the Brontë sisters; and an adaptation of David Copperfield from Charles Dickens’ novel, which she directed in collaboration with the illustrator of this book, the award‑winning writer Toby Davies (Horrible Histories, Paddington, Crackanory, That Mitchell and Webb Look).
In retirement, Chrissy has completed an MA in Greek Theatre, founded a Drama Workshop company with actor and singer Richard Kent, carried out theatre interviews for the Open University (Chrissy Combes PVCRS), and served as a judge on both the Theatre and Opera panels of the Olivier West End Awards.
She loves spending time with her granddaughters, Emmeline and Jessamy, who have given her every excuse to continue playing games and to indulge in the rich and wonderful world of the imagination. Chrissy created Dottie Daydream as bedtime stories for them some years ago, when the family were enjoying a holiday together in Stratford‑upon‑Avon.