Biography from her website: http://candyguard.co.uk/

“I grew up in Hammersmith in West London.

After studying Fine Art at Newcastle, and Film at St Martins, I established a reputation for comic observation and witty dialogue with 13 animated shorts for Channel 4, the BBC and MTV. Always concerning feisty yet wobbly female protagonists they include the award winning ‘Alternative Fringe’ about a disastrous trip to the hairdressers and ‘Fatty Issues’ about a one day diet.

Alongside a highly successful strip in the Observer magazine, I then created the cult animated sit com, Pond Life, introducing the world to the original ladette, Dolly Pond. I wrote, designed and directed 20 episodes and the series won numerous awards and both critical and popular acclaim.

My first illustrated novel ‘Just a Little Disco on an Open-Top Bus’ was published by Penguin in 2006. Currently I am working on a series of books for Macmillan about Jelly, a 12 year old girl wobbling on the precipice of teenage-dom, and a graphic novel about an incompatible couple ‘I’m Not OK, You?re Not OK.’

I combine a career as a writer, animator and illustrator, and also teach scriptwriting to film and animation students. I live in Catford in South East London with my husband the animator and author Robin Shaw and our slightly over-weight cat, Baddy.”