Sam Carroll

Sam Carroll is a prolific television script-writer, working particularly in children’s and youth television programs. After working on the American-Australian co-production Flipper, Carroll came to the attention of Patricia Edgar at the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF), who described her as ‘a young woman who had not yet been spoiled by the demands of writing formulaic drama’ and as writing with ‘youth and vitality’.

Sam has proceeded to have an emphatic impact in children’s television. She made her debut in Australian scriptwriting on Noah and Saskia in 2004, telling the story of a childhood friendship that bridges oceans. Sam won the Australian Writers’ Guild Children’s Television AWGIE Award in 2004 for the Noah and Saskia episode “Extra Spicy”.

Although Sam has had success writing on hit Aussie series such as Rush, McLeod’s Daughters and more recently Neighbours, she is best known for writing many of the scripts that have defined the childhoods of Australian millennials. Sam wrote episodes for Wicked Science and Holly’s Heroes in 2005 but became the driving force on more recent children’s programs like H20: Just Add Water, The Saddle Club and Mako: Island of Secrets. In 2006 Sam was a lead writer on the Nine Network’s iconic Mortified, a successful family comedy/drama about a young girl dreaming of a more adventurous life.

Whether she is writing about mermaids or alien castaways, Sam’s writing has successfully transported Australian children from their lounge-rooms to a world of wonder and fantasy.