David Bernard Wood OBE (born 21 February 1944) is an English actor, author, composer, director, magician and producer. The Times called him "the National Children's Dramatist". In 1979, he joined Bernard Cribbins, Maurice Denham, and Jan Francis in a reading of The Hobbit for the BBC Television show Jackanory. He was awarded an honorary MA by the University of Chichester in 2005.
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Early life
Wood was born on 21 February 1944 in Sutton, Surrey. He was educated at Chichester High School for Boys and Worcester College, Oxford.
Stage work
Along with John Gould, he founded the Whirligig Theatre, a touring children's theatre company.
His most famous story, The Gingerbread Man (1976), has been all across the world since its premiere at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon. Wood, FilmFair, and Central adapted the musical into an animated children's television series. The adaptation, also called The Gingerbread Man, aired on ITV in 1992.
Wood was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 Birthday Honours, for services to literature and drama. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Industry Recognition Award at the 2026 Laurence Olivier Awards.
