The British writer Carla Lane has died aged 87. Lane made her name with a Comedy Playhouse pilot for a series called The Liver Birds. Set in Liverpool, it was quite unusual to have two female lead characters and indeed a female writer when sitcoms were male dominated in the Sixties. The series was commissioned and a huge success. She went on to create Butterflies and Bread, both of which again had a main female character, but the whole families played central parts in both. She also penned several episodes of Bless This House and created other shows. A keen animal rights activist, she received an OBE in 1989 but returned it in 2002 in protest against animal cruelty. Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote back to her, saying it was to be kept in case she changed her mind, as it was well-deserved. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/05/31/television-writer-carla-lane-dies-aged-87-appreciation/ RIP Carla. Thanks for some great sitcoms, and broadening my love of the genre with grittier themes.
I used to enjoy Bread quite a lot back in the day. I still remember the actual Street where it was filmed.
Of course, your stomping ground! My Dad worked with Peter Howitt's Aunt, so I met him I think just before he left the show. He went on from Joey Boswell to direct Sliding Doors, Antitrust and Johnny English, also writing one and co-writing another.
