Anthony Steven (3 August 1916 – 26 May 1990) was a British television scriptwriter whose career spanned over three decades. Notable works include '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' and ''

The Forsyte Saga ''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle the vici ...

''.

Career

Anthony Steven began his career as a reporter on the ''

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 as a success ...

''. Later, he was discovered by

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fla ...

, the founder of the

Crown Film Unit The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Formerly the GPO Film Unit it became the Crown Film Unit in 1940. Its remit was to make films for the general public in ...

, who hired him as a writer. In 1957 Steven joined the BBC. A prolific writer, he wrote many television serials over a period of thirty years. Some of his scripts were original but many were adaptations of classic novels, including several episodes of ''

'' (1967). In 1984, he wrote the script for the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' story ''

The Twin Dilemma ''The Twin Dilemma'' is the seventh and final serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 March to 30 March 1984. In the serial, the al ...

'', the first to star

Colin Baker Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series '' Doctor ...

as the

Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual time on the series was comparatively brief and turbulent, Ba ...

. Steven claimed his typewriter had exploded whilst he was working on the script.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steven, Anthony 1916 births 1990 deaths British television writers English television writers English male screenwriters British male television writers 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers