Betty Kathleen Willingale (27 July 1927 – 15 February 2021) was a British television producer and script editor, best known for her work on

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Television adaptations of classic literature in the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life and education

Willingale was born in London in 1927, the daughter of a Thames

lighterman A lighterman is a worker who operates a lighter, a type of flat-bottomed barge, which may be powered or unpowered. In the latter case, today it is usually moved by a powered tug. The term is particularly associated with the highly skilled men ...

named James. She acquired her literary interest from her mother, Elizabeth (née Bradish). She gained a scholarship to Aylwin Grammar School in Bermondsey, but was in Scotland on holiday when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began, remaining north of the border for a year. By her return, the school had been evacuated to Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire.

Career

After leaving school in 1944 without any qualifications, Willingale joined the BBC as a junior assistant in the reference library at

Bush House Bush House is a Grade II listed building at the southern end of Kingsway between Aldwych and the Strand in London. It was conceived as a major new trade centre by American industrialist Irving T. Bush, and commissioned, designed, funded, a ...

(then the headquarters of the BBC European and Overseas Services). She moved to the television script library, then housed at Lime Grove, in 1955, where

Nigel Kneale Thomas Nigel Kneale (28 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx screenwriter who wrote professionally for more than 50 years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British S ...

assisted her in adapting to the medium. Willingale started to work as a script editor for the BBC beginning with the soap opera ''

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...

'' in 1962 having rejected an invitation to work in the same role on ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

'', moving to the Sunday teatime Classic serial after a year. She became assistant head of the Script Unit. She worked on BBC drama serials with producer

Martin Lisemore Martin Arnold Lisemore (July 1939 – 3 February 1977) was a British television producer. Educated at Abingdon School and then Hardye's School, Dorchester, Lisemore rose through the ranks of the BBC drama department for some years, and beca ...

including ''

North and South North and South may refer to: Literature * ''North and South'' (Gaskell novel), an 1854 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell * ''North and South'' (trilogy), a series of novels by John Jakes (1982–1987) ** ''North and South'' (Jakes novel), first novel ...

'' (1975) and ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Roma ...

'' (1976). After Lisemore's death in a car accident, she formed another strong working partnership with producer Jonathan Powell, script editing many of Powell's most successful drama serials including the adaptations of ''

The Mayor of Casterbridge ''The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character'' is an 1886 novel by the English author Thomas Hardy. One of Hardy's Wessex novels, it is set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing in for Dorchester in D ...

'' (1978),''

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has received ...

'' (1979), ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

''(1980), ''

Sons and Lovers ''Sons and Lovers'' is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. It traces emotional conflicts through the protagonist, Paul Morel, and his suffocating relationships with a demanding mother and two very different lovers, which exert c ...

'' (1980) and ''

The Barchester Chronicles ''The Barchester Chronicles'' is a 1982 British television serial produced by Jonathan Powell for the BBC. It is an adaptation by Alan Plater of Anthony Trollope's first two Chronicles of Barsetshire, ''The Warden'' (1855) and '' Barchester Towe ...

'' (1982). She was eventually given the chance to produce an adaptation of ''

Mansfield Park ''Mansfield Park'' is the third published novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton. A second edition was published in 1816 by John Murray, still within Austen's lifetime. The novel did not receive any public reviews unt ...

'' (BBC 1983), later producing adaptations of ''

Tender Is the Night ''Tender Is the Night'' is the fourth and final novel completed by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in French Riviera during the twilight of the Jazz Age, the 1934 novel chronicles the rise and fall of Dick Diver, a promising young ps ...

'' (1985), ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...

'' (1985) and '' Fortunes of War'' (1987), the latter two earned her BAFTA nominations. Willingale retired from the BBC in 1987. She then started to work with

Brian Eastman Brian Eastman (born 3 September 1949, Brighton, UK) is a producer of feature films (such as '' Shadowlands'' and '' Under Suspicion''), television drama (such as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' and ''Jeeves and Wooster''), and stage productions (such ...

Carnival Films Carnival Films is a British production company based in London, UK, founded in 1978. It has produced television series for all the major UK networks including the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4, and Sky (United Kingdom), Sky, as well as ...

on series made for ITV, Willingale co-produced ''

Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more t ...

'', with

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenh ...

as the detective, and ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British ...

'' with

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

and

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...

. She optioned the

Inspector Barnaby Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Barnaby (born 20 April 1943) is a fictional detective created by English writer Caroline Graham as the protagonist in her ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' novel series and adapted into one of the mai ...

novels by

Caroline Graham Caroline Graham (born 17 July 1931) is an English playwright, screenwriter and novelist. Early life and education Graham was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire to a working-class family, and attended Nuneaton High School for Girls where her Englis ...

which became the basis of the long-running ITV series ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' and chose

John Nettles John Vivian Drummond Nettles, OBE, (born 11 October 1943) is an English actor and author. He is best known for his starring roles as detectives in the crime drama television series '' Bergerac'' (1981–1991) in the title role, and ''Midsomer M ...

as the original lead. She produced the pilot episode, the first two series and half of the third and continued working as a Consultant Producer on ''Midsomer Murders'' until 2019. In 2015, when a name was needed for the new born baby of the series' lead character, John Barnaby, she was named Betty in Willingale's honour.

Recognition

In 2009 she was awarded Bafta's Special Award for her exceptional career in television. Betty Willingale died on 15 February 2021 at the age of 93.How many kinds of talent does it take to make great TV drama?
/ref> The opening episode of the 2021 series of ''Midsomer Murders'' was dedicated to her memory.

References

External links

*
A BAFTA Tribute to Betty Willingdale
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willingale, Betty 1927 births 2021 deaths British television producers British women television producers Place of death missing People from London