Julia Smith (producer)

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Julia Cuthbert Smith (26 May 1927 – 19 June 1997) was an English

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

and producer. She is best known for being the co-creator (along with

Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...

) of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', also working as a director and the first producer of the series.

Early career

London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series ''Suspense'' in 1962. She went on to direct popular BBC shows such as ''

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 ...

'' (in 1962) and ''

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 ...

'' (in 1966 and 1967), for which she directed the stories ''

The Smugglers ''The Smugglers'' is the completely missing first serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 10 September to 1 October 1966. In this serial ...

'' and ''

The Underwater Menace ''The Underwater Menace'' is the half-missing fifth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 14 January to 4 February 1967. In this seri ...

''. In 1967 she directed an adaptation of ''

The Railway Children ''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 fil ...

'' with

Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', ''Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television seria ...

that was successful enough for it to lead to the fondly remembered 1970 film in which Agutter reprised her role of Roberta. While working on ''Z Cars'' she had met

, who was a writer for the show. The two of them became an established producer/script-editor team and went on to work for the BBC's long-running hospital drama ''

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

'' (1975) from 1979 to 1983.

''EastEnders''

In 1983 the

...
contacted Smith and Holland to create a new popular bi-weekly serial drama. Two ideas were given to them, one about a caravan site, the other about a shopping arcade. Neither of them liked either of the ideas and demanded to be able to create something about what they ''knew''—in the words of Smith—"London - today!" Together they came up with the idea of a serial set in the East End of London in a Victorian Square. When casting for the show, Smith had the guideline 'Only genuine Eastenders need apply'; it was this that gave her the idea for the name of the show, which would be called ''

'' after other names were rejected. Originally the show was to be called ''Eastenders'', but Jonathan Powell, then Head of Drama at the BBC who had commissioned the show, made the tentative suggestion that the second "e" didn't look good on paper, and said that perhaps it should be capitalized. It was, for which Smith later said "...we were eternally grateful to him!" Traditionally, the end music to ''EastEnders'' begins with dramatic drums, but occasionally, especially when a character departs, a piano introduction is used. This is called

Julia's Theme The ''EastEnders'' theme tune was composed by Simon May. Leslie Osborne has a contractual composer credit, but did not contribute to the composition or recording. The theme, which is written in the key of E-flat major, is largely based upon p ...

, after Julia Smith. Her final contribution to EastEnders, along with that of fellow creator

, came in early 1989, amid a dispute with BBC bosses as to whether the character of

Den Watts Dennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house fr ...

(played by

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor, best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germ ...

) could ever return to the show after being shot and supposedly killed. The character would ultimately return to the series, having apparently survived the shooting, but Smith would not live to see this happen.

''Eldorado''

After the success of ''

'', Smith and Holland collaborated again on the ill-fated BBC soap opera ''

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

''. Holland created the series — based on an original idea by

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...

—and Smith was producer. Eldorado was produced by Lambert through her own company ''Cinema Verity Productions''. The BBC obviously hoped that, after ''

'', Smith and Holland could make drama gold again; however, the series was cancelled by the new controller of BBC1,

Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its colla ...

. Smith was blamed for the programme's shortcomings and was fired, which left her bitter towards the BBC, who she believed had not given ''

'' a chance to establish itself.

Corinne Hollingworth Corinne Ann Hollingworth (born 25 May 1952) is a British television producer and executive, best known for her contributions to British soap operas, including BBC's ''EastEnders'' and five's ''Family Affairs''. Hollingworth has gained a reputatio ...

took over as series producer after Smith left the show, but the series was ended after only one year.

Death

Following the demise of ''Eldorado'', Smith effectively retired from television work but remained active on the lecture circuit, giving talks on TV drama production.Hayward, Anthony (21 June 1997
"Obituary: Julia Smith"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. Retrieved 17 March 2022. She died of cancer in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

, in 1997. Several stalwart cast members of ''

'', including

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soa ...

, attended her funeral.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Julia 1927 births 1997 deaths 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century British women writers BBC television producers British women television producers British television producers Deaths from cancer in England English television directors English television producers English television writers British women television directors British women television writers Writers from London