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Michael Wearing (12 March 1939 – 5 May 2017) was a British

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

, who spent much of his career working on drama productions for the

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. He is best known as the producer of the well received serials ''

Boys from the Blackstuff ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' is a British drama television series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2. The serial was written by Liverpudlian playwright Alan Bleasdale, as a sequel to a televisio ...

'' (1982) and ''

Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...

'' (1985), which created for him a reputation as one of British television's foremost drama producers. His initial career was in the theatre, where he worked as a director, before in 1976 he joined the BBC's English Regions Drama Department as a Script Editor under producer David Rose. The department, based at the

Pebble Mill Studios Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...

in Birmingham, had been set up as an attempt to counter the BBC's tradition of producing dramas that were almost exclusively made and set in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and the home counties, and was charged with making regional drama based in all areas of the country. Over the following five years, Wearing worked as both a

script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wi ...

and producer on various series and plays for the department, with his most successful production there being the ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' entry ''The Black Stuff''. Written by

Alan Bleasdale Alan George Bleasdale (born 23 March 1946) is an English screenwriter, best known for social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people. A former teacher, he has written for radio, stage and screen, and has also written novels. ...

, despite languishing on the shelf for two years waiting for a broadcast slot before being shown in 1980, the play was a great success and led to Bleasdale writing and Wearing producing ''

'' (1982), a sequel series showing what happened to the characters involved after the events of the play. This was highly acclaimed and award-winning, and led to Wearing being called down to work at the central BBC drama department in London. The first project he was given there by Head of Series & Serials Jonathan Powell was a

Troy Kennedy Martin Troy Kennedy Martin (15 February 1932 – 15 September 2009) was a Scottish-born film and television screenwriter. He created the long-running BBC TV police series ''Z-Cars'' (1962–1978), and the award-winning 1985 anti-nuclear drama ''Edge of ...

project entitled ''

''. Eventually screened in 1985, ''Edge of Darkness'' was another award-winner, and cemented Wearing's reputation. In 1989, he was made Head of Serials at the BBC, the Series and Serials departments now having been separated as they had originally been. In 1993, after Head of Series

Peter Cregeen Peter Cregeen (born 28 January 1940 in London, England) is a British television director, producer and executive. He was the original director of ITV's successful police drama, ''The Bill'', and made a substantial contribution to the series th ...

's departure from the Corporation, Wearing was briefly Head of Series & Serials, before his role was reduced to simply overseeing Serials again the following year. In his time as Head of Serials he oversaw the production of a great number of productions, among the most famous being the new era of costume drama literary adaptations such as ''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, ...

'' (1993) and ''

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 ...

'' (1995). However, perhaps his most lasting legacy was the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

serial ''

Our Friends in the North ''Our Friends in the North'' is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne ...

'' (1996). Written by playwright

Peter Flannery Peter Flannery (born 12 October 1951) is an English playwright and screenwriter. He was born in Jarrow, County Durham and educated at the University of Manchester. He is best known for his work while a resident playwright at the Royal Shakespear ...

, ''Our Friends in the North'' was a production Wearing had wanted to bring to the screens since the early 1980s, but due to various difficulties with budgets, potential libel and BBC executives, he had never been able to. Now, with a bulletproof reputation and as Head of Serials the ability to commission the production himself, he was finally able to persuade channel controller

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

to accept the serial, which was a resounding hit. In 1997, Wearing was given the honorary

Alan Clarke Alan John Clarke (28 October 1935 – 24 July 1990) was an English television and film director, producer and writer. Life and career Clarke was born in Wallasey, Wirral, England. Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, ...

Award for outstanding creative achievement in television at the

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

. In 1998 he left the staff of the BBC, although he worked for them subsequently as a freelance producer.

References

*Ahmed, Kamal. ''"Stifled" BBC drama chief quits''. "

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

". Friday February 6, 1998 (page 3).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wearing, Michael 1939 births 2017 deaths BBC television producers British television producers