Peter Tinniswood (21 December 1936 – 9 January 2003) was an English
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
and
TV comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
scriptwriter, and author of a series of popular novels. He was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, but grew up above a dry cleaner's on Eastway in
Sale,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
.
Early career
Tinniswood attended Sale Boys' Grammar School. His career began in journalism. He spent four years in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
from 1958, first working for ''
The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', and then for the ''
Sheffield Telegraph'', where he was a leader writer and specialised in feature writing. He won widespread admiration for a week-long series ''Travels with a Donkey'', an account of a tramp round the Peak District with a reluctant donkey.
Television and radio
In 1964, Tinniswood collaborated with his long-term writing partner
David Nobbs
David Gordon Nobbs (13 March 1935 – 8 August 2015["C ...](_blank)
on the
BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...
sketch show ''
The Frost Report
''The Frost Report'' is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March 196 ...
'' and the comedy ''Lance At Large'', a sitcom starring
Lance Percival in which Percival's character, Alan Day, was involved in different scenarios and meeting different people in each episode. The short-lived
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
series ''Never Say Die'' (1970) drew on Tinniswood's days as a hospital porter. Set in Victoria Memorial Hospital, the show focused on the comedy created between the patients and staff. It starred
Reginald Marsh and
Patrick Newell
Patrick David Newell (27 March 1932 – 22 July 1988) was a British actor, known for his large size.
Early life and education
The second son of Eric Llewellyn Newell, of High Lodge, Hadleigh, Suffolk, an Oxford-educated physician who served ...
.
Tinniswood based the BBC comedy ''
I Didn't Know You Cared
''I Didn't Know You Cared'' is a British television comedy set in a working-class household in South Yorkshire in the 1970s, written by Peter Tinniswood loosely based upon his books ''A Touch of Daniel'', ''I Didn't Know You Cared'' and ''Except ...
'' (1975–1979) on his novels. Featuring the Brandons, a dour northern family, the programme ran until 1979, and featured
Liz Smith,
Robin Bailey,
John Comer
John Comer (1 March 1924 – 11 February 1984) was a British comic actor. He was best known for his roles in ''Coronation Street'' as Mr Birtles, then as a taxi driver, and later as Wilf Jones, in ''Emmerdale Farm'' as Ernie Shuttleworth, Les ...
and
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...
. In 1980, the BBC produced a series based on other Tinniswood books, featuring the character the Brigadier, an erstwhile cricketer and over-the-top raconteur, played by
Robin Bailey. Some of the stories were adapted for
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
. The series was remade in 1985 for
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
.
For ITV in 1983, Tinniswood wrote ''The Home Front'', again set in the north of England. It starred
Brenda Bruce as Mrs Place, a nosey, arrogant mother who lorded it over her three children. Two years later ITV produced ''
Mog
Mog may refer to:
Entertainment Characters
* Mog (''Final Fantasy VI''), in the game
* Mog (Judith Kerr), a cat in Kerr's children's books
* Mog, a half-man/half-dog in the film ''Spaceballs''
* A cat in the Meg and Mog children's books by Helen ...
'', based on Peter's 1970 novel and starring
Enn Reitel
Enn Reitel (born 21 June 1950) is a Scottish actor who specialises in voice work in video games, movies and TV shows.
Early life
Reitel's family arrived in Scotland as refugees from Estonia and Germany. He trained as an actor at the Central S ...
as the title character. The episodes were written by
Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais (born 7 January 1937) is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including ''The Likely Lads'', ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', ''Porridg ...
and
Dick Clement, but it was not a success. Also in 1985, was ''South Of The Border'' starring
Brian Glover as Edgar Rowley, a Yorkshireman forced to migrate to the south of England.
In later years, Tinniswood's output was mostly for Radio 4 and included the continuing adventures of Uncle Mort and Carter Brandon in ''Uncle Mort's North Country'', ''Uncle Mort's South Country'' and ''Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe'' and a series about poacher Winston Hayballs, his "bit of fluff" Nancy and her family adapted from his novel "Winston". Liz Goulding, his second wife, played Rosie.
A lifelong pipe smoker, Peter Tinniswood died of throat cancer at the age of 66. Since his death, the
Writers' Guild of Great Britain and the
Society of Authors have jointly administered in his memory the annual
Tinniswood Award
The Tinniswood Award is a British annual award for original radio drama. It is named in memory of Peter Tinniswood, who died in 2003, and was established by the Society of Authors and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain; it is sponsored by the A ...
, to honour the best original radio drama script broadcast in the UK during the previous year, with a prize of £1500 for the winner.
TV credits
*
That Was The Week That Was (1962)
* ''The
Dick Emery Show'' (1963)
* ''Lance At Large'' (1964)
* ''
The Frost Report
''The Frost Report'' is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March 196 ...
'' (1966)
* ''Roy Hudd'' (1970)
* ''Never Say Die'' (1970)
* ''
I Didn't Know You Cared
''I Didn't Know You Cared'' is a British television comedy set in a working-class household in South Yorkshire in the 1970s, written by Peter Tinniswood loosely based upon his books ''A Touch of Daniel'', ''I Didn't Know You Cared'' and ''Except ...
'' (1975)
* ''Tales From A Long Room'' (1980) (
BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...
)
* ''The Home Front'' (1983)
* ''
Mog
Mog may refer to:
Entertainment Characters
* Mog (''Final Fantasy VI''), in the game
* Mog (Judith Kerr), a cat in Kerr's children's books
* Mog, a half-man/half-dog in the film ''Spaceballs''
* A cat in the Meg and Mog children's books by Helen ...
'' (1985)
* ''South Of The Border'' (1985)
* ''Tales From A Long Room'' (1985) (
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
)
* ''Duck Patrol'' (1998)
Novels and other fiction
THE BRANDON FAMILY SERIES:
* ''A Touch Of Daniel'' (1968) – Winner of the
Author's Club First Novel Award The Authors' Club Best First Novel Award is awarded by the Authors' Club to the most promising first novel of the year, written by a British author and published in the UK during the calendar year preceding the year in which the award is presented.
...
and Book of the Month choice
* ''Mog'' (1970)
* ''I Didn't Know You Cared'' (1973) – Winner of the
Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize
The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize was presented from 1967 until 2003 by the Royal Society of Literature for the best regional novel of the year. It is named after the novelist Winifred Holtby who was noted for her novels set in the rural scenes ...
from the
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
for best regional novel.
* ''Except You're A Bird'' (1974)
* ''The Home Front'' (1982)
* ''Call it a Canary'' (1985)
* ''Uncle Mort’s North Country'' (1986)
* ''Uncle Mort’s South Country'' (1990)
CRICKETING TALES AND SKETCHES:
(A table of the individual pieces in these books is given at the foot of this section).
* ''Tales From A Long Room'' (1981)
* ''More Tales From A Long Room'' (1982)
* ''Collected Tales From A Long Room'' (1982) - a compilation of the above two titles
* ''The Brigadier Down Under'' (1983)
* ''The Brigadier In Season'' (1984)
* ''The Brigadier’s Brief Lives'' (1984)
* ''The Brigadier’s Tour'' (1985)
* ''The Brigadier's Collection'' (1986) - compilation
f 'Down Under' and 'In Season'?* ''Tales from Witney Scrotum'' (1987)
* ''Witney Scrotum'' (1995) - despite a similar title to the above, this is a different set of stories
HAYBALLS AND ITS SEQUEL:
* ''Hayballs'' (1989)
* ''Winston'' (1991)
OTHERS:
* ''The Stirk Of Stirk'' (1974)
* ''Shemerelda'' (1981)
* ''Dolly’s War'' (1987)
The books listed above under the heading Cricketing Tales And Sketches contain short stories and other humorous pieces as shown here:
''Collected Tales From A Long Room'' - stories 1-13 are the same as 1-13 in ''Tales From A Long Room''; stories 14-24 are the same as 1-11 in ''More Tales From A Long Room''.
''The Brigadier’s Brief Lives'' - contains the following short sketches:
#Miss Petula Clark
#Lord Carrington
#Mr Rupert Murdoch
#Mr Richard Baker
#Sir John Mills
#Mr Ray Buckton
#Mr E. W. Swanton
#Lord Wilson
#Mr Kevin Keegan
#Mr Norman St John Stevas
#Sir Douglas Bader
#Mr Roy Jenkins
#Sir Robin Day
#Miss Jan Leeming
#Prince Philip
#Mr Andrew Lloyd-Webber
#Lord Goodman
#Miss Jilly Cooper
#The Duke of Westminster
#Mr David Frost
#Mr Laurie McMenamy
#The Village Tea Lady
#Miss Esther Tantzen
#Andrew Previn
#Lord Lichfield
#Mr Geoffrey Boycott
#Mrs Mary Whitehouse
#Sir Richard Attenborough
#Mr Robert Robinson
#Mr Winston Churchill
#Lord Longford
#Mr Michael Parkinson
#Mr Terry Wogan
#Mr David Attenborough
#Mr Roy Plomley
#Mr Sebastian Coe
#Miss Pamela Stephenson
#Mr Arthur Scargill
#Mr Roy Hattersley
#Mr Ian Paisley
#Cardinal Hume
#Mr Ian Botham
#Mr Michael Foot
#Mr H. D. 'Dicky' Bird
#Mr Frank Muir
#Earl Spencer
#Mr Jimmy Hill
#Mr Leon Brittan
#Mr Jimmy Saville OBE
#Miss Elizabeth Jane Howard
#Mr Tony Benn
#Mr Tom Stoppard
#Mr Bob Willis
#Mr Barry Took
#Miss Britt Ekland
#Sir Peter Hall
#Sir Geoffrey Howe
#Mr James Cameron
#Lord Lucan
#Mr Ned Sherrin
#The Archbishop of Canterbury
#Princess Margaret
#Miss Jean Rook
#Mr Norman Tebbitt
#Mr Mick Jagger
#Mr Patrick Moore
#Doctor David Owen
#Mr Jimmy Young
#Sir Anthont Blunt
#Mr Clive Jenkins
#Mr Enoch Powell
#Lady Falklander
#Miss Jan Morris
#Mr Ludovic Kennedy
#Mr Brian Redhead
#Mr Brian Johnson
#Mr Reginald Bosanquet
#Mr Auberon Waugh
#Mr Bill Sowerbutts
#Mr Jim Laker
#Mr Jackie Stewart
#Lord Kagan
#Sir Harold Macmillan
#Mr John Wells
#Mrs Shirley Williams
#Mr Henry Cooper
#Mr John Lennon
#Mr Neil Kinnock
#Captain Mark Phillips
#Mr Winston Place
#Dame Vera Lynn
#Mr Feliks Topolski
#Mr Alan Ayckbourn
#Sir John Hackett
''The Brigadier’s Tour'' - contains the following 116 short sketches:
The Introduction
The Captain: • Mr W. H. Wooller
The Vice-Captain: • Mr D. J. Insole
The Opening Batsmen: • Mr W. Place • Sir J. B. Hobbs • Mr J. B. Stollmeyer • Mr H. L. Collins • Mr W. Rhodes • Mr W. M. Lawry • Mr A. Jones • Mr S. M. Gavaskar • Mr A. R. Morris • Mr A. C. Maclaren • Mr F. A. Lowson • Mr Hanif Mohammed • Mr R. T. Simpson • Mr C. Milburn • Mr G. Boycott • Mr T. Meale
The Specialist Batsmen: • Mr F. R. Spofforth • Mr K. C. Bland • Mr E. de C. Weekes • Mr W. Watson • Mr C. B. Fry • Mr I. R. Redpath • Mr M. P. Donnelly • Mr C. H. Lloyd • Mr G. Gunn • Mr D. I. Gower • Sir D. G. Bradman • Mr G. R. Viswanath • Mr D. C. S. Compton • Mr A. D. Nourse • Nawab of Pataudi • Mr P. M. Roebuck • Mr V. T. Trumper • Mr I. V. A. Richards • Mr J. E. P. McMaster • Mr R. H. Spooner • Brigadier-General R. M. Poore • Mr D. W. Randall • Mr Z. Abbas • Mr K. D. Mackay • Mr G. L. Jessop • Charles Lawrence, Mullagh, Dick-A-Dick, Twopenny, Red Cap, Mosquito, King Cole, Peter, Cuzens, Tiger, Jim Crow, Bullocky, Dumas, Sundown • Mr D. B. Close • Mr R. L. Dias • Mr C. L. Walcott • Mr T. W. Hayward • Rt Rev D. S. Sheppard • Mr R. N. Harvey • Mr T. W. Graveney • Sir P. F. Warner • Mr A. R. Lewis • Mr A. R. Border • Mr H. Pilling
The All Rounders: • Mr W. G. Grace • Mr R. G. Garlick • Mr R. Benaud • Mr G. H. Hirst • Lord Constantine, Baron of Maraval and Nelson • Mr M. A. Noble • Mr R. M. Kapil Dev • Sir G. St. A. Sobers • Mr P. M. Walker • Mr M. J. Procter • Mr A. E. Trott • Mr F. E. Woolley • Sir F. M. M. Worrell • Mr W. R. Hammond • Mr I. T. Botham
The Fast Bowlers: • Mr J. B. Statham • Mr J. Barton King • Mr H. Larwood • Mr D. K. Lillee • Mr Fazal Mahmood • Mr R. V. Divecha • Mr W. Voce • Mr R. R. Lindwall • Mr W. J. O'Reilly • Mr R. G. D. Willis • Mr E. A. McDonald • Mr M. W. Tate • Mr T. Richardson • Mr I. J. Jones • Mr J. M. Gregory • Mr R. J. Hadlee • Mr F. E. Rumsey • Sir C. A. Smith
The Spinners: • Mr D. J. Shepherd • Mr C. V. Grimmett • Mr R. Peel • Mr P. H. Edmonds • Mr B. S. Bedi • Mr R. Tattersall • Mr J. E. Emburey • Mr H. J. Tayfield • Mr S. Ramadhin • Mr J. C. White • Mr D. V. P. Wright • Mr J. Briggs • Mr J. C. Laker • Mr L. R. Gibbs • Mr C. H. Parkin • Mr H. Verity • Mr Abdul Qadir • Mr C. Blythe
The Greatest Bowler Of Them All: • Mr S. F. Barnes
The Wicket Keepers: • Mr D. Tallon • Mr R. W. Marsh • Mr F. M. Engineer • Mr R. W. Taylor • Mr J. R. Reid • Mr J. G. Binks • Mr W. H. V. Levett
The Replacements: • The Replacements.
Radio credits
Radio drama
(snt =
BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...
Saturday-Night Theatre; aft = BBC Afternoon Theatre, m = monologue)
*1964 Hardluck Hall (6 x 30m, series of comedy plays)
*1973 Sam's Wedding (aft)
*1980 A Gifted Child (aft)
*1981 An Occasional Day (aft)
*1981 Stoker Leishman's Diaries (snt)
*1981 The Siege
*1981 The Bargeman's Comfort
*1985 Crossing the Frontier
*1987 A Touch Of Daniel (snt)
*1987 The Village Fete rpt. 1988 (snt)
*1990 A Small Union
*1992 Tales from the Brigadier
*1992 Two into Three
*1993 The Governor's Consort (for M. Wimbush) R3
*1995 Pen Pals
*1997 Secret life of the Shed–feature on shed life–with P.Tinniswood
*1997 Batteries not included-feature on batteries-with P.Tinniswood
*1997 A Very Rare Bird Indeed
*1998 The Last Obituary (for
Billie Whitelaw
Billie Honor Whitelaw (6 June 1932 – 21 December 2014) was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was al ...
;m),rpt 1999
*1998 Visiting Julia: 6-episode comedy drama series
*1998 Next time we might play better
*1998 The wireless lady
*1998 On the whole it's been jolly good (for
Maurice Denham;m),rpt.1999
*1998 Verona-a conspiracy of parrots (for Stephanie Cole;m),rpt 1999
*1999 The House Swap
*1999 The Scan
*2000 Dorothy, a Manager's wife
*2000 Age Gap
*2000 The Packer
*2000 Admiral of the night
*2000 Monument (adapted from
Eduardo De Filippo), dram.
*2001 The Duvet Lady (Billie Whitelaw monologue)
*2001 Mr. Reliable
*2001 Tales from the backbench (series 1, 4 episodes)
*2001 On the train from Chemnitz
*2001 Tales from the Backbench (series 2, 4 episodes)
*2002 On the whole it's been jolly good, rpt
*2002 The Air Raid
*2002 Anton in Eastbourne (for
Paul Scofield)
*2003 The Goalkeeper's Boo-Boo
*2010 The Visitor (BBC Radio 4 7.10.2010,
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment.
Early life
Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née ...
and
Emma Fielding)
Serials
(numbers show no. of episodes)
Sutton Elms Radio Drama resource
/ref>
*Home Again 6 ( R4 2.6.1980– 7.7.1980 Robin Bailey/Doreen Mantle/Liz Goulding/David Troughton
David Troughton (born 9 June 1950) is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' and Ricky Hanson in ''Ne ...
/Christopher Benjamin)
*Uncle Mort's North Country 5 (R4 21.7.1988 -18.8.1988 Stephen Thorne/ Peter Skellern/ Christian Rodska)
*Winston 6 (R4 26.4.1989– 31.5.1989 Maurice Denham/Christian Rodska/Shirley Dixon/Liz Goulding/ Bill Wallis)
*Winston Comes To Town 6 (R4 1.1.1990– 5.2.1990 Maurice Denham/Shirley Dixon/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis)
*Uncle Mort's South Country – Series 1 5 (R4 12.7.1990 9.8.1990 Stephen Thorne
Stephen John Thorne (2 March 1935 – 26 May 2019) was a British actor of radio, film, stage, and television. He was best known for his regular BBC Radio 4 work and audiobook recordings, and for his portrayals of several ''Doctor Who'' villains ...
/Sam Kelly/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska)
*Uncle Mort's South Country – Series 2 5 (R4 27.10.1990 -24.11.1990 Stephen Thorne/Sam Kelly/Liz Goulding/Christopher Good/Christian Rodska)
*Winston In Love 6 (R4 31.12.1990 -4.2.1991 Shirley Dixon/Bill Wallis/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska)
*Winston In Europe 6 (R4 12.3.1992 -16.4.1992 Shirley Dixon/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis)
*Winston Back Home 6 (R4 31.3.1994 -5.5.1994 Shirley Dixon/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis)
*Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe 5 (R4 12.2.1996 -11.3.1996 Stephen Thorne/Sam Kelly/Christian Rodska/Liz Goulding)
External links
*
Peter Tinniswood at 'Diversity'
– radio writing for the BBC.
BBC Guide to Comedy
– information about shows to which Peter Tinniswood contributed.
News of death (BBC)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinniswood, Peter
1936 births
2003 deaths
Deaths from cancer in England
Deaths from esophageal cancer
Novelists from Liverpool
People from Sale, Greater Manchester
English male dramatists and playwrights
20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
People educated at Sale Grammar School
20th-century English male writers