Peter Eckersley (7 April 1936 – 27 August 1981) was a British television producer. His television career began on Granada's Scene at 6.30 programme where he worked with his friend Michael Parkinson. He went on to become Head of Drama at

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

in the 1960s and '70s. In the 1960s, he was also a writer and producer on ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

''. He wrote 62 episodes between April 1962 and November 1969. There he met and married one of its stars, Anne Reid, who played Valerie Barlow. He also produced the sitcom '' Nearest and Dearest'' with Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel. During the late 1970s he spotted and developed a young comedian Victoria Wood, who went on to become one of the UK's most successful comedy stars. He produced the TV version of her play ''

Talent Talent has two principal meanings: * Talent (measurement), an ancient unit of mass and value * Talent (skill), a group of aptitudes useful for some activities; talents may refer to aptitudes themselves or to possessors of those talents Talent ma ...

'' and its sequel '' Nearly A Happy Ending'' as well as the play ''

Happy Since I Met You ''Happy Since I Met You'' is a television play written by Victoria Wood, and broadcast on ITV on 9 August 1981. It stars Julie Walters and Duncan Preston and was directed by Baz Taylor as part of ITV's ''Screenplay'' series. In ''Happy Since I ...

'' (also by Wood). He also produced the pilot of '' Wood and Walters'', but died before the series was made. Wood cited him as her biggest influence. He died aged 45 in 1981 after suffering from cancer. David Liddiment, ITV's former director of programmes said: "Peter Eckersley nurtured a new cadre of young northern writers who reflected the realities of post-war urban life for the first time....They were all to make television drama younger, sharper and closer to the experience of the mass audience."

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eckersley, Peter 1936 births 1981 deaths English television producers Deaths from cancer in England