Jane Elizabeth Mary Fallon (born 9 December 1960) is an English author and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of 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 networks, but upon acce ...

Early life and education

Born as the youngest of five children in Harrow, northwest London, Fallon's family moved to

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

when she was a child, and she grew up in a flat above her parents'

newsagent's shop A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of loca ...

. She was educated at St Bernard's Convent School in

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

, Berkshire, and

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where she studied history, graduating with a bachelor of arts in 1982. Alongside her studies, she started writing for the history department's magazine, for the university newspaper, ''London Student'', and for '' Pi Magazine''.UCL 11 February, 2020, "Top novelist and television producer Jane Fallon awarded UCL Honorary Fellowship"
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Career

After her studies, she began working for a theatrical literary agency. After a few years there, she decided to become a freelance script reader and script editor for different theatrical productions and television, and in 1994, she advanced to become a producer on the series ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television 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 East End of London, the ...

''. This was followed by a number of awarded series, such as '' This Life'', '' 20 Things to Do Before You're 30'', and ''

Teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

''. By 2006, Fallon had decided to leave television and become a full-time novelist. A year later, she debuted with her first national bestseller, ''Getting Rid of Matthew''. She has followed this with ''Got You Back'', ''Foursome'', ''The Ugly Sister'', ''Skeletons'', ''Strictly Between Us'', ''My Sweet Revenge'', ''Faking Friends'', ''Tell Me a Secret'', ''Queen Bee'', ''Worst. Idea. Ever.'' and ''Just Got Real''. Her books have been translated into more than 20 languages. Her 2008 novel, ''Got You Back'', was made into a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

titled '' Joyride'', with music by the Swedish pop group

Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...

. The world premiere took place in Sweden at Malmö Opera on 6 September 2024. In 2011, ''Foursome'' was nominated for the Melissa Nathan Award for Romantic Comedy Fiction and in 2018, ''Faking Friends'' was nominated in the popular fiction category of the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

s. In 2019, it was longlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize. In 2020 she was awarded an honorary fellowship of University College London.

Personal life

Fallon has been in a relationship with comedian

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...

since 1982; they met while studying at

. The couple have lived together since 1984 and reside in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

. Fallon's niece, Elsie Fallon, is an actress.

Filmography (producer)

* ''

'' (1985–1994) * '' This Life'' (1996–1997) * '' Undercover Heart'' (1998) * ''Massive Landmarks of the 20th Century'' (1999) * ''

'' (2001) * ''20 Things to Do Before You're 30'' (2002) * ''Single'' (2003)

Bibliography

All published by Penguin, unless otherwise stated: * ''Getting Rid of Matthew'' (2007) featured in the 2007 Richard and Judy Book Club * ''Got You Back'' (2008) * ''Foursome'' (2010) * ''The Ugly Sister'' (2011) Pub. CB Creative Books * ''Skeletons'' (2014) * ''Strictly Between Us'' (2016) * ''My Sweet Revenge'' (2017) * ''Faking Friends'' (2018) * ''Tell Me a Secret'' (2019) * ''Queen Bee'' (2020) featured in the 2020 Richard and Judy Book Club * ''Worst. Idea. Ever.'' (2021) shortlisted for the

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...

"Page Turner of the Year" award in May 2022 * ''Just Got Real'' (2022)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fallon, Jane Living people 1960 births Alumni of University College London BBC television producers English women television producers English women novelists People educated at St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School People from Harrow, London Writers from Buckinghamshire Writers from the London Borough of Harrow 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English writers Television producers from London