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 video production on a 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 a ...

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 county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east ...

when she was a child, and she grew up in a house 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 and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, ...

, Berkshire, and

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, 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 soap opera created by 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 programme follows the stories o ...

''. 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. wh ...

''. By 2006, Fallon had decided to quit 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 novel ''Got You Back'' is being 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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

, with music by Swedish pop group

Roxette Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second ...

and a world premiere scheduled for

Malmö Opera Malmö Opera ( Swedish: ''Malmö opera'') is an opera house in Malmö, Sweden. An opera company of the same name presents seasons of opera in this house. Built 1933-1944 by architect Sigurd Lewerentz and, until 1992, known as the Malmö City ...

, Sweden in 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 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. The Na ...

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, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms '' The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and ''An Idiot Abroad' ...

since 1982; they met while studying at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. The couple have lived together since 1984 and reside in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough of ...

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

Filmography (producer)

* ''EastEnders'' (1985–1994) * ''This Life'' (1996–1997) * ''Undercover Heart'' (1998) * ''Massive Landmarks of the 20th Century'' (1999) * ''Teachers'' (2001) * ''20 Things to Do Before You're 30'' (2002) * ''Single'' (2003)

Bibliography

* ''Getting Rid of Matthew'' (2007) * ''Got You Back'' (2008) * ''Foursome'' (2010) * ''The Ugly Sister'' (2011) * ''Skeletons'' (2014) * ''Strictly Between Us'' (2016) * ''My Sweet Revenge'' (2017) * ''Faking Friends'' (2018) * ''Tell Me a Secret'' (2019) * ''Queen Bee'' (2020) * ''Worst. Idea. Ever.'' (2021) * ''Just Got Real'' (2022)

References

External links

* * 1960 births People from Harrow, London Writers from London Living people Alumni of University College London BBC television producers British women television producers English women novelists People educated at St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English writers Ricky Gervais Childfree {{UK-tv-bio-stub