Brian Finch
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Brian Finch (25 July 1936 – 27 June 2007) was a British television scriptwriter and dramatist. His longest relationship was with the
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...
soap opera, ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', for which he wrote 150 scripts between 1970 and 1989. He also helped the development of '' All Creatures Great and Small'', ''
The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction on television, science fiction television series created by Roger Price (television producer), Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV Network, th ...
'', and '' Heartbeat''. He contributed several episodes to the British detective programmes ''
The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...
'', '' Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', '' Bergerac'' and ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
''. It was for his work as a writer on '' Goodnight Mr Tom'', a bittersweet drama starring John Thaw, for which he received a
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
.


Early life and education

Brian Finch was born in Standish, Lancashire, a descendant of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
his father was a miner. He was educated at St. Joseph's School and then Thornleigh Salesian College. At 15 years old he was a cub reporter for the local evening newspaper Westhoughton Journal.


Career

His National Service was with the RAF at NATO's
Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...
headquarters in France, after which he worked on the
Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...
. In 1961 he was working at the TV Times ghost-writing articles for the Beatles. He joined the BBC as a press officer for
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
and submitted his first drama script in January 1966 for the Wednesday Play outlet titled ''Rodney Our Intrepid Hero'', a comedy about a newspaper reporter investigating a vice ring, starring Jim Norton in his first television role. In 1968 his first episode of
Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...
was recorded. Between 1970 and 1989, Finch wrote more than 150 episodes of the
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...
soap opera, ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', including the first to feature Deirdre Barlow, he also wrote the first episodes for barmaid Bet Lynch, Mike Baldwin and Jack and Vera Duckworth. In 1972 Finch wrote ''An Arrow for Little Audrey'' a Thirty-Minute Theatre production starring
Geoffrey Hughes Geoffrey Hughes may refer to: * Geoff Hughes (born 1939), Australian tennis player * Geoffrey Hughes (actor) (1944–2012), English actor * Geoffrey Forrest Hughes (1895–1951), Australian aviator and pilot See also * Jeff Hughes (disambiguation) ...
. He wrote 13 episodes of the TV series
The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction on television, science fiction television series created by Roger Price (television producer), Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV Network, th ...
in 1973. He wrote for the ''Hunter's Walk'' series from 1973 to 1974 a police series set in Rushden
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
starring Ruth Madoc and
Ewan Hooper Ewan Eynon Hooper (23 October 1935 – 6 April 2023) was a Scottish actor who was a graduate from, and later an associate member of RADA. Life and career Hooper was the motivating force in the foundation of the Greenwich Theatre, which opened ...
. In 1974 Finch wrote a six-part children's adventure series, ''The Chinese Puzzle'' broadcast on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
and in 1978 wrote 9 episodes of '' Fallen Hero'' for
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), 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 on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
. He also wrote a number of episodes for'' Juliet Bravo'', ''
The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...
'', '' Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', '' Bergerac'' and ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
''. From 1987 to 1989 he wrote for the comedy drama ''Flying Lady'' which starred
Frank Windsor Frank Windsor Higgins (12 July 1928 – 30 September 2020), known professionally as Frank Windsor, was an English actor, primarily known for his roles on television, especially policeman John Watt in ''Z-Cars'' and its spin-offs. Early life Wi ...
and from 1992 to 2006 he wrote 35 episodes for '' Heartbeat'' set in rural Yorkshire. 2005 saw the release of his film adaptation of ''Heidi'' directed by Paul Marcus, starring Emma Bolger with
Max Von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
and
Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Tracy Bond, Teresa di ...
. In 2006 Finch worked on the TV screenplay of '' The Shell Seekers'' which starred
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-winners, Vanessa Redgrave and
Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was a Swiss actor. Born in First Austrian Republic, Austria, his parents were involved in the arts and he grew up surrounded by performance and literature. While he was still a child, his fa ...
. Finch wrote the original version of
Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...
for ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', which was initially for season 22. His script was later adapted by his son Paul Finch for audio release by Big Finish.


Personal life

Finch married Margaret Moran in 1963 and was the father of the horror author and scriptwriter Paul Finch.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Brian 1936 births 2007 deaths People from Wigan British soap opera writers British television writers 20th-century British screenwriters Royal Air Force airmen 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Military personnel from the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan