Derek Granger (23 April 1921 – 29 November 2022) was a British film and television producer, and screenwriter. He worked on ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by the English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of Charles Ryder, esp ...

'', ''

A Handful of Dust ''A Handful of Dust'' is a novel by the British writer Evelyn Waugh. First published in 1934, it is often grouped with the author's early, satirical comic novels for which he became famous in the pre–World War II years. Some commentators re ...

'', and ''

Where Angels Fear to Tread ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' is a 1905 novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's poem ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread". The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 ...

''.

Early life

Derek was born in

Bramhall Bramhall is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics had a population of 17,195. Bramhall was formerly a civi ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, to Winifred (née Ashcroft) and Edgar Granger. When he was 14, the family moved to

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

, where his father managed a chain of confectionery shops. Granger first saw

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

as a star in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' at the New theatre, London, in 1935 when Granger watched the performance. In 1938, after leaving

Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, for boarding school, boarding and Day school, day pupils aged 13–18, in ...

, Granger joined the Southern Publishing Company as a reporter on the Sussex Daily News and the

Evening Argus ''The Argus'' is a local newspaper based in Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England, with editions serving the city of Brighton and Hove and the other parts of both East Sussex and West Sussex. The newspaper covers local news, politics and ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. He was a sub-lieutenant in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

establishing himself as a theatre critic when he returned to work for the papers.

Career

In 1952, he was appointed by Laurence Olivier as the Financial Times' newly launched arts pages' first drama critic. In 1958, he worked as a researcher 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, ...

and was the head of plays (1958–61) for Granada Television. As the second producer of ''

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 ...

'' (1961–1962), a seven-month strike by Equity members meant that only 13 actors on long-term contracts could appear. When Granger’s ruse of using tall children to deliver milk and post failed to impress the union, he put Dennis Tanner (played by

Philip Lowrie Colin Philip Lowrie (20 June 1936 – 25 April 2025) was an English stage and television actor. He played Dennis Tanner in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from its inception in 1960 until 1968 and again from 2011 until 20 ...

), one of ''Coronation Streets characters in charge of a theatrical agency and filled out scenes with snakes, sea lions, pigeons, dogs and a chimp. In 1962, he created and produced the sitcom '' Bulldog Breed'' (1962), starring

Donald Churchill Donald Churchill (6 November 193029 October 1991) was an English actor and playwright. He appeared in many film and television productions over a 35-year period and wrote several TV scripts. Career His films included '' Barnacle Bill'' (1957), ...

as the disaster-prone Tom Bowler and

Amanda Barrie Amanda Barrie (born Shirley Anne Broadbent; 14 September 1935) is an English actress. She appeared in two of the '' Carry On'' films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', a role she played on and off ...

as his girlfriend, Sandra Prentiss. He returned to ''Coronation Street'' with the hit spin-off ''

Pardon the Expression ''Pardon the Expression'' was a British sitcom made by Granada Television, that was first broadcast from Wednesday 2 June 1965 to Monday 27 June 1966. The sitcom was one of four spin-offs from the soap opera ''Coronation Street''. ''Pardon the ...

'' (1966) with Leonard Swindley (

Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 37 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom ''Dad ...

) being relocated to the branch of a national chain store as assistant manager. However, ''Turn Out the Lights'' (1967), a spin-off of the spin-off, with Swindley as a ghost hunter, bombed. In 1964, Granger executive produced ''

World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...

'' which featured ''

Seven Up! The ''Up'' series of documentary films follows the lives of ten boys and four girls in England, beginning in 1964, when they were seven years old. The first film was titled ''Seven Up!'', with later films adjusting the number in the title to m ...

'' which in turn featured seven year olds with

Michael Apted Michael David Apted (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was an English television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the ''Up (film series), Up'' documentary series from 1970 to 2019). He later di ...

, who was the show's researcher who would subsequently visit as director of stand-alone programmes every seven years to chart the ups and downs of their lives and presented Granada’s regional programme Cinema during 1964 and 1965. He later in 1968 produce music programmes and executive produced of two drama series, '' The Inside Man'' (1969), about a psychiatrist-criminologist, and '' Wicked Women'' (1970), the stories of female Victorian criminals for the new London ITV company

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 ...

. From 1969 to 1972, Granger was Olivier's, who was artistic director at the National Theatre, literary consultant. He then made the Bafta award-winning '' Country Matters'' (1972–73), based on stories by

H. E. Bates Herbert Ernest Bates (16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974) was a British writer known for his gritty, realistic short stories (he wrote more than 25 collections) and novels set predominantly in early- to mid-20th century England. His rural u ...

and

A. E. Coppard Alfred Edgar Coppard (4 January 187813 January 1957) was an English author, noted for his short stories, many of which had rural settings. Largely self-taught, he was championed by Ford Madox Ford and Arnold Bennett, among others, in his life ...

, the anthology series ''

Laurence Olivier Presents ''Laurence Olivier Presents'' is a British television anthology series made by ITV Granada, Granada Television which ran from 1976 to 1978. The plays, with the exception of ''Hindle Wakes (play), Hindle Wakes'', all starred Laurence Olivier. S ...

'' (1976–78) for Granada, which he co-produced with Olivier, featuring six plays of the actor’s choice, all but one starring him. They included

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

’s ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his ...

'' and

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

’s '' The Collection''. He made in 1981, ''

'' starring

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...

. He made two literary film adaptations with Sturridge such as ''

'' (1988) and ''

'' (1991) after leaving Granda in 1982.

Later life and death

Granger entered a civil partnership with his partner from 1949 and interior director, Kenneth Partridge in 2006 until Partridge's death in 2015. Granger died on 29 November 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Derek 1921 births 2022 deaths British men centenarians English television producers People from Bramhall English LGBTQ screenwriters LGBTQ television producers People educated at Eastbourne College British television show creators English male screenwriters English television writers 20th-century British screenwriters 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people