Gareth Gwenlan (26 April 1937 – 8 May 2016) was a Welsh television producer, director and executive, best known for his work on shows such as ''

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' is a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role. Three series were produced from 1976 to 1979, based on a series of novels written by David Nobbs. Nobbs adapted the screenplay for the fi ...

'', ''

Butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

'', ''

To the Manor Born ''To the Manor Born'' is a BBC television sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special one-off episode was produced in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by ...

'', ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' and '' High Hopes''. Gwenlan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.

Early life

Gwenlan was born at Tydfil Lodge,

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

on 26 April 1937, although his birth was registered at

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

. His father, Charles Aneuryn Gwenlan, and his mother, Mary, née Francis, were both teachers. Gwenlan attended Vaynor and Penderyn High School, Cefn Coed, and for his national service he joined the RAF in Cyprus. In 1960 he began his acting training at

Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama Rose Bruford College (formerly Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance) is a higher education institution in the London Borough of Bexley. Bruford has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various ...

in Sidcup and continued at the

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to off ...

Career

Gwenlan began his BBC television career as an assistant floor manager and production assistant in the drama department, working on series such as ''

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 ...

''. He subsequently moved into comedy, producing series such as ''

'', ''

'' and ''

''. In 1983 he was appointed Head of BBC Comedy, a position he held until 1990. He directed the sitcom ''

Double First The British undergraduate degree classification system is a Grading in education, grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and Master's degree#Integrated Masters Degree, integrated master's degrees in the United Kingd ...

'' (1988). In 1988 he succeeded Ray Butt as the producer of ''

'', remaining with the series until it finished in 2003. Gwenlan famously rejected the sitcom ''

Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...

'' (in his capacity as Head of Comedy), stating that the sitcom would only work if there was 'a sofa in the spacecraft'. This is the reason that the name 'Gwenlan' was appropriated in the first series as a future

swearword Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such as anger, ex ...

Personal life and death

Gwenlan married three times: to Valerie Bonner, an artist, on 21 April 1962 in York and they had a child together. On 14 February 1986 he married Sarah Elizabeth Fanghanel, a personal assistant to Gwenlan. He had another child from a separate relationship. His final marriage was to Gail Susan Evans on 9 September 2000 in Putley where they lived until his death from metastatic

oesophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Ot ...

on 8 May 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gwenlan, Gareth 1937 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Alumni of Rose Bruford College BBC executives BBC television producers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Brecon Welsh television directors Welsh television producers