Julia Cuthbert Smith (26 May 1927 – 19 June 1997) was an English television director and producer. She is best known for being the co-creator (along with

Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter and actor. He is best known as the writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Early life Holland ...

) of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

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 ...

'', also working as a director on the show and as its first producer.

Early life

Smith was born in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

, west London, on 26 May 1927, to Edward Cuthbert Smith and his wife, Elfriede Frances Gritton Menges. The family's residence was in Bedford Park, a planned development in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

. Smith's father was a vocalist, and became the senior professor of singing at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

. Other maternal family members have also had careers in the arts:

Herbert Menges Herbert Menges OBE (27 August 190220 February 1972) was an English conductor and composer, who wrote incidental music to all of Shakespeare's plays. Life and career Siegfried Frederick Herbert Menges was born in Hove on 27 August 1902. His fath ...

, her uncle, was a conductor and director of music at

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

;

Isolde Menges Isolde Marie Menges (16 May 189313 January 1976) was an accomplished English violinist who was most active in the first part of the 20th century. Life The daughter of George Menges, a native of Germany, she was born in Sussex, England. Her p ...

, her aunt, was a violinist, and Royal College of Music professor; and

Chris Menges Chris Menges BSC, ASC (born 15 September 1940) is a British cinematographer and film director. He is a member of both the American and British Societies of Cinematographers. Life and career Menges was born in Kington, Herefordshire, the ...

, her cousin, became an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning cinematographer. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Smith was evacuated to

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. She subsequently attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

Career

Because Smith felt her face was too solemn to win many leading parts, she went into stage management, firstly at the Regent Theatre in

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, before working in repertory companies. Smith's work for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

in the 1950s would lead to her first contact with the

, with her being asked to transfer a theatrical production to television. Following a period working in the small screen, Smith returned to

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

, where the RSC was based. Having been a production manager on serials such as ''Pride and Prejudice'', she took a BBC director's training course. She directed episodes of ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'' and ''

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

'', her first foray into the soap opera format. In 1962, Smith directed the series ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

''. She went on to direct popular BBC shows such as ''

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 ...

'' (in 1962) and ''

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 ...

'' (in 1966 and 1967), for which she directed the stories ''

The Smugglers ''The Smugglers'' is the completely missing first serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 10 September to 1 October 1966. In this serial, ...

'' and ''

The Underwater Menace ''The Underwater Menace'' is the half-missing fifth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 14 January to 4 February 1967. In this seria ...

''. In 1967, she directed an adaptation of ''

The Railway Children ''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by E. Nesbit, Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the ...

'' with

Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', '' Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children'': the BBC's 1968 television seri ...

that was successful enough for it to lead to the fondly remembered 1970 film in which Agutter reprised her role of Roberta. While working on ''Z Cars'', Smith had met

, who was a script editor for the show. The two of them became an established producer/script-editor team, and went on to work for the BBC's long-running hospital drama ''

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'' from 1979 to 1983. This was followed by ''

The District Nurse ''The District Nurse'' is a television series produced by BBC Wales and shown on BBC One between 1984 and 1987. The series was a period drama created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland (who both went on to create ''EastEnders'') and starred Nerys ...

'', a series set in the coalfields of south Wales.

''EastEnders''

In 1983, the BBC contacted Smith and Holland to create a new popular bi-weekly serial drama. Two ideas were given to them, one about a caravan site, the other about a shopping arcade. Neither of them liked either of the ideas, and demanded to be able to create something about what they really knew about: in the words of Smith, "London - today!" Together, they came up with the idea of a serial set in the East End of London in a Victorian square. When casting for the show, Smith had the guideline 'Only genuine Eastenders need apply'; it was this that gave her the idea for the name of the show, which would be called ''

'' after other names were rejected. Originally, the show was to be called ''Eastenders'', but Jonathan Powell, then Head of Drama at the BBC who had commissioned the show, made the tentative suggestion that the second "e" didn't look good on paper, and said that perhaps it should be capitalized. It was, for which Smith later said "...we were eternally grateful to him!" Traditionally, the end music to ''EastEnders'' begins with dramatic drums, but occasionally, especially when a character departs, a piano introduction is used. This is called " Julia's Theme", after Smith. Her final contribution to ''EastEnders'', along with that of fellow creator Tony Holland, came in early 1989, amid a dispute with BBC bosses as to whether the character of

Den Watts Den Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house from Albert ...

(played by

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor who played "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germany, West German ...

) could ever return to the show after being shot and supposedly killed. The character would ultimately return to the series, having apparently survived the shooting, but Smith would not live to see this happen.

''Eldorado''

After the success of ''EastEnders'', Smith and Holland collaborated again on the ill-fated BBC soap opera '' Eldorado''. Holland created the series, based on an original idea by

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of t ...

, and Smith was producer. ''Eldorado'' was produced by Lambert through her own company, Cinema Verity Productions. The BBC had hoped that, after ''EastEnders'', Smith and Holland could make drama gold again; however, the series was cancelled by the new controller of BBC1,

Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (11 March 1947 – 24 May 2025) was an English television executive and presenter. He held senior roles at the BBC, including head of music and arts, controller of BBC1 and BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadca ...

. Smith was blamed for the programme's shortcomings and fired, which left her bitter towards the BBC, who she believed had not given ''Eldorado'' a chance to establish itself.

Corinne Hollingworth Corinne Ann Hollingworth (born 25 May 1952) is a British television producer and executive, best known for her contributions to British soap operas, including BBC's ''EastEnders'' and five's ''Family Affairs''. Hollingworth has gained a reputatio ...

took over as series producer after Smith left the show, but the series was ended after only a year. Following the demise of ''Eldorado'', Smith effectively retired from television work, but remained active on the lecture circuit, giving talks on TV drama production.

Personal life

On 2 April 1962, Smith married David Maxwell Geary, a radio announcer. However, the couple divorced in 1966. Smith owned the poodle dog who appeared in ''EastEnders'' as

Roly Roly is a fictional dog from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Roly is an apricot coloured standard poodle, who appears in the first episode of the programme on 19 February 1985 and remained in the show until 19 October 1993. Casting Roly was c ...

Death

Smith died of cancer at the

Royal Marsden Hospital The Royal Marsden Hospital is a specialist National Health Service oncology hospital in London based at two sites in Brompton, in Kensington and Chelsea, and Belmont in Sutton. It is managed by The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and supp ...

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

, on 19 June 1997, aged 70. Several stalwart cast members of ''

'', including

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, best known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the ...

, attended her funeral. Smith was cremated at

Mortlake Crematorium Mortlake Crematorium is a crematorium in Kew, near its boundary with Mortlake, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It opened in 1939, next to Mortlake Cemetery. The crematorium serves the boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, ...

on 30 June that year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Julia 1927 births 1997 deaths 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century British women writers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art BBC television producers British soap opera producers British women television directors Deaths from cancer in England English television directors English television writers English women television producers English women television writers People from Chiswick People from Maida Vale Royal Shakespeare Company members Television producers from London British television show creators Writers from the City of Westminster Writers from the London Borough of Hounslow