Leonard Lewis
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Leonard Jack Lewis (29 November 1927 – 2 December 2005) was a British producer and
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
. He was most active in television. He was the executive and series producer for
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 ...
's ''
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 ...
'' during the early 1990s, though he had success with many other television programmes for both the BBC and ITV. It has been said that Lewis believed in "the principles of public service broadcasting" and he has been described as a "gifted television producer with hidden directorial talents". After more than 40 years working in the television industry, Lewis retired in 1995. He died in December 2005, aged 78.


Career

After completing
national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
in the RAF, he became an actor and worked in
repertory A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...
at the Manchester Library Theatre,
Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...
and
Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...
. He joined the BBC on a three-month holiday attachment in 1957. He worked with
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
until 1963, when he moved to
BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London, Surrey and parts of the surrounding areas of the Home Counties. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London'' news bulletin and w ...
as a staff director. Lewis began directing and later producing for BBC television, on 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 ...
'' (1965); '' Softly Softly'' (1969–74) and ''
Adam Adamant Lives! ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' is a British adventure television series that ran from 1966 to 1967 on BBC 1, starring Gerald Harper in the title role. The series was created and produced by several alumni from ''Doctor Who''. The titular character w ...
'' (1966). In 1973 he directed and produced for the BBC's adaptation of ''Jack the Ripper'', and he was also the
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
for the detective series, ''
Barlow at Large ''Barlow at Large'', later ''Barlow'', is a British police procedural television programme broadcast in the 1970s, starring Stratford Johns in the titular role. Johns had previously played Barlow in the ''Z-Cars'', '' Softly, Softly'' and '' ...
'', and producer for ''
Second Verdict ''Second Verdict'' is a six-part BBC television series from 1976. It combines the genres of police procedural and docudrama, with dramatised documentaries in which classic criminal cases and unsolved crimes from history were re-appraised by fict ...
''. In 1976 he produced the BBC series ''
When the Boat Comes In ''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 8 January 1976 and 21 April 1981. Across the whole series, events are set in the time period from 1919 to 1937. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Fo ...
'', a north-east drama depicting the hard days of the twenties in the fictional town of Gallowshields. The show was nominated for "Best Drama Series" at the 1976 BAFTAs. It has been said that Lewis had a "respect for text and for writers", which brought him "acclaim", but also "a personal and professional crisis" after the BBC ordered him to scrap his writing team for the next series of ''When the Boat Comes In''. Unwilling to betray his colleagues and friends, Lewis resigned from the BBC on principle. Lewis moved to
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
, producing ''The Good Companions'' (1980) and '' Flambards'' in 1979 – a 13-part historical drama series based on the novels by K.M. Peyton. He later returned to the BBC as a freelance, working on shows ranging from ''
The Chinese Detective ''The Chinese Detective'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first transmitted by the BBC between 1981 and 1982. The series was created by Ian Kennedy Martin, who had previously devised '' The Sweeney'' and ''Juliet Bravo' ...
'' (1982); ''
Rockliffe's Babies ''Rockliffe'' is a British television police procedural drama series, produced by the BBC, which ran for three series between 9 January 1987 and 14 December 1988. ''Rockliffe'' was devised by Richard O'Keeffe, and produced by Leonard Lewis. The ...
'' (1987–88); ''
Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC One, BBC1. The theme of the series concerned ...
'' (1981–83) and ''
The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in o ...
'' (1984). In 1990 Lewis began directing the BBC
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 ...
''. By the end of 1991 he had been promoted to co-producer along with Helen Greaves, both taking charge of the show following the departure of executive producer Michael Ferguson. Lewis and Greaves formulated a new regime for ''EastEndrers'', giving the writers of the serial more authority in storyline progression, with the script department providing "guidance rather than prescriptive episode storylines". By the end of 1992 Helen Greaves left the serial and Lewis became executive and series producer. Among the storylines that aired under Lewis' tenure are
Arthur Fowler Arthur Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Bill Treacher from 1985 to 1996. Arthur featured in archive footage in 2025 to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. The father of the Fowler family, ...
's affair with Christine Hewitt,
Pat Butcher Pat Butcher (also Harris, Wicks and Evans) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Played by Pam St Clement from 12 June 1986, just over a year after the show first aired, until her departure on 1 January 2012. Pat was ...
's drunk-driving crash, the death of
Gill Fowler The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 1991, by order of first appearance. Eibhlin O'Donnell Eibhlin O'Donnell, played by Mary Conlon, is an Irish woman who met and dated Eddie Royl ...
,
Sharon Watts Sharon Watts (also Mitchell, Rickman and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Letitia Dean. Sharon was one of ''EastEnders'' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Jul ...
's affair with her brother-in-law
Phil Mitchell Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother, Grant ( Ross Kemp), sister, Sam ( Danniella Westbrook/ Kim Medca ...
, and the reintroduction of Cindy Beale. Other characters introduced include
David Wicks David Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC TV soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Michael French. David originally appeared from 23 December 1993 to 21 November 1996. He returned to the show on 1 January 2012 and departed two weeks later ...
,
Mandy Salter Mandy Salter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nicola Stapleton. Introduced on 12 March 1992 by executive producer Leonard Lewis, Mandy was portrayed as a teenage tearaway. She was featured in storylin ...
,
Richard Cole Richard Cole (2 January 1946 – 2 December 2021) was an English music manager, who was involved in the rock music business from the mid-1960s to 2003. He is most known for having been the tour manager of English rock band Led Zeppelin from 19 ...
,
Sanjay Kapoor Sanjay Surinder Kapoor (17 October 1965) is an Indian actor and film producer. He works in Hindi cinema, Television in India, Indian television and web series. He is a member of the List of Hindi film families#Kapoor family (of Surinder Kapoo ...
, Christine Hewitt,
Nigel Bates Nigel Bates is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Paul Bradley (English actor), Paul Bradley. Introduced in 1992 by Leonard Lewis, the character was incorporated gradually and brought back as a regula ...
, Natalie Price and the
Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
family, while axings include
Pete Beale Pete Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Peter Dean (actor), Peter Dean. He makes his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was introduced by Tony Holl ...
, and some of Tavernier family. Lewis decided to leave ''EastEnders'' in 1994 after the BBC controllers demanded an extra episode a week, taking its weekly airtime from 1hr (two episodes), to 1.5hrs (three episodes). Lewis felt that producing an hour of "reasonable quality drama" a week was the maximum that any broadcasting system could generate without loss of integrity. Having set up the transition to the new schedule, the first trio of episodes – dubbed The Vic siege – marked Lewis' departure from the programme. He decided to retire in 1995.


Personal life

Lewis was born on 29 November 1927, in
Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
,
North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...
, but moved to
East Barnet East Barnet is an area of north London within the London Borough of Barnet bordered by New Barnet, Cockfosters and Southgate. It is a largely residential suburb whose central area contains shops, public houses, restaurants and services, and ...
when he was about seven. He was educated at the local grammar school, where he met his future wife, Jean. They married in 1950 and remained together til Lewis' death in 2005. He was a father to three daughters, Sian, Tessa and Maria. Lewis and his wife retired to
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
in 1995, where he remained active despite health problems. He had a keen interest in travelling, calligraphy and ice-cream making. He was also involved with his local community – three weeks before his death, his production of ''
She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays ...
'', for the South Petherton Drama Group, received "rave reviews". He died suddenly on 2 December 2005, aged 78.


Selected filmography

*''Z-Cars'' (1965) *''Adam Adamant Lives!'' (1966) *''Softly, Softly'' (1969–1974) *''Barlow at Large'' (1973) *''Jack the Ripper'' (1973) *''When the Boat Comes In'' (1976) *'' Flambards'' (1979) *''The Good Companions'' (1980) *''The Chinese Detective'' (1982) *''Juliet Bravo'' (1981–83) *'' Tales of the Unexpected'' (1983) *''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1984) *''Brat Farrar'' (1986) *''Rockliffe's Babies'' (1987–88) *'' The Franchise Affair'' (1988) *''EastEnders'' (1991–94) *'' Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time'' (1993)


References


External links

*
Leonard Lewis
at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Leonard 1927 births 2005 deaths BBC television producers British television directors British television producers People educated at East Barnet School People from Tottenham