Peter Tinniswood (21 December 1936 – 9 January 2003) was an English

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and TV

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

scriptwriter, and author of a series of popular novels. He was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, but grew up above a dry cleaner's on Eastway in Sale,

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 ...

Early career

Tinniswood attended Sale Boys' Grammar School. His career began in journalism. He spent four years in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

from 1958, first working for '' The Star'', and then for the ''

Sheffield Telegraph The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England. Founded in 1855 as the ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'', it became known as the ''Sheffield Telegraph'' in 1938. History The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' was founded ...

'', where he was a leader writer and specialised in feature writing. He won widespread admiration for a week-long series ''Travels with a Donkey'', an account of a tramp round the Peak District with a reluctant donkey.

Television and radio

In 1964, Tinniswood collaborated with his long-term writing partner

David Nobbs David Gordon Nobbs (13 March 1935 – 8 August 2015 ...

on 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 ...

sketch show '' The Frost Report'' and the comedy ''Lance At Large'', a sitcom starring

Lance Percival John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to impr ...

in which Percival's character, Alan Day, was involved in different scenarios and meeting different people in each episode. The short-lived ITV series ''Never Say Die'' (1970) drew on Tinniswood's days as a hospital porter. Set in Victoria Memorial Hospital, the show derived much of its comedy from the interactions between patients and staff. It starred Reginald Marsh and

Patrick Newell Patrick David Newell (27 March 1932 – 22 July 1988) was a British actor perhaps best known for playing Mother in '' The Avengers''. Early life and education The second son of Eric Llewellyn Newell, of High Lodge, Hadleigh, Suffolk, an Oxf ...

. Tinniswood based the BBC comedy '' I Didn't Know You Cared'' (1975–1979) on his novels. Featuring the Brandons, a dour northern family, the programme ran until 1979, and featured Liz Smith,

Robin Bailey William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television Th ...

John Comer John Comer (1 March 1924 – 11 February 1984) was a British comic actor. He was best known for his roles in ''Coronation Street'' as Mr Birtles, then as a taxi driver, and later as Wilf Jones, in ''Emmerdale Farm'' as Ernie Shuttleworth, Les ...

and

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born October 31, 1946) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he began his career as a member of Dublin's Focus Theatre, and played many roles on the stage and on Irish television. He came to the attention of inte ...

. In 1980, the BBC produced a series based on other Tinniswood books, featuring the character the Brigadier, an erstwhile cricketer and latterly raconteur, played by

. Some of the stories were adapted for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. The series was remade in 1985 for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. For ITV in 1983, Tinniswood wrote ''The Home Front'', again set in the north of England. It starred

Brenda Bruce Brenda Bruce OBE (7 July 1919Some sources cite 17 July 1919. – 19 February 1996) was an English actress. She was focused on the theatre, radio, film, and television. Career Bruce was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, in 1919, and started ...

as Mrs Place, a nosey, arrogant mother who lorded it over her three children. Two years later ITV produced '' Mog'', based on Tinniswood's 1970 novel and starring

Enn Reitel Enn Reitel (born 21 June 1950) is a Scottish actor who specialises in voice work in films, television series and video games. Early life Reitel's family arrived in Scotland as refugees from Estonia. He trained as an actor at the Central Sch ...

as the title character. The episodes were written by

Ian La Frenais Ian La Frenais (born 7 January 1937) is a retired English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including '' The Likely Lads'', ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', ' ...

and

Dick Clement Dick Clement (born 5 September 1937) is a retired English writer, director and producer. He became known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais for television series including ''The Likely Lads'', ''Whatever Happened to the Likely La ...

, but it was not a success. Also in 1985, was ''South Of The Border'' starring

Brian Glover Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and professional wrestler before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His ...

as Edgar Rowley, a Yorkshireman forced to migrate to the south of England. In later years, Tinniswood's output was mostly for Radio 4 and included the continuing adventures of Uncle Mort and Carter Brandon in ''Uncle Mort's North Country'', ''Uncle Mort's South Country'' and ''Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe'' and a series about poacher Winston Hayballs, his "bit of fluff" Nancy and her family adapted from his novel "Winston". Liz Goulding, his second wife, played Rosie. A lifelong pipe smoker, Peter Tinniswood died of throat cancer at the age of 66. Since his death, the

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The u ...

and the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

have jointly administered in his memory the annual Tinniswood Award, to honour the best original radio drama script broadcast in the UK during the previous year, with a prize of £3,000 for the winner.

TV credits

* ''

That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

'' (1962) * ''The

Dick Emery Richard Gilbert Emery (19 February 19152 January 1983) was an English comedian and comic actor. His broadcasting career began on radio in the 1950s, and his self-titled television series ran from 1963 to 1981. Life and career Richard Gilbert Emer ...

Show'' (1963) * ''Lance At Large'' (1964) * '' The Frost Report'' (1966) * ''Roy Hudd'' (1970) * ''Never Say Die'' (1970) * '' I Didn't Know You Cared'' (1975) * ''Tales From A Long Room'' (1980) (

) * ''The Home Front'' (1983) * '' Mog'' (1985) * ''South Of The Border'' (1985) * ''Tales From A Long Room'' (1985) (

) * ''Duck Patrol'' (1998)

Novels and other fiction

Source: THE BRANDON FAMILY SERIES: * ''A Touch Of Daniel'' (1968) – Winner of the Author's Club First Novel Award and Book of the Month choice * ''Mog'' (1970) * ''I Didn't Know You Cared'' (1973) – Winner of the

Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize was presented from 1967 until 2003 by the Royal Society of Literature for the best regional novel of the year. It is named after the novelist Winifred Holtby Winifred Holtby (23 June 1898 – 29 September ...

from the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

for best regional novel. * ''Except You're A Bird'' (1974) * ''The Home Front'' (1982) * ''Call it a Canary'' (1985) * ''Uncle Mort’s North Country'' (1986) * ''Uncle Mort’s South Country'' (1990) CRICKETING TALES AND SKETCHES: (A table of the individual pieces in these books is given at the foot of this section). * ''Tales From A Long Room'' (1981) * ''More Tales From A Long Room'' (1982) * ''Collected Tales From A Long Room'' (1982) – a compilation of the above two titles * ''The Brigadier Down Under'' (1983) * ''The Brigadier In Season'' (1984) * ''The Brigadier’s Brief Lives'' (1984) * ''The Brigadier’s Tour'' (1985) * ''The Brigadier's Collection'' (1986) – a compilation of 'The Brigadier’s Brief Lives’ and 'The Brigadier’s Tour’ * ''Tales from Witney Scrotum'' (1987) * ''Witney Scrotum'' (1995) – despite a similar title to the above, this is a different set of stories HAYBALLS AND ITS SEQUEL: * ''Hayballs'' (1989) * ''Winston'' (1991) OTHERS: * ''The Stirk Of Stirk'' (1974) * ''Shemerelda'' (1981) * ''Dolly’s War'' (1987) The books listed above under the heading Cricketing Tales And Sketches contain short stories and other humorous pieces as shown here: ''Collected Tales From A Long Room'' – stories 1–13 are the same as 1–13 in ''Tales From A Long Room''; stories 14–24 are the same as 1–11 in ''More Tales From A Long Room''. ''The Brigadier’s Brief Lives'' – contains the following short sketches: #Miss Petula Clark #Lord Carrington #Mr Rupert Murdoch #Mr Richard Baker #Sir John Mills #Mr Ray Buckton #Mr E. W. Swanton #Lord Wilson #Mr Kevin Keegan #Mr Norman St John Stevas #Sir Douglas Bader #Mr Roy Jenkins #Sir Robin Day #Miss Jan Leeming #Prince Philip #Mr Andrew Lloyd-Webber #Lord Goodman #Miss Jilly Cooper #The Duke of Westminster #Mr David Frost #Mr Laurie McMenamy #The Village Tea Lady #Miss Esther Tantzen #Andrew Previn #Lord Lichfield #Mr Geoffrey Boycott #Mrs Mary Whitehouse #Sir Richard Attenborough #Mr Robert Robinson #Mr Winston Churchill #Lord Longford #Mr Michael Parkinson #Mr Terry Wogan #Mr David Attenborough #Mr Roy Plomley #Mr Sebastian Coe #Miss Pamela Stephenson #Mr Arthur Scargill #Mr Roy Hattersley #Mr Ian Paisley #Cardinal Hume #Mr Ian Botham #Mr Michael Foot #Mr H. D. 'Dicky' Bird #Mr Frank Muir #Earl Spencer #Mr Jimmy Hill #Mr Leon Brittan #Mr Jimmy Savile OBE #Miss Elizabeth Jane Howard #Mr Tony Benn #Mr Tom Stoppard #Mr Bob Willis #Mr Barry Took #Miss Britt Ekland #Sir Peter Hall #Sir Geoffrey Howe #Mr James Cameron #Lord Lucan #Mr Ned Sherrin #The Archbishop of Canterbury #Princess Margaret #Miss Jean Rook #Mr Norman Tebbitt #Mr Mick Jagger #Mr Patrick Moore #Doctor David Owen #Mr Jimmy Young #Sir Anthont Blunt #Mr Clive Jenkins #Mr Enoch Powell #Lady Falklander #Miss Jan Morris #Mr Ludovic Kennedy #Mr Brian Redhead #Mr Brian Johnson #Mr Reginald Bosanquet #Mr Auberon Waugh #Mr Bill Sowerbutts #Mr Jim Laker #Mr Jackie Stewart #Lord Kagan #Sir Harold Macmillan #Mr John Wells #Mrs Shirley Williams #Mr Henry Cooper #Mr John Lennon #Mr Neil Kinnock #Captain Mark Phillips #Mr Winston Place #Dame Vera Lynn #Mr Feliks Topolski #Mr Alan Ayckbourn #Sir John Hackett ''The Brigadier’s Tour'' – contains the following 116 short sketches: The Introduction The Captain: • Mr W. H. Wooller The Vice-Captain: • Mr D. J. Insole The Opening Batsmen: • Mr W. Place • Sir J. B. Hobbs • Mr J. B. Stollmeyer • Mr H. L. Collins • Mr W. Rhodes • Mr W. M. Lawry • Mr A. Jones • Mr S. M. Gavaskar • Mr A. R. Morris • Mr A. C. Maclaren • Mr F. A. Lowson • Mr Hanif Mohammed • Mr R. T. Simpson • Mr C. Milburn • Mr G. Boycott • Mr T. Meale The Specialist Batsmen: • Mr F. R. Spofforth • Mr K. C. Bland • Mr E. de C. Weekes • Mr W. Watson • Mr C. B. Fry • Mr I. R. Redpath • Mr M. P. Donnelly • Mr C. H. Lloyd • Mr G. Gunn • Mr D. I. Gower • Sir D. G. Bradman • Mr G. R. Viswanath • Mr D. C. S. Compton • Mr A. D. Nourse • Nawab of Pataudi • Mr P. M. Roebuck • Mr V. T. Trumper • Mr I. V. A. Richards • Mr J. E. P. McMaster • Mr R. H. Spooner • Brigadier-General R. M. Poore • Mr D. W. Randall • Mr Z. Abbas • Mr K. D. Mackay • Mr G. L. Jessop • Charles Lawrence, Mullagh, Dick-A-Dick, Twopenny, Red Cap, Mosquito, King Cole, Peter, Cuzens, Tiger, Jim Crow, Bullocky, Dumas, Sundown • Mr D. B. Close • Mr R. L. Dias • Mr C. L. Walcott • Mr T. W. Hayward • Rt Rev D. S. Sheppard • Mr R. N. Harvey • Mr T. W. Graveney • Sir P. F. Warner • Mr A. R. Lewis • Mr A. R. Border • Mr H. Pilling The All Rounders: • Mr W. G. Grace • Mr R. G. Garlick • Mr R. Benaud • Mr G. H. Hirst • Lord Constantine, Baron of Maraval and Nelson • Mr M. A. Noble • Mr R. M. Kapil Dev • Sir G. St. A. Sobers • Mr P. M. Walker • Mr M. J. Procter • Mr A. E. Trott • Mr F. E. Woolley • Sir F. M. M. Worrell • Mr W. R. Hammond • Mr I. T. Botham The Fast Bowlers: • Mr J. B. Statham • Mr J. Barton King • Mr H. Larwood • Mr D. K. Lillee • Mr Fazal Mahmood • Mr R. V. Divecha • Mr W. Voce • Mr R. R. Lindwall • Mr W. J. O'Reilly • Mr R. G. D. Willis • Mr E. A. McDonald • Mr M. W. Tate • Mr T. Richardson • Mr I. J. Jones • Mr J. M. Gregory • Mr R. J. Hadlee • Mr F. E. Rumsey • Sir C. A. Smith The Spinners: • Mr D. J. Shepherd • Mr C. V. Grimmett • Mr R. Peel • Mr P. H. Edmonds • Mr B. S. Bedi • Mr R. Tattersall • Mr J. E. Emburey • Mr H. J. Tayfield • Mr S. Ramadhin • Mr J. C. White • Mr D. V. P. Wright • Mr J. Briggs • Mr J. C. Laker • Mr L. R. Gibbs • Mr C. H. Parkin • Mr H. Verity • Mr Abdul Qadir • Mr C. Blythe The Greatest Bowler Of Them All: • Mr S. F. Barnes The Wicket Keepers: • Mr D. Tallon • Mr R. W. Marsh • Mr F. M. Engineer • Mr R. W. Taylor • Mr J. R. Reid • Mr J. G. Binks • Mr W. H. V. Levett The Replacements: • The Replacements.

Radio credits

Radio drama

(snt =

Saturday-Night Theatre; aft = BBC Afternoon Theatre, m = monologue) *1964 Hardluck Hall (6 x 30m, series of comedy plays) *1973 Sam's Wedding (aft) *1980 A Gifted Child (aft) *1981 An Occasional Day (aft) *1981 Stoker Leishman's Diaries (snt) *1981 The Siege *1981 The Bargeman's Comfort *1985 Crossing the Frontier *1987 A Touch Of Daniel (snt) *1987 The Village Fete rpt. 1988 (snt) *1990 A Small Union *1992 Tales from the Brigadier *1992 Two into Three *1993 The Governor's Consort (for M. Wimbush) R3 *1995 Pen Pals *1997 Secret life of the Shed–feature on shed life–with P.Tinniswood *1997 Batteries not included-feature on batteries-with P.Tinniswood *1997 A Very Rare Bird Indeed *1998 The Last Obituary (for

Billie Whitelaw Billie Honor Whitelaw (6 June 1932 – 21 December 2014) was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was als ...

;m),rpt 1999 *1998 Visiting Julia: 6-episode comedy drama series *1998 Next time we might play better *1998 The wireless lady *1998 On the whole it's been jolly good (for

Maurice Denham William Maurice Denham (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Early life Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son of Eleanor ...

;m),rpt.1999 *1998 Verona-a conspiracy of parrots (for Stephanie Cole;m),rpt 1999 *1999 The House Swap *1999 The Scan *2000 Dorothy, a Manager's wife *2000 Age Gap *2000 The Packer *2000 Admiral of the night *2000 Monument (adapted from

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo OMRI (; 26 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan language, Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and ...

), dram. *2001 The Duvet Lady (Billie Whitelaw monologue) *2001 Mr. Reliable *2001 Tales from the backbench (series 1, 4 episodes) *2001 On the train from Chemnitz *2001 Tales from the Backbench (series 2, 4 episodes) *2002 On the whole it's been jolly good, rpt *2002 The Air Raid *2002 Anton in Eastbourne (for

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...

) *2003 The Goalkeeper's Boo-Boo *2010 The Visitor (BBC Radio 4 7 October 2010,

Roy Hudd Roy Hudd (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née Barham ...

and

Emma Fielding Emma Georgina Annalies Fielding (born 7 October 1970) is an English actress. Early life and education The daughter of a British Army officer, Fielding spent some of her childhood in Nigeria, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Northern Ireland and other ...

)

Serials

(numbers show no. of episodes) Sutton Elms Radio Drama resource
/ref> *Home Again 6 ( R4 2.6.1980– 7 July 1980

/Doreen Mantle/Liz Goulding/

David Troughton David Troughton (born 9 June 1950) is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' and Ricky Hanson in ''Ne ...

/Christopher Benjamin) *Uncle Mort's North Country 5 (R4 21 July 1988 -18.8.1988 Stephen Thorne/

Peter Skellern Peter Skellern (14 March 1947 – 17 February 2017) was an English singer-songwriter and pianist who rose to fame in the 1970s. He had two Hit song, top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart – "You're a Lady" (1972), which typifies his signature ...

Christian Rodska Christian Rodska (born Christian Rodskjaer; 5 September 1945 – 21 March 2024) was an English actor who appeared in many television and radio series and narrated a number of audiobooks, including Sir Winston Churchill's Nobel Prize winning '' T ...

) *Winston 6 (R4 26.4.1989– 31 May 1989

/Christian Rodska/Shirley Dixon/Liz Goulding/

Bill Wallis William Wallis (20 November 1936 – 6 September 2013) was an English actor who appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre. Early life Wallis was born in Guildford in Surrey, the only son of Albert Wallis, a trai ...

) *Winston Comes To Town 6 (R4 1.1.1990– 5 February 1990 Maurice Denham/Shirley Dixon/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis) *Uncle Mort's South Country – Series 1 5 (R4 12 July 1990 9 August 1990

Stephen Thorne Stephen John Thorne (2 March 1935 – 26 May 2019) was a British actor of radio, film, stage, and television. He was best known for his regular BBC Radio 4 work and audiobook recordings, and for his portrayals of a few ''Doctor Who'' villains, ...

/Sam Kelly/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska) *Uncle Mort's South Country – Series 2 5 (R4 27 October 1990 -24.11.1990 Stephen Thorne/Sam Kelly/Liz Goulding/Christopher Good/Christian Rodska) *Winston In Love 6 (R4 31 December 1990 -4.2.1991 Shirley Dixon/Bill Wallis/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska) *Winston In Europe 6 (R4 12 March 1992 -16.4.1992 Shirley Dixon/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis) *Winston Back Home 6 (R4 31 March 1994 -5.5.1994 Shirley Dixon/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis) *Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe 5 (R4 12 February 1996 -11.3.1996 Stephen Thorne/Sam Kelly/Christian Rodska/Liz Goulding)

External links

*
Peter Tinniswood at 'Diversity'
– radio writing for the BBC.
BBC Guide to Comedy
– information about shows to which Peter Tinniswood contributed.
News of death (BBC)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinniswood, Peter 1936 births 2003 deaths Deaths from esophageal cancer in England Novelists from Liverpool People from Sale, Greater Manchester English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights People educated at Sale Grammar School 20th-century English male writers