Television sitcom writer Carla Lane, who has died at the age of 87, created a succession of popular shows to become one of Britain's best-known scriptwriters.
The Liverpudlian began her career as a journalist and writer of radio plays before entering the then male-dominated world of sitcoms in the late 1960s. She went on to create a string of popular shows that tackled emotional and social issues and celebrated resilient, funny women, from single girls to working-class mums and frustrated housewives.
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The Liver Birds
Lane created her first popular sitcom with fellow housewife Myra Taylor after meeting at a local writers' club. The show, about two lively Liverpool flatmates, ran on BBC One from 1969 to 1979 and followed the ups and downs of the "dolly birds", originally played by Nerys Hughes and Polly James, as they dealt with trials and troubles of boyfriends, work, parents and shared living.
Bless this House
The ITV sitcom starring Sid James and Diana Coupland, mainly written by Lane and Dave Freeman, focused on the lives and generational frictions of a suburban family in London. Travelling stationery salesman Sid Abbott and his wife Jean lived with their two children, unemployed art-school grad Mike and fashion conscious schoolgirl Sally. The show parodied the gap between the generations as the out-of-touch parents struggled to understand and cope with their children's lives and attitudes. It is frequently listed as one of the UK's most popular sitcoms.
Butterflies
Lane's next hit was a bittersweet tale of middle-class family life starring Wendy Craig as frustrated housewife Ria Parkinson, married to Geoffrey Palmer's reserved dentist Ben. Ria was preoccupied with fantasies about the roads not travelled in life and love, but traditional and conservative Ben, who collected butterflies for a hobby, seemed oblivious to her yearnings and struggles with his sons' carefree approach to work and life. The series ran from 1978 to 1983.
Solo
Felicity Kendall starred as 30-year-old Gemma, who decided to change her life after discovering her live-in boyfriend, Danny, had been having an affair. She threw Danny out and quit her job, but found change was not as easy as she imagined. It ran for 13 episodes between 1981 and 1982.
The Mistress
Kendall also starred in Lane's sitcom about a young florist having an affair with a married man. Like Butterflies and Solo, The Mistress dealt with a serious theme but in light-hearted ways. It aired for two series from 1985 to 1987.
Bread
Lane's attention shifted from personal relationships to broader social themes in her long-running hit sitcom about a Liverpool family struggling in Thatcher's Britain. Led by their tough but God-fearing-Catholic mother Nellie (Jean Boht), the unemployed Boswells tried to make ends meet with cash-in-hand jobs and other various escapades. Running from 1986 to 1991, it is also frequently cited in lists of Britain's best sitcoms.
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