British Television Drama

Jonathan Bignell, University of Reading, UKEdward Braun University of Bristol, UKVictoria Byard, University of Leicester, UKSarah Cardwell, University of Kent, UKJohn Caughie, Glasgow University, UKJames Chapman, University of Leicester, UKAndrew Davies, writer for television, UKDavid Edgar, University of Birmingham, UKTony Garnett, film and television producer, UKJulia Hallam, University of Liverpool, UKBarry Hanson, television producer, UKStephen Lacey, University of South Wales, UKBen Lamb, University of South Wales, UKJohn McGrath, film and theatre producer, UKMadeleine Macmurraugh-Kavanagh (Davies), University of Reading, UKAlan Plater, writer for television, UKPhil Redmond, producer and screenwriter, UKCameron Roach, Senior Commissioning Editor for Drama at BSkyB, UKIrene Shubik, television producer, UKBilly Smart, Royal Holloway University of London, UKShaun Sutton, drama producer, UKTimothy West, stage, film and television actor, UK

• Contents Acknowledgements Notes on the Contributors Editors' Introduction 1. Contexts; Tony Garnett PART I: INSTITUTIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES Editors' Introduction to Part I 2. Sydney Newman and the 'Golden Age'; Shaun Sutton 3. Television Drama Series: a Producer's View; Irene Shubik 4. TV Drama: Then and Now; John McGrath 5. Writing Television Drama - Then and Now; Andrew Davies 6 Brookside : The Technology Backstory; Phil Redmond 7 Plot Inflation in Greater Weatherfield: Coronation Street in the 1990s; Billy Smart 8 Persuaded? The Impact of Changing Production Contexts on Three Adaptations of Persuasion ; Sarah Cardwell PART II: FORMATS AND GENRES Editors' Introduction to Part II 9. 'The Age of Innocence'; Alan Plater 10. Playing Shops, Shopping Plays: The Effect of the Internal Market on Television Drama; David Edgar 11. 'A Hero Mumsy': Parenting, Power, and Production Changes in The Sarah Jane Adventures ; Victoria Byard 12. Downton Abbey: Reinventing the British Costume Drama; James Chapman 13. What Do Actors Do When They Act? John Caughie CODA: Timothy West discusses 'Acting on Stage: Acting on Screen', followed by extracts from the discussion after his and John Caughie's presentations. PART III: REPRESENTATIONS 14. The 1970s: Regional Variations; Barry Hanson 15. 'What Truth is there in this Story?': The Dramatisation of Northern Ireland; Edward Braun 16. Moving Waterloo Road from Rochdale to Greenock: Exploring a Sense of Place in Drama Series; Cameron Roach 17. Too Secret for Words: Coded Dissent in Female-authored Wednesday Plays; Madeleine Macmurraugh-Kavanagh 18. 'Ah! Our very own Juliet Bravo, or is it Jill Gascoine?' Ashes to Ashes and Representations of Gender; Ben Lamb 19. Power Plays: Gender, Genre, and Lynda La Plante; Julia Hallam Editors' Conclusion Select Bibliography Index

"The book not only brings academics and TV professionals together in the debate about televised drama but also provides a probing, but not over-technical introduction to the field of British Television Drama." - Christian-Martin Czypull, University of Hannover, European Journal of English Studies"Overall this collection remains valuable reading for anyone interested in the academic and commercial analysis of television drama, with valuable new perspectives offered by the newly commissioned chapters." - Mark Fryers, University of East Anglia