Tony Warren MBE is the creator of Coronation Street and once summed up the programme as "a fascinating freemasonry, a volume of unwritten rules....Coronation Street sets out to explore these values and in doing so, to entertain."Anticipating a short run for the series, Warren penned all thirteen episodes of the serial that Granada Television promised to broadcast. When the show became a success he continued to pen scripts for the programme until 1968, after which he retired.
Tony was awarded the MBE in 1994 for his services to television drama and he received the Landmark Achievement Award in 2006 at the National Television Awards.
Corrie-inspired books written by Tony Warren include his 1969 autobiography I was Ena Sharples' Father and novels The Lights of Manchester, Full Steam Ahead and Behind Closed Doors.
Tony still retains links with Coronation Street and appeared at the Queer up North festival to discuss representation of gay and lesbian characters in the soap.In July 2008 Tony was awarded an honorary doctorate from Manchester Metropolitan Universty in recognition of his contribution to ground-breaking television and creative writing which "has helped put Manchester and Salford on the cultural map."
On receiving his doctorate, Tony said: "All I've ever done is to try to entertain and to show people that there is much to love about the back street."
If you can add to Tony Warren's profile (or indeed, if you are Tony Warren and would like to be interviewed for this blog) do please contact me.
For full profiles of all the current Corrie writing team, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment