Tony Garnett

Tony Garnett is the first book-length study of one of the most respected and prolific producers working in British television. From ground-breaking dramas from the 1960s such as Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home to the 'must see' series in the 1990s and 2000s such as This Life and The Cops, Garnett has produced some of the most important and influential British television drama.

This book charts Garnett's career from his early days as an actor to his position as executive producer and head of World Productions. Drawing on personal interviews, archival research, contextual analysis and selected case studies, Tony Garnett examines the ways in which Garnett has helped to define the role of the producer in British television drama. Arguing that Garnett was both a key creative and political influence on the work he produced and an enabler of the work of others, the book traces his often combative relationships with broadcasting institutions (especially the BBC). Additionally, the study discusses the films he made for the cinema and considers some of the ways in which Garnett's experiments in film technology – 16 mm in the 1960s, digital video in the 1990s – have shaped his creative output.

Tony Garnett will be of interest to all levels of researchers and students of British television drama, media and film.

Introduction: Telling the truth
1. From actor to producer – into the driving seat
2. The 1960s – social realism and The Wednesday Play
3. Plays for Today: representing ‘managed dissensus’
4. Independence and dependency
Bibliography
Appendix 1: list of television plays and films
Appendix 2: list of films for theatrical release