Peter Tinniswood

Peter Tinniswood (21 December 1936 – 9 January 2003) was an English radio and TV comedy scriptwriter, and author of a series of popular cricketing novels. He was born in Liverpool, but grew up above a dry cleaner's on Eastway in Sale, Cheshire.

Early career[]

Tinniswood attended Sale Boys' Grammar School. His career began in journalism. He spent four years in Sheffield from 1958, first working for The Star, and then for the Sheffield Telegraph, 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 on the BBC sketch show The Frost Report^[1] and the comedy Lance At Large, starring Lance Percival. It was an innovative attempt to update the sitcom formula, as 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 focused on the comedy created between the patients and staff. It starred Reginald Marsh and Patrick Newell.

Tinniswood's best-known comedy was 1975's I Didn't Know You Cared featuring the Brandons, a dour northern family. Adapted for the BBC from his novels, the programme ran until 1979, and featured Liz Smith, Robin Bailey, John Comer and Stephen Rea.

In 1980 the BBC produced a series based on other Tinniswood books, featuring the character the Brigadier, an erstwhile cricketer and over-the-top raconteur, played by Robin Bailey. Some of the stories were adapted for BBC Radio 4. The series was remade in 1985 for Channel 4.

For ITV in 1983 Tinniswood wrote The Home Front, again set in the north of England. It starred Brenda Bruce as Mrs Place, a nosey, arrogant mother who lorded it over her three children. Two years later ITV produced Mog, based on Peter's 1970 novel and starring Enn Reitel as the title character. The episodes were written by Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement, but it was not a success. Also in 1985 was South Of The Border starring Brian Glover 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 and the Society of Authors 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 £1500 for the winner.

TV credits[]

• That Was The Week That Was (1962)
• The Dick Emery 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) (BBC)
• The Home Front (1983)
• Mog (1985)
• South Of The Border (1985)
• Tales From A Long Room (1985) (Channel 4)
• Duck Patrol (1998)

Novels and other fiction^[2][]

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 from the Royal Society of Literature for best regional novel.^[3]
• 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) - compilation [of 'Down Under' and 'In Season'?]
• 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:

#	Tales From A Long Room	More Tales From A Long Room	The Brigadier Down Under	The Brigadier In Season	Tales From Witney Scrotum	Witney Scrotum
1	Root's Boot	Witney Scrotum	The Explanation	The Start of the Season	The Dedication	The Commodore
2	Our Own Dear Queen	The Boys of Summer	The Landfall	Stumped!	The Introduction	Mentioned in Dispatches
3	The Ditherers	Batman	First Impressions	A Day in the Life of	Hitting the Truth	Slakehouse
4	'Blackstop'	Five Non-Cricketers	A Day Out	Harold Salisbury	A Walk with Miss Roebuck	Himmelweit Revisited
5	What Do I Mean By?	Sibson	Before The Match	A Glimpse into the Future	The Third Man	In Dock
6	The Lady Wife	The Royal Wedding	First Dispatches From The Front	The Party	Souvenirs	Mitchell Dever
7	The Groundsman's Horse	Hard Times	Kingsley Kunzel	Carry on Goering	Tour de Force	The Trusty Old Lanchester
8	Mendip-Hughes	The Mole	Second Dispatches From The Front	The Holy Father	Famous Sons	Split Runciman
9	Cricketers' Cook Book	Apartheid	The Lady Wife Down Under	"Looknow" Hobson	Another Bloody Wife	Alternative Cricket
10	Polar Games	Blofeld Revisited	A Visit To Naunton	Miss Roebuck's Diaries: The Journals of a Cricketing Spinster	The Half Century	What-Ho, Vileness
11	The Ones That Got Away	Cricket Ahoy	Third Dispatches From The Front	The Brigadier in Season	The Great Day	Beryl
12	I Was There		The Return		Stop Press	The Bird Tapes
13	Incident at Frome					When Winter Comes
14						Farewell, My Lovelies
15						The Perfect Day
16						Cricketers' Quiz

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 Saville 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 = BBC 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;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;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), 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)
• 2003 The Goalkeeper's Boo-Boo
• 2010 The Visitor (BBC Radio 4 7.10.2010, Roy Hudd and Emma Fielding)

Serials[]

(numbers show no. of episodes) ^{[4][unreliable source?]}

• Home Again 6 (R4 2.6.1980– 7.7.1980 Robin Bailey/Doreen Mantle/Liz Goulding/David Troughton/Christopher Benjamin)
• Uncle Mort's North Country 5 (R4 21.7.1988 -18.8.1988 Stephen Thorne/Peter Skellern/Christian Rodska)
• Winston 6 (R4 26.4.1989– 31.5.1989 Maurice Denham/Christian Rodska/Shirley Dixon/Liz Goulding/Bill Wallis)
• Winston Comes To Town 6 (R4 1.1.1990– 5.2.1990 Maurice Denham/Shirley Dixon/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis)
• Uncle Mort's South Country – Series 1 5 (R4 12.7.1990 9.8.1990 Stephen Thorne/Sam Kelly/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska)
• Uncle Mort's South Country – Series 2 5 (R4 27.10.1990 -24.11.1990 Stephen Thorne/Sam Kelly/Liz Goulding/Christopher Good/Christian Rodska)
• Winston In Love 6 (R4 31.12.1990 -4.2.1991 Shirley Dixon/Bill Wallis/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska)
• Winston In Europe 6 (R4 12.3.1992 -16.4.1992 Shirley Dixon/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis)
• Winston Back Home 6 (R4 31.3.1994 -5.5.1994 Shirley Dixon/Maurice Denham/Liz Goulding/Christian Rodska/Bill Wallis)
• Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe 5 (R4 12.2.1996 -11.3.1996 Stephen Thorne/Sam Kelly/Christian Rodska/Liz Goulding)

External links[]

• Peter Tinniswood at IMDb
• 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[]