Anthony Read facts for kids

Anthony Read (born April 21, 1935 – died November 21, 2015) was a talented English writer. He worked as a television producer, screenwriter, and script editor. He also became a successful author.

Anthony Read was very active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s. During this time, he helped create many popular shows. He was especially known for his work on Doctor Who from 1977 to 1979. Even after that, he kept working on TV shows until 1999.

In the 1980s, he started a new career writing books. He mostly wrote about World War II history. He also led the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, a group for writers. From 2004, he wrote many fiction books. These included new stories for his TV series The Baker Street Boys.

Anthony Read's Early Life

Anthony Read was born in a small mining town called Cheslyn Hay in Staffordshire, England. He first wanted to be an actor. He studied acting at Queen Mary's Grammar School and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

His studies were paused when he had to join the military. He then started his own theater group called Theatre Unlimited. After a short time as an actor, he worked in advertising. He also served in the Royal Artillery as a gunner. Later, he became an editor at a publishing company called Jonathan Cape.

Anthony Read's Career in Television

Starting Out in the 1960s

Anthony Read's first TV job was in 1962. He was a freelance writer for a BBC police show called Z-Cars. He officially joined the BBC in November 1963.

Soon, he became a writer and script editor for other adventure and mystery shows. These included Detective and Sherlock Holmes (1965). He worked on the show The Troubleshooters for a long time. This series was about the petroleum industry. He started as a script editor in 1965 and became a producer in 1969.

Working on TV in the 1970s

After The Troubleshooters, Anthony Read continued as a producer for a few years. He worked on shows like The Lotus Eaters. He often worked with the same talented people, like director Douglas Camfield and writer David Fisher.

In 1977, he joined Doctor Who as a script editor. He worked with producer Graham Williams. He took over from Robert Holmes during the 15th season.

For the 16th season, Read helped create the Key to Time storyline. He also helped shape the character of the first Romana. On Doctor Who, he worked again with David Fisher. Fisher wrote several stories for the show.

Read also helped bring Douglas Adams to Doctor Who. Adams later became famous for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Read suggested Adams should take over as script editor. Read's last Doctor Who story was The Horns of Nimon. This story was based on the myth of the Minotaur.

After Doctor Who in 1979, he wrote episodes for a thriller series called The Omega Factor.

TV Successes in the 1980s

In the 1980s, Anthony Read co-wrote a Sapphire & Steel TV story. In 1984, he adapted the book Chocky by John Wyndham for children's TV. This show was very popular. He then wrote two new stories for it: Chocky's Children and Chocky's Challenge. The people who owned Wyndham's stories thought Read's Chocky adaptation was the best ever.

His biggest success in the 1980s was The Baker Street Boys (1983). This show had a fresh take on the world of Sherlock Holmes. It earned Read an award from the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.

Anthony Read as an Author

During the 1980s, Anthony Read started writing more books. He slowly shifted from TV work to being a full-time author.

He continued to work with David Fisher on non-fiction books. They often wrote about World War II. Their books included The Fall of Berlin (1992) and The Deadly Embrace (1988). Read also wrote many books on his own. These included The Devil's Disciples: Hitler's Inner Circle (2003). He also wrote fiction, especially new books for The Baker Street Boys series.

Anthony Read and the Writers' Guild

Anthony Read was an active member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. He was the chair of the guild from 1981 to 1982. He worked to help young writers. He created rules for the industry to support them. He never took money for his work with the guild.

He also helped establish Channel 4, a new TV channel. He co-wrote a plan for the future of broadcasting. This plan was used to create the new channel.

Anthony Read's Writing Credits