Derek Granger facts for kids

Derek Granger (born April 23, 1921 – died November 29, 2022) was a talented British producer and screenwriter. He worked on many famous TV shows and movies. Some of his well-known projects include Brideshead Revisited, A Handful of Dust, and Where Angels Fear to Tread.

Derek Granger: A Life in TV and Film

Early Years

Derek Granger was born in Bramhall, England. His parents were Winifred and Edgar Granger. When he was 14, his family moved to Eastbourne. His father managed candy shops there.

Derek loved theatre from a young age. In 1935, he saw the famous actor Laurence Olivier perform in Romeo and Juliet in London. After finishing school in 1938, Derek started working as a reporter. He wrote for the Sussex Daily News and the Evening Argus in Brighton. He also served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. When he returned to journalism, he became a theatre critic.

Making TV Shows

In 1952, Laurence Olivier chose Derek to be the first drama critic for the Financial Times newspaper. This was a new section for arts news.

In 1958, Derek joined Granada Television. He worked as a researcher and later became the head of plays from 1958 to 1961. He then became the second producer of the popular TV show Coronation Street (1961–1962). During his time on the show, there was a strike by actors. This meant only a few actors could appear. Derek got creative! He tried using tall children to deliver milk and mail, but the actors' union didn't like it. So, he made one of the characters, Dennis Tanner, start a theatrical agency. He filled scenes with animals like snakes, sea lions, pigeons, dogs, and even a chimpanzee!

In 1962, Derek created and produced a comedy show called Bulldog Breed. It starred Donald Churchill as a clumsy character and Amanda Barrie as his girlfriend. He later returned to the world of Coronation Street with a successful spin-off show called Pardon the Expression (1966). This show followed the character Leonard Swindley as he became an assistant manager at a store. However, a second spin-off, Turn Out the Lights (1967), which featured Swindley as a ghost hunter, was not as popular.

In 1964, Derek was an executive producer for World in Action. This show included a special series called Seven Up!. It followed seven-year-old children, and a director named Michael Apted would visit them every seven years to see how their lives changed. Derek also produced music programs and two drama series for a new TV company called LWT. These were The Inside Man (1969), about a psychiatrist, and Wicked Women (1970), which told stories of female criminals from the Victorian era.

Later Projects

From 1969 to 1972, Derek worked with Laurence Olivier again. Olivier was the artistic director at the National Theatre, and Derek was his literary consultant.

Derek then made the award-winning series Country Matters (1972–73). This show was based on stories by authors like H. E. Bates. He also co-produced Laurence Olivier Presents (1976–78) with Olivier. This series featured six plays chosen by Olivier, most of which he also starred in. These included famous plays like Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

In 1981, Derek produced the highly acclaimed TV series Brideshead Revisited, starring Jeremy Irons. After leaving Granada TV in 1982, he produced two more films based on books: A Handful of Dust (1988) and Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991).

Later Life and Death

Derek Granger passed away on November 29, 2022.