Johnny Byrne (writer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Johnny Byrne
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| Born | John Christopher Byrne 27 November 1935 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 2 April 2008 (aged 72) Norwich, Norfolk, England |
| Resting place | Heydon, Norfolk |
| Occupation |
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| Language | English |
| Period | 1960s–2005 |
| Genre | Science fiction, drama |
| Notable works | Created Heartbeat and Noah's Ark Wrote for Space: 1999, All Creatures Great and Small, Tales of the Unexpected and Doctor Who. |
| Spouse |
Sandy Carrington-Mails
(m. 1975) |
| Children | 3 |
John Christopher Byrne (born November 27, 1935 – died April 2, 2008) was a talented Irish writer. He worked a lot for the BBC, helping to create and write many popular TV shows. He was also a script editor, which means he helped make sure scripts were ready for filming.
When he was young, he traveled a lot as a poet. In the 1960s, he worked as an editor for books and magazines. He also wrote short stories for a magazine called Science Fantasy.
Byrne wrote many different things. He helped write a novel called Groupie in 1969. He also wrote scripts for films like Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1972) and Rosie Is My Relative (1976).
He was a script editor for the TV series All Creatures Great and Small. He wrote 29 episodes for this show. He also wrote for One by One.
John Byrne created two very popular TV drama series. These were Heartbeat (1992-2005) and Noah's Ark (1997-1998). He wrote 23 episodes for Heartbeat, which was based on the Constable books.
Writing for Space: 1999
John Byrne was a very important writer for the first season of Space: 1999. This was a science fiction TV show that aired from 1973 to 1975. He wrote many scripts for this exciting series.
He was first going to be a creative consultant for the second season. But the show's producers wanted someone from the United States. So, Fred Freiberger took that job instead.
Byrne wrote several episodes for the first season of Space: 1999. These included "Matter of Life and Death" and "Another Time, Another Place". He also wrote "Force of Life", "Voyager's Return", and "End of Eternity". Other episodes he wrote were "The Troubled Spirit", "Mission of the Darians", and "The Testament of Arkadia".
For the second season, he wrote "The Metamorph". He also wrote "The Immunity Syndrome" and "The Dorcons".
Writing for Doctor Who
John Byrne is also famous for his work on the British science-fiction TV series Doctor Who. He wrote three stories that were shown on TV.
His first Doctor Who story was The Keeper of Traken in 1981. This story brought back a famous villain called the Master. It was the first part of three stories about this character. Byrne also created the character of Nyssa for this story. Nyssa later became a companion to the Fifth Doctor.
Byrne's second story was Arc of Infinity in 1983. This episode featured another Time Lord villain named Omega. Omega had first appeared in The Three Doctors ten years earlier.
His last story for Doctor Who was Warriors of the Deep in 1984. This story brought back two classic monsters. These were the Silurians and the Sea Devils.
In 1991, Byrne wrote a script for a Doctor Who movie. The movie was called Doctor Who: Last of the Time Lords, but it was never made.
His Life
John Byrne moved from Ireland to the United Kingdom in 1956. For some time, he taught English to people learning it as a new language. He taught in different cities across Europe.
In 1975, he married Sandy Carrington-Mail. They had three sons together.
His Death
John Byrne passed away on April 2, 2008. He was 72 years old. He lived and is buried in a village called Heydon in Norfolk, England.
