Adele Rose

Adele Rose (1933 – 28 December 2020) was an English television writer. She was the longest-serving scriptwriter for the soap opera Coronation Street, writing 457 scripts over a period of 37 years from 1961, and was the first woman to write for the show. She also originated the series Byker Grove (1989–2006), aimed at teenagers.

Biography

Rose was born in Salford, and raised in a Jewish family.[1] She initially worked as a secretary at Granada Television, which produced the soap opera Coronation Street for ITV. After noticing that the show had no female writers, she suggested to the producers that the show needed women working behind the scenes, and asked to join the programme's writing team. The writer Jack Rosenthal invited her to submit a script and encouraged her by co-writing some episodes with her.[2] Rose was hired, and became the show's first female writer and its longest-serving contributor.[3][4][2] She wrote 457 scripts for the soap opera, more than any other writer, between 1961 and 1998, when she stopped writing for the programme.[4][2] ITV's John Whiston credits her with writing some of the show's "most memorable episodes", describing her as "particularly adept at giving voice to some of Corrie's classic fearless female characters".[3][5] According to her husband, Peter Chadwick, "She loved writing the battle-axes in Coronation Street."[5]

In 1989, she created the teen drama series Byker Grove, set in a youth club in Newcastle upon Tyne, for the BBC, and wrote the first three series. The show launched the careers of Ant & Dec, who played the friends PJ and Duncan,[3][6][7] as well as Donna Air and Jill Halfpenny.[8] It had 5 million viewers in the 1990s[8] and lasted for 17 years,[9] with Rose continuing to be credited throughout.[10] Byker Grove was included by The Guardian in a 2018 list of "definitive" shows for teenagers; Iman Amrani describes it as "the north's answer to Grange Hill", praising its "gritty" writing, which took on difficult topics such as sexual relationships (including those which were same sex) and foster care.[8] Rose also originated two earlier series: Girls About Town, a feminist situation comedy which ran to three series from 1969 to 1971, and Second Chance, a drama series about divorce, partly drawn from her own experiences, which screened in 1981.[4][11]

In the 1980s, she also wrote for the soap Crossroads, using a pen name.[4][10][5] Her other credits include episodes of the police series Z-Cars and nursing drama Angels for the BBC, as well as for several shows for ITV, including the comedies Bless This House and Robin's Nest, and the dramas Heartbeat, Rooms, Within These Walls and The Dustbinmen.[7][10] She also wrote a column in the TV Times magazine.[4] She retired from script-writing in 2000.[6]

Recognition

In 1993, Rose received a BAFTA Award for screenwriting, for her work on Coronation Street.[3][10][5] She also received several Writers' Guild Awards for her work on the series, including the 1992 award for Original Drama Series, which she was jointly awarded with the Coronation Street writing team.[1][12]

Personal life

Rose's first marriage ended in divorce. After her retirement in 2000, she moved to the Cotswolds with her long-term partner, Peter Chadwick, a newspaper journalist.[10][5] They married in around the year 2010. She had two children from an earlier marriage.[10]

Rose died of pneumonia on 28 December 2020, at the age of 87.[7][10] The second episode of Coronation Street aired on 8 January 2021 was dedicated to her.[13]

References
  1. Frot, Mathilde (30 December 2020). "Coronation Street writer Adele Rose dies aged 87". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. Vice, Sue (28 April 2009). Jack Rosenthal. Manchester University Press. p. 27. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. "Adele Rose: Tributes to Coronation Street writer and Byker Grove creator". BBC News. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  4. "Women's Work Oral Histories · Learning on Screen". learningonscreen.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  5. Nadeem Badshah (30 December 2020). "Adele Rose, Byker Grove creator, dies aged 87". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  6. White, Adam (30 December 2020). "Adele Rose, the Byker Grove creator who helped discover Ant and Dec, dies aged 87". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  7. Winterburn, Tony (30 December 2020). "Coronation Street's Longest-Serving Writer Adele Rose Dies Aged 87". Euro Weekly News Spain. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  8. Julia Raeside, Stuart Jeffries, Dale Berning Sawa, Benjamin Lee, Michael Hann, Emine Saner, Lanre Bakare, Lorna Cooper, Lara Williams, Iman Amrani, Grace Shutti, Sam Wollaston, Hannah Verdier, Phil Harrison, Dan Martin, Mark Lawson, David Stubbs, Rachel Aroesti, Molly Pierce. "From Grange Hill to Press Gang: which are the best teen shows ever?". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2020.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  9. Ben Dowell (11 May 2006). "BBC axes Byker Grove". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  10. Dickinson, Katie; Whelan, Zara (30 December 2020). "Tributes paid after death of longest serving Corrie writer Adele Rose". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  11. Guide, British Comedy. "Girls About Town – ITV Sitcom". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  12. "Writers' Guild Awards 1992". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  13. "Who is Adele Rose? Coronation Street paid tribute at the end of Friday's final episode". www.entertainmentdaily.co.uk. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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