Leonard Lewis
| Leonard Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Leonard Jack Lewis 29 November 1927 Tottenham, North London, England |
| Died | 2 December 2005 (aged 78) Somerset, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | TV Producer/Director |
| Years active | 1960–1995 |
| Television | EastEnders |
| Spouse(s) |
Jean Lewis (m. 1950–2005) (his death) |
| Children | 3 daughters |
Leonard Jack Lewis (29 November 1927 – 2 December 2005) was a British producer and director. He was most active in television. He was the Executive/Series Producer for BBC's EastEnders during the early 1990s, though he had success with many other television programmes for both the BBC and ITV. It has been said that Lewis believed in "the principles of public service broadcasting" and he has been described as a "gifted television producer with hidden directorial talents". After over 40 years working in the television industry, Lewis retired in 1995. He died in December 2005, aged 78.
After completing National service in the RAF, he became an actor and worked in repertory at the Manchester Library Theatre, Morecambe and Ashton-under-Lyne. He joined the BBC on a three-month holiday attachment in 1957. He worked with BBC Scotland until 1963, when he moved to BBC London as a staff director.
Lewis began directing and later producing for BBC television, on shows such as Z-Cars (1965); Softly Softly (1969–74) and Adam Adamant Lives! (1966). In 1973 he directed and produced for the BBC's adaptation of Jack the Ripper, and he was also the executive producer for the detective series, Barlow at Large, and producer for Second Verdict.
In 1976 he produced the BBC series When the Boat Comes In, a north-east drama depicting the hard days of the twenties in the fictional town of Gallowshields. A top-rated series with a "brilliant" and "diverse" writing team, When the Boat Comes In was nominated for "Best Drama Series" at the 1976 BAFTAs, and is "fondly remembered as a poignant piece of social history". It has been said that Lewis had a "respect for text and for writers", which brought him "acclaim", but also "a personal and professional crisis" after the BBC ordered him to scrap his writing team for the next series of When the Boat Comes In. Unwilling to betray his colleagues and friends, Lewis resigned from the BBC on principle.
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