{{Short description|British television scriptwriter and dramatist}} {{for|the television character|Limitless (TV series)}} {{Infobox person | name = Brian Finch | image = Brian Finch.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = James Brian Finch | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1936|7|25}} | birth_place = Standish, Lancashire, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2007|6|27|1936|7|25}} | death_place = Wigan, England | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | known_for = | education = Thornleigh Salesian College | employer = | occupation = Television writer | spouse = Margaret Moran | partner = | children = Paul Finch and three daughters | parents = | relatives = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}
'''Brian Finch''' (25 July 1936 – 27 June 2007) was a British television scriptwriter and dramatist. His longest relationship was with the ITV1 soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', for which he wrote 150 scripts between 1970 and 1989.<ref name="Brian Finch Telegraph">{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1555954/Brian-Finch.html |title=Brian Finch - Telegraph |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |issn=0307-1235 |oclc=49632006 |access-date=25 November 2014}}</ref> He also helped the development of ''All Creatures Great and Small'', ''The Tomorrow People'',<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tomorrow_people_the |title=Media : Tomorrow People, The : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia |encyclopedia=sf-encyclopedia.com |year=2014 |access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref> and ''Heartbeat''. He contributed several episodes to the British detective programmes ''The Gentle Touch'', ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', ''Bergerac'' and ''The Bill''. It was for his work as a writer on ''Goodnight Mr Tom'', a bittersweet drama starring John Thaw, for which he received a BAFTA.<ref name="Bafta">{{cite web |url= http://www.bafta.org/heritage/in-memory-of/brian-finch |title=Brian Finch | BAFTA |work=bafta.org |year=2014 |access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Brian Finch was born in Standish, Lancashire,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wigantoday.net/news/my-dad-wrote-years-of-deirdre-s-lines-in-corrie-1-7062594|title="My dad wrote years of Deirdre's lines in Corrie"|work=wigantoday.net|year=2015|access-date=21 January 2015}}</ref> a descendant of Charles Dickens<ref name="Brian Finch Telegraph"/> his father was a miner. He was educated at St. Joseph's School<ref name="Brian Finch Guardian"/> and then Thornleigh Salesian College. At 15 years old he was a cub reporter for the local evening newspaper Westhoughton Journal.<ref name="Tribute to script writer">{{cite web|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/1515338.print|title=Bolton News|publisher=The Bolton News|date=3 July 2007|access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref>
==Career== His National Service was with the RAF at NATO's Fontainebleau headquarters in France, after which he worked on the Manchester Evening News.<ref name="Tribute to script writer"/> In 1961 he was working at the TV Times ghost-writing articles for the Beatles.<ref name="Tribute to script writer"/> He joined the BBC as a press officer for Top of the Pops<ref name="Brian Finch Telegraph"/> and submitted his first drama script in January 1966 for the Wednesday Play outlet titled ''Rodney Our Intrepid Hero'', a comedy about a newspaper reporter investigating a vice ring, starring Jim Norton in his first television role.<ref name="Independent obituary">{{cite news | url=https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.obituaries/0jt_DV2_upg | title=The Independent | work=Obituary | date=30 June 2007 | access-date=7 December 2014 | author=Hayward Anthony}}</ref><ref name="Brian Finch Guardian">{{cite web |url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jul/18/broadcasting.guardianobituaries |title=Obituary: Brian Finch |work=theguardian.com |year=2014 |access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref> In 1968 his first episode of Z-Cars was recorded.<ref name="Tribute to script writer"/>
Between 1970 and 1989, Finch wrote more than 150 episodes of the ITV1 soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', including the first to feature Deirdre Barlow, he also wrote the first episodes for barmaid Bet Lynch, Mike Baldwin and Jack and Vera Duckworth.<ref name="scotsman.com">{{cite web |url= http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/brian-finch-1-909826 |title=Brian Finch - The Scotsman |work=scotsman.com |year=2014 |access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref>
In 1972 Finch wrote ''An Arrow for Little Audrey'' a Thirty-Minute Theatre production starring Geoffrey Hughes.<ref name="Independent obituary"/> He wrote 13 episodes of the TV series The Tomorrow People in 1973.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.myscifi.co.uk/tomorrow.html |title=THE TOMORROW PEOPLE |work=myscifi.co.uk |year=2005 |access-date=7 December 2014}}</ref> He wrote for the ''Hunter's Walk'' series from 1973 to 1974 a police series set in Rushden Northamptonshire starring Ruth Madoc and Ewan Hooper.<ref name="Brian Finch Guardian"/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.rushdenheritage.co.uk/history/hunters-walk.html |title=Rushden Research Group: Hunter's Walk |work=rushdenheritage.co.uk |year=2011 |access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref> In 1974 Finch wrote a six-part children's adventure series, ''The Chinese Puzzle'' broadcast on BBC1<ref name="Brian Finch Telegraph"/> and in 1978 wrote 9 episodes of ''Fallen Hero'' for Granada Television.<ref name="scotsman.com"/> He also wrote a number of episodes for''Juliet Bravo'',<ref name="Bafta"/> ''The Gentle Touch'', ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', ''Bergerac'' and ''The Bill''.<ref name="Tribute to script writer"/> From 1987 to 1989 he wrote for the comedy drama ''Flying Lady'' which starred Frank Windsor<ref name="Brian Finch Guardian"/> and from 1992 to 2006 he wrote 35 episodes for ''Heartbeat'' set in rural Yorkshire.<ref name="Bafta"/>
2005 saw the release of his film adaptation of ''Heidi'' directed by Paul Marcus, starring Emma Bolger with Max Von Sydow and Diana Rigg.<ref name="Tribute to script writer"/> In 2006 Finch worked on the TV screenplay of ''The Shell Seekers'' which starred Academy Award-winners, Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.thestage.co.uk/people/obituaries/2007/08/brian-finch/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141211083904/http://www.thestage.co.uk/people/obituaries/2007/08/brian-finch/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 11, 2014 |title=Brian Finch : Obituaries : The Stage |first=Patrick |last=Newley |work=thestage.co.uk |year=2014 |access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref>
Finch wrote the original version of Leviathan for ''Doctor Who'', which was initially for season 22. His script was later adapted by his son Paul Finch for audio release by Big Finish.
==Personal life== Finch married Margaret Moran in 1963<ref>{{cite web |url= http://journalisted.com/article/vg4 |title=Brian Finch - journalisted.com |work=journalisted.com |year=2014 |access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref> and was the father of the horror author and scriptwriter Paul Finch.<ref name="Brian Finch Telegraph"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0277389|Brian Finch}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Brian}} Category:1936 births Category:2007 deaths Category:People from Wigan Category:People from Standish, Greater Manchester Category:British soap opera writers Category:British television writers Category:20th-century British screenwriters Category:Royal Air Force airmen Category:20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Category:Military personnel from the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan