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Adele Rose(8 December 1933 – 28 December 2020)[1]was an English television writer. She was the longest-serving scriptwriter for the soap operaCoronation 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 seriesByker Grove(1989–2006), aimed at teenagers.

Biography

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Rose was born inSalford,and raised in a Jewish family.[2]Her parents were Clara (née Simons) and Sydney Rose, who was a manager atGreat Universal Stores,the family's mail-order business. Adele initially worked as a secretary atGranada Televisionin the promotions department, which prepared links for the station's continuity announcers to read.Jack Rosenthal,a former colleague in the department who had already collaborated with her, suggested she should write forCoronation Street.[1]After noticing the programme lacked any female writers, Rose contactedCoronation Street's script editorHarry Kershaw,suggesting she should join the programme's writing team. Accepted, she debuted on episode 40, screened in May 1961. Rosenthal encouraged Rose by co-writing some episodes with her.[1][3]

Rose became theStreet's longest-serving contributor, as well as the show's first female writer.[4][5][3]She wrote 457 scripts for the soap opera between 1961 and 1998.[5][3]Only Peter Whalley (601 scripts over 35 years) has written more episodes.[1]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".[4][6]According to her husband, Peter Chadwick, "She loved writing the battle-axes inCoronation Street."[6]Executive producerBrian Parkdropped her from the programme's contributors in 1998; Granada gave her a farewell boardroom dinner.[1]

Rose was commissioned byAndrea Wonforto create a series set in a youth club to be produced by the independent company Zenith North for the BBC.[1]The result was the teen drama seriesByker Grovewhich began in 1989. Set inNewcastle upon Tyne,she wrote the first three series. The show launched the careers ofAnt & Dec,who played the friends PJ and Duncan,[4][7][8]as well asDonna AirandJill Halfpenny.[9]It had 5 million viewers in the 1990s[9]and lasted for 17 years,[10]with Rose continuing to be credited throughout.[11]Byker Grovewas included byThe Guardianin a 2018 list of "definitive" shows for teenagers; Iman Amrani describes it as "the north's answer toGrange Hill",praising its" gritty "writing, which took on difficult topics such as sexual relationships (including those which were same sex) and foster care.[9]Rose also originated two earlier series:Girls About Town,a feministsituation comedywhich ran to three series from 1969 to 1971, andSecond Chance,a drama series about divorce, partly drawn from her own experiences, which screened in 1981.[5][12]

In the 1980s, she also wrote for the soapCrossroads,using thepen name[5][11][6]Kay Stephens.[1]Her other credits include episodes of the police seriesZ-Carsand nursing dramaAngelsfor the BBC, as well as for several shows for ITV, including the comediesBless This HouseandRobin's Nest,and the dramasHeartbeat,Rooms,Within These Wallsand the sitcomThe Dustbinmen.[8][11]She also wrote a column in theTV Timesmagazine.[5]She retired from script-writing in 2000.[7]

Recognition

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In 1993, Rose received aBAFTAAward for screenwriting, for her work onCoronation Street.[4][11][6]She also received severalWriters' GuildAwards for her work on the series, including the 1992 award for Original Drama Series, which she was jointly awarded with theCoronation Streetwriting team.[2][13]

Personal life and death

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Rose's first marriage ended in divorce. After her retirement in 2000, she moved to theCotswoldswith her long-term partner, Peter Chadwick, a newspaper journalist.[11][6]They married in around the year 2010. She had two children from an earlier marriage.[11]

Rose died ofpneumoniaon 28 December 2020, at the age of 87.[8][11]The second episode ofCoronation Streetaired on 8 January 2021 was dedicated to her.[14]

References

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  1. ^abcdefg"Adele Rose, scriptwriter on Coronation Street who also devised Byker Grove – obituary".The Telegraph.Retrieved11 March2021.
  2. ^abFrot, Mathilde (30 December 2020)."Coronation Street writer Adele Rose dies aged 87".The Jewish Chronicle.Retrieved30 December2020.
  3. ^abcVice, Sue (28 April 2009).Jack Rosenthal.Manchester University Press. p. 27.ISBN9780719077043.Retrieved1 May2011.
  4. ^abcd"Adele Rose: Tributes to Coronation Street writer and Byker Grove creator".BBC News.30 December 2020.Retrieved30 December2020.
  5. ^abcde"Women's Work Oral Histories · Learning on Screen".learningonscreen.ac.uk.Retrieved30 December2020.
  6. ^abcdeNadeem Badshah (30 December 2020)."Adele Rose, Byker Grove creator, dies aged 87".The Guardian.Retrieved31 December2020.
  7. ^abWhite, Adam (30 December 2020)."Adele Rose, the Byker Grove creator who helped discover Ant and Dec, dies aged 87".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 30 December 2020.Retrieved30 December2020.
  8. ^abcWinterburn, Tony (30 December 2020)."Coronation Street's Longest-Serving Writer Adele Rose Dies Aged 87".Euro Weekly News Spain.Retrieved30 December2020.
  9. ^abcJulia 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 (15 May 2018)."From Grange Hill to Press Gang: which are the best teen shows ever?".The Guardian.Retrieved31 December2020.
  10. ^Ben Dowell (11 May 2006)."BBC axes Byker Grove".The Guardian.Retrieved31 December2020.
  11. ^abcdefgDickinson, Katie; Whelan, Zara (30 December 2020)."Tributes paid after death of longest serving Corrie writer Adele Rose".Manchester Evening News.Retrieved30 December2020.
  12. ^"Girls About Town – ITV Sitcom".British Comedy Guide.Retrieved30 December2020.
  13. ^"Writers' Guild Awards 1992".Writers' Guild of Great Britain.Retrieved30 December2020.
  14. ^"Who is Adele Rose? Coronation Street paid tribute at the end of Friday's final episode".entertainmentdaily.co.uk.9 January 2021.Retrieved15 January2021.
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