Johnny Byrne (writer)
John Christopher Byrne (27 November 1935 – 2 April 2008) was an Irish television screenwriter and script editor. He travelled extensively in his youth as a travelling poet. During the 1960s he worked as a literary editor, and wrote short stories that were published in Science Fantasy magazine.
Johnny Byrne | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Christopher Byrne 27 November 1935 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 2 April 2008 (aged 72) Norwich, Norfolk, England |
| Resting place | Heydon, Norfolk |
| Occupation |
|
| 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 |
Byrne's other works include the novel Groupie (1969, co-written with Jenny Fabian), the BBC "Wednesday Play" Season of the Witch (1971), and the scripts for the films Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1972, co-written with original author Spike Milligan and Norman Cohen), and Rosie Is My Relative (1976). He was script editor of the TV series All Creatures Great and Small (1976, 1978, 1985, 1988–1990), writing 29 episodes, and also produced scripts for One by One (1987). Byrne was the creator of the TV drama series Heartbeat (which was loosely based on the Constable books by Nicholas Rhea), writing 23 episodes for 17 series between 1992 and 2005. He also created and wrote for Noah's Ark (1997–98).