Jack Rosenthal had always resisted writing an autobiography, until he hit on an original way of writing it that excited him: it would be as a screenplay, with himself as the central character, the storyline that of his own life, the supporting cast drawn from the many wonderful and sometimes eccentric people who touched, shaped and shared that life. What a prospect, coming from the author of such memorable classics as 'Bar Mitzvah Boy', 'The Evacuees', 'London's Burning', 'The Knowledge' and 'P'tang Yang, Kipperbang', a writer who uniquely won three successive BAFTA Awards. The story moves from Manchester in the 30s - via school, evacuation, university, the Navy, the early days of Granada TV (he wrote 129 pioneering episodes of 'Coronation Street'), the 'Busby Boys', marriage and life with Maureen Lipman, fatherhood, writing the famous plays, working with Streisand - to Muswell Hill in the 90s. Sharp, funny, evocative, teeming with memorable stories and characters this is an autobiography like no other...but then, its author is Jack Rosenthal.

Author Biography

Jack Rosenthal was born in 1931 in Manchester to a Jewish family. After attending Colne Grammar School he read English Language and Literature at Sheffield University, and then trained as an eavesdropper on Russian radio transmissions whilst on national service in the Royal Navy. His first job in television was in the promotional department at Granada, where he later wrote for 'Coronation Street.' In a career of over 40 years of writing for television, cinema and the theatre, Jack has been associated with some of Britain's best-loved, longest-running, and critically acclaimed entertainment. As a writer, producer, lecturer on screenwriting, commissioner of such hits as 'London's Burning' and 'That Was The Week That Was', documentary maker and playwright Jack was honoured in 1994 with a CBE. He is married to Maureen Lipman and lives in London N10.