Lynda La Plante

Lynda La Plante is Britain's most successful and well-known screenwriter and the first woman to win the prestigious Dennis Potter writer's award. Attracting millions of viewers, the popular and critical success of La Plante's work is central to understanding changes that shook the UK television industry in the late twentieth century. This critical introduction, the first account of her work, focuses on three innovative serials: Widows(ITV, 1983), Prime Suspect(ITV 1991), and Trial and Retribution(ITV 1997).

Julia Hallam is Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies at the University of Liverpool.

Introduction * Women and television * Writing, acting, power * Gender, genre, star * Lynda goes to Hollywood * Appendix: Works by Lynda La Plante * References and bibliography