David Renwick

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David Renwick
BornDavid Peter Renwick
(1951-09-04) 4 September 1951 (age 72)
Luton, Bedfordshire, England
OccupationScreenwriter, director, producer, actor, author
NationalityBritish
Education Luton Grammar School, Bedfordshire
Period1974–present
GenreTelevision
SubjectCrime, drama, mystery, comedy
Notable works One Foot in the Grave (1990–2001)
Jonathan Creek (1997–2016)
Spouse
Eleanor Hogarth
​
(m. 1994)​

David Peter Renwick (REN-wick; [1] born 4 September 1951) is an English author, television writer, actor, director and executive producer. He created the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek . He was awarded the Writers Guild Ronnie Barker Award at the 2008 British Comedy Awards.

Contents

Early life

The son and only child of James George Renwick and Winifred May Smith, who were married in 1948, David Renwick was born and brought up in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. He was educated at Luton Grammar School, including its Sixth Form, a former state grammar school. The school became known as Luton Sixth Form College while he was still a pupil. [2] He studied journalism at Harlow Technical College. [3]

Career

1970s

Before becoming a comedy writer Renwick worked as a journalist, reporter and sub-editor on his home town newspaper, the Luton News . [2]

On beginning his comedy writing career in the mid-1970s he initially submitted material for BBC radio comedies including Week Ending and The News Huddlines . He also contributed to other radio series such as Oh, Get On With It! starring Kenneth Williams and with David McKellar co-wrote Harry Worth in Things Could Be Worse featuring Harry Worth.

Teaming up with writing partner Andrew Marshall, they wrote the BBC Radio 4 comedy series The Burkiss Way and provided sketches for BBC television shows such as The Two Ronnies and Not the Nine O'Clock News during the late 1970s and early '80s. One of the most celebrated sketches he wrote for The Two Ronnies was a parody of the BBC quiz programme Mastermind , where a "Charlie Smithers" chose to answer questions on the specialist subject "Answering the question before last", adapted from his "Answering one question behind all the time" sketch from The Burkiss Way . Their short-lived LWT series for ITV, End of Part One , was an attempt to transfer Burkiss-style humour to television.

Renwick also wrote for Les Dawson, Bernie Winters as well as Little and Large at the end of the 1970s.

1980s

In 1982 Renwick and Marshall penned the comedy drama serial Whoops Apocalypse for LWT, based on the insanity of international politics in the age of nuclear weapons, and four years later they adapted the screenplay (changing most of the characters and situations completely) into a feature film version. In 1983 they wrote The Steam Video Company for Thames Television, a short comedy series consisting of absurd parodies of famous novels. This was followed in 1986 by Hot Metal for LWT, a six-part satire of the tabloid newspaper industry starring Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Palmer and John Gordon Sinclair. The show was a critical success and returned for a further six episodes in 1988 with a revised cast of Robert Hardy, Richard Wilson and Caroline Milmoe.

Renwick also wrote for the sketch show Alexei Sayle's Stuff and Spike Milligan's There's a Lot of It About .

He began writing solo at the end of the 1980s when he created the sitcom One Foot in the Grave , starring Richard Wilson, which was highly successful.

1990s

One Foot in the Grave went on to be a popular hit for an entire decade. It also ran for four seasons as an American remake titled Cosby , starring Bill Cosby, although this is generally regarded as a very loose adaptation of the original. The series won a BAFTA award for best comedy programme in 1992, with Renwick receiving The Writers' Guild Award for Best Comedy Writer in that same year.

Renwick switched to writing drama in 1990 and 1991 to indulge his love of detective stories and dramatise four episodes (one being co-written) for the series Agatha Christie's Poirot (ITV, 1989–2002), featuring David Suchet as the Belgian sleuth. In 1992, Renwick and co-writer Michael Baker received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the Poirot episode "The Lost Mine", which aired in the US as part of the PBS anthology series Mystery! [4]

In 1993, he wrote, back with Marshall again, the four-part comedy miniseries If You See God, Tell Him which starred Imelda Staunton, Adrian Edmondson and Richard Briers, with a brief appearance from Angus Deayton. [5] Several other minor roles also went to actors with whom Renwick worked with on One Foot in the Grave.

In 1997, Renwick devised the comedy-drama and mystery series, Jonathan Creek , based around the crime-solving abilities of the eponymous designer of magic tricks, played by comedian Alan Davies. This series also became successful.

In 1999 Renwick received BAFTA's Dennis Potter Award, established to recognise outstanding writing for television. [5]

2000s

Another comedy-drama Renwick has penned, Love Soup , starring Tamsin Greig and Michael Landes, premiered on BBC One on 27 September 2005. [6] Renwick, and his former writing partner Marshall, had cameo roles in an episode of the series as members of a television sitcom scriptwriting team.

On 3 December 2007 BBC Four broadcast David Renwick Night, a themed evening of programmes written by or about the author. [7]

In 2008, Renwick directed for the first time as he brought back the series Jonathan Creek after a five year hiatus. The episode, The Grinning Man , was almost two hours long and was broadcast on New Year's Day 2009.

He was awarded the Writers Guild Ronnie Barker Award at the British Comedy Awards 2008. [8]

2010s

In 2010 Renwick directed a further episode of his series Jonathan Creek, with the 94-minute long instalment The Judas Tree being broadcast on Easter Sunday.

In 2012, he developed a series called Ergo for ITV, which was to star Robert Webb as a man living with his stepmother following the death of his father. "It was a domestic comedy, my attempt to do something like One Foot in the Grave in the country really," said Renwick. However, Renwick and ITV encountered creative differences and the project was not produced. [9]

Renwick wrote a further five episodes of Jonathan Creek, the last of which to date was broadcast in December 2016. As of 2020, thirty-two episodes have been produced across five short-run series and six specials. The slow rate of production is partly due to Renwick's writing of the episodes, which he describes as being a painstaking process in which the intricacies of the plots take several months to work out. It is not known whether the series will return.

In 2016 Renwick wrote the four-part radio miniseries Desolation Jests. The show, starring David Jason, John Bird, Jan Ravens and Rory Bremner, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 13 December 2016 until 3 January 2017. [10] [11] The miniseries was repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2022. [12]

Personal life

In 1994 Renwick married Eleanor Hogarth. The couple reside between Pavenham and Stevington in northern Bedfordshire.

Books

Renwick is also an author, having written the novels One Foot in the Grave (1992) and One Foot in the Grave and Counting (2021) – both featuring original plots, as well as ones reworked from the television series. [13]

Selected filmography

Acting credits

Writing credits

Radio

Theatre

  • Angry Old Men (1994)

Television and film

Executive producer

Director

Regular collaborators

Renwick has often been heavily involved in the casting of actors for his productions and has chosen to work with numerous actors across several of his productions even for the casting of smaller roles.

Actors Annette Crosbie, Peter Copley, Jonathan Kydd, John Bluthal, Brian Murphy, Hannah Gordon and Nick Maloney have all made appearances in Jonathan Creek as well as in One Foot in The Grave.

John Bird has appeared in One Foot in The Grave, Jonathan Creek as well as the radio series Desolation Jests. [14]

Tamsin Greig, Georgie Glen, Sheridan Smith and Sara Markland all worked with Renwick on his sitcom Love Soup as well as making appearances in Jonathan Creek.

Adrian Edmondson had a leading role in Renwick's 1993 miniseries If You See God, Tell Him and made appearances in Jonathan Creek. James Saxon also appeared in both productions.

Joanna Bacon, Enn Reitel, Owen Brenman, Damaris Hayman, Angus Deayton, Paul Merton, Katharine Page, Tony Millan and Bill Gavin all appeared in both One Foot in the Grave and If You See God, Tell Him.

Jan Ravens appeared in Love Soup, One Foot in the Grave, If You See God Tell Him and also in Renwick's radio series Desolation Jests. [14]

Doreen Mantle appeared in eighteen episodes of One Foot in the Grave, one episode of Love Soup, as well as one episode of Jonathan Creek, whilst Renwick himself made occasional, brief appearances in these three productions.

Related Research Articles

<i>One Foot in the Grave</i> British TV sitcom (1990–2000)

One Foot in the Grave is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first five series were broadcast between January 1990 and January 1995. For the next five years, the show appeared only as Christmas specials, followed by the sixth and final series in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Meldrew</span> Sitcom character

Victor Meldrew is a fictional character in the BBC One sitcom One Foot in the Grave, created by David Renwick and portrayed by Richard Wilson. The character epitomised the archetypal grumpy old man. Meldrew is a foil for the bothersome aspects of children, cars, animals, power cuts and next-door neighbours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Deayton</span> English television presenter, actor, writer, and comedian (born 1956)

Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bird (actor)</span> English actor (1936–2022)

John Michael Bird was an English actor, director, writer and satirist. He performed in the television satire boom of the 1960s, appearing in That Was the Week That Was. His television work included many appearances with John Fortune. Bird had an acting career in film, television, theatre and radio for over 55 years. He appeared in films including Take A Girl Like You (1970) and Jabberwocky (1977) as well as in television shows such as Joint Account, Marmalade Atkins, El C.I.D. and Chambers. He and Fortune also starred with Rory Bremner in the sketch show Bremner, Bird and Fortune (1999–2010), on Channel 4, which was nominated for BAFTA TV Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Ravens</span> British comedian

Janet Ravens is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on Spitting Image and Dead Ringers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexei Sayle</span> English stand-up comedian (born 1952)

Alexei David Sayle is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic of all time on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007. In an updated 2010 poll he came 72nd.

<i>Jonathan Creek</i> British television mystery crime drama series (1997–2016)

Jonathan Creek is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solving seemingly supernatural mysteries through his talent for logical deduction and his understanding of illusions.

Andrew Paul Marshall is a British comedy screenwriter, most noted for the domestic sitcom 2point4 children. He was also the inspiration for Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Although he had also previously adapted stories for Agatha Christie's Poirot, in 2002 he made a further move into writing "straight" drama, with the fantasy horror series Strange. He has also written several screenplays.

<i>Cosby</i> (TV series) American television series

Cosby is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 16, 1996, to April 28, 2000. The program starred Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad, who had previously worked together in the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighborly friend, Pauline, until her death in 1999. The show was adapted from the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave.

The Burkiss Way is a BBC Radio 4 sketch comedy series, originally broadcast between August 1976 and November 1980. It was written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, with additional material in seasons 1 and 2 by John Mason, Colin Bostock-Smith, Douglas Adams, John Lloyd, Tom Magee Englefield and Liz Pollock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doreen Mantle</span> South African-born British actress (1926–2023)

Doreen June Mantle was a South African-born British actress who played Jean Warboys in One Foot in the Grave (1990–2000). She appeared in many British television series since the 1960s, including The Duchess of Duke Street, The Wild House, Sam Saturday, Chalk, Casualty, The Bill, Doctors, Holby City, Lovejoy, Coronation Street and Jonathan Creek. She played lollipop lady Queenie in Jam & Jerusalem (2006–2009).

<i>Alexei Sayles Stuff</i> British TV series or programme

Alexei Sayle's Stuff is a British television comedy sketch show which ran on BBC2 for a total of 18 episodes over 3 series from 1988 to 1991.

Love Soup is a British television comedy drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond. The series is written by David Renwick, directed by Sandy Johnson and Christine Gernon and was produced by Verity Lambert. This was the last programme that Lambert produced before she died. The programme was initially a critical success although its audience figures were steady rather than spectacular, netting an average of five million viewers an episode. Renwick and his former scriptwriting partner Andrew Marshall have cameo appearances in one episode as members of a television sitcom scriptwriting team.

Owen Brenman is an English actor best known for his role as next-door neighbour Nick Swainey in the multi-award-winning BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave, which ran for ten years (1990–2000) and was written by David Renwick. He subsequently played Heston Carter in the BBC drama series Doctors from 2008 to 2018.

<i>End of Part One</i> British television comedy sketch show

End of Part One is a British television comedy sketch show written by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall; it was made by London Weekend Television. It ran for two series on ITV, from 1979 to 1980 and was an attempt at a TV version of The Burkiss Way. The first series concerned the lives of Norman and Vera Straightman, who had their lives interrupted by various television personalities of the day. The second series was mainly a straight succession of parodies of TV shows of the time, including Larry Grayson's Generation Game and Nationwide. After being absent for the entire season, Norman and Vera make a surprise reappearance at the end of the final episode.

Susan Jane Belbin is a Scottish retired television director and producer whose work includes Bread, Are You Being Served?, Hi-de-Hi!, One Foot in the Grave, 'Allo 'Allo!, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Only Fools and Horses and Jonathan Creek.

Bernie Clifton is a British comedian and entertainer, known for his work with his orange ostrich puppet costume Oswald the Ostrich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Things Aren't Simple Any More</span> 6th episode of the 6th series of One Foot in the Grave

"Things Aren't Simple Any More" is the final episode of the British television sitcom One Foot in the Grave. It was written by David Renwick and stars Richard Wilson as Victor Meldrew, Annette Crosbie as his wife Margaret and features guest appearances by Hannah Gordon and Paul Merton. The episode depicts the death of the series' protagonist, Victor Meldrew, in a hit-and-run road accident and his wife's efforts to deal with the driver who killed him. Renwick had been struggling to conceive and write new stories for the series and decided to kill off the character. The episode was filmed at Shawford, Hampshire and at BBC Television Centre in London.

The Grinning Man (<i>Jonathan Creek</i>) Episode of Jonathan Creek

"The Grinning Man" is a feature-length and the twenty-sixth episode of the BBC crime drama series Jonathan Creek, first broadcast on 1 January 2009. The episode marked the series' return to television following a five-year hiatus and saw the return of Alan Davies as the show's titular sleuth. Stuart Milligan returned to the series as Jonathan's boss, magician Adam Klaus, while the episode also introduced Sheridan Smith as Joey Ross, Jonathan's crime-solving assistant. The episode was written and directed by series creator David Renwick, who chose to revive the show as a means of delaying his retirement.

"The Judas Tree" is the twenty-seventh episode of the British crime drama series Jonathan Creek. The feature-length episode was written and directed by series creator David Renwick, and premiered on BBC One on 4 April 2010. The episode focuses on a series of mysteries surrounding housekeeper Emily Somerton, including a vanishing house and the murder of her employer Harriet Dore. Alan Davies returns as the series' titular sleuth, Jonathan Creek, while Sheridan Smith reprises her role as his assistant Joey Ross, and Stuart Milligan returns as Jonathan's boss, magician Adam Klaus.

References

  1. ↑ Alexei Sayle (19 December 2020). "The Alexei Sayle Podcast" (Podcast). Event occurs at 4:10. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 Philips, Jak (27 August 2011). "Knowing where you want to end before you start..." Bedfordtoday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "Broadcast media". The Times. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "Edgar Allan Poe Award". Lincoln City Libraries. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  5. 1 2 "BFI Screenonline: Renwick, David (1951–) Biography". Screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "BBC – Press Office – Love Soup Press Pack". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "David Renwick Night in the Radio Times Archives", Bbc.co.uk, retrieved 15 January 2021
  8. ↑ "David Renwick – Biography – IMDb". IMDb .
  9. ↑ Bowles, Rachel (28 March 2013). "David Renwick interview: Jonathan Creek, One Foot In The Grave, & more…". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  10. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – Desolation Jests – Available now". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "Desolation Jests Series and Episode Guides | TV from". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  12. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – Desolation Jests – Available now". BBC. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Alex Wiseman Interviews David Renwick". Iceni Magazine. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  14. 1 2 "BBC Radio 4 Extra – Desolation Jests". Bbc.co.uk.
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