There are few writers who have made such an indelible mark as Lynda La Plante. For decades her crime focused novels and TV series have captivated audiences. She’s put female characters front and centre in a way that changed the television landscape.
Now she’s ready to tell her own story with what’s sure to be a captivating memoir that will document her trailblazing career.
From her early days in Liverpool to her unexpected acceptance into RADA, joining peers Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt and Ian McShane; from beginning her scriptwriting career with Widows and Prime Suspect and becoming a BAFTA award-winning writer and producer, Lynda’s tales of stage and screen promises to have you gasping in shock as well as laughing in the aisles.
After finding success as an actor using her stage name Lynda Marchal, she switched to being a television writer and used her married name La Plante.
Her big breakthrough came in 1983 when she created the television series Widows. It told the story of four women whose bank robber husbands and partners had died in a botched robbery. They decide to follow in their footsteps and reattempt their failed armed hold up.
The series was a massive success, and if you’ve never seen it – it stands the test of time and is worth tracking down. It spawned two sequel series.
La Plante then went on to create many memorable series and characters including Prime Suspect and its lead character Jane Tennison played by Helen Mirren, The Govenor starring Janet McTeer, and The Commander with Amanda Burton. She also created the long running Trial and Retribution, of which there are 12 series.
At the same time La Plante has written over 50 crime novels, many of them extending the stories of the memorable characters she created for television. Several of her British series have been remade in the USA for American audiences, including Widows which was turned into a film in 2018 by director Steve McQueen.
Getting Away with Murder shows how she overcame the challenges of a male dominated industry to create generation-defining television and become a bestselling author. The memoir arrives this December.
