Peter Spence (born 24 April 1944) is an English journalist and writer. He created and wrote the British sitcom To the Manor Born.

Peter Spence
Born
(1944-04-24) 24 April 1944 (age 80)

England
EducationUniversity of Nottingham
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • Radio writer
  • TV screenwriter
Known forCreator and writer of To the Manor Born

Early life

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Born in 1944, Peter Spence was educated at Bromsgrove School, Worcestershire.[1] At the age of 18, he became a reporter for the Birmingham Post and Mail. Around the same times, he joined the Territorial Army.[1] He studied Politics and American Studies at the University of Nottingham and graduated in 1968, becoming a professional writer in the same year.[1]

Career

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Spence has written for many television shows including Not the Nine O'Clock News, Crackerjack and Rosemary & Thyme. In the early-1970s, Peter married into the Taylor family who owned and ran Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park in Somerset. This provided him with a fund of anecdotes which he compiled into a book entitled "some of our best friends are animals".

A few years later in the mid 1970s he created To the Manor Born, and after a radio pilot was made, the series aired on television from 1979 to 1981.[2] Out of 21 episodes, he wrote 20 of them. The manor shown in the opening credits is in fact Cricket House at Cricket St Thomas – the home of his in-laws.

Spence has also written for radio, including The Roy Castle Show and Windsor Davies Presents.[1]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "One from the Archives - Birth of To the Manor Born". To the Manor Born International Appreciation Society. 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  2. ^ Roche, Elisa (25 October 2007). "To the Manor Reborn". Daily Express.