![Close up of a woman sitting in a red arm chair wearing a brown scarf.](https://firstwomen.brightonmuseums.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CarlaLane-8-of-12-f1.jpg)
First Woman to write sitcoms for the BBC
March 2016, at home in Liverpool
b.1928, Liverpool. d.2016
Carla Lane was a well-loved English television writer. Her first sitcom episode (written with Myra Taylor) aired in 1969 when she was 41 years old. Her solo career launched in 1973 and she became a highly acclaimed writer through the 1970s and 1980s, one of a handful of female writers creating comedy scripts for television. At her peak, Carla’s shows commanded 26 million viewers. For her whole life until her death aged 87 she was also a committed defender of animal rights.