Saudi Arabia seeks deeper multilateral cooperation for shared development, says foreign minister at BRICS summit    SAMA announces launch of new e-commerce payments interface    Alkhorayef emphasizes Saudi keenness on leveraging Russia's industrial expertise    Commercial registrations for holiday homes and chalets jump 42% in 2Q 2025    HADAF signs deal to support Saudis in hospitality and culinary arts fields    Saudi Arabia participates in UNCITRAL annual session in Vienna    HONOR returns to Esports World Cup as Official Smartphone Partner for 2025 The renewed commitment will see HONOR elevate mobile esports competition with cutting-edge AI technologies and industry-leading hardware    Trump calls Musk's new political party 'ridiculous'    Israel launches strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen    Central Nairobi sealed off ahead of Kenyan protests    81 dead and dozens missing in Texas floods as more rain looms    Saudi Arabia reaffirms dedication to achieving equitable and sustainable digital development    Saudi, British FMs discuss regional developments in phone call    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Kay Mellor: Actress and Fat Friends creator dies aged 71
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 17 - 05 - 2022

Actress, screenwriter and director Kay Mellor has died aged 71, it has been announced.
A spokesperson for her TV production company, Rollem Productions, confirmed "with profound sadness" that she died on Sunday.
She was known for creating and writing the ITV series Fat Friends - which helped launch James Corden's career.
Mellor also wrote comedy and drama series such as The Syndicate, Girlfriends and Band of Gold.
A Rollem Productions spokesman said: "It is with profound sadness that we announce the untimely and sudden passing of our beloved friend, mentor and colleague Kay Mellor on Sunday 15 May 2022.
"We have lost a phenomenal talent and a true luminary. We ask that you please respect the privacy of the family and friends at this time."
Mellor began her career writing plays, worked on Coronation Street and created the award-winning children's drama Children's Ward.
She also wrote BBC One's women's football series Playing The Field and in 2010 received an OBE.
Fat Friends aired from 2000-2005 and gave a young Corden his first major acting role. It also starred Ruth Jones, Sheridan Smith and Alison Steadman.
The BBC's chief content officer, Charlotte Moore, paid tribute to Kay Mellor following her death, saying she was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the news.
"Kay was an outstanding writer and the creative force behind many of the nation's best-loved television dramas," Moore said. "She wrote with such heart, humanity, humour and passion with strong female characters often taking centre stage.
West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin paid tribute on Twitter, writing: "Just dreadful news & difficult to take in. Sending all our love from everyone in West Yorkshire to Kay's family, friends & colleagues.
"Our voice of the North, she put working class characters at the centre of her brilliant compassionate, moving & funny stories. Such a loss."
ITV's Band of Gold, which ran from 1995 to 1997 was considered a ground-breaking drama, bringing to life the lives of a group of sex workers in Bradford as they tried to take on police and gangsters in a bid to run their own street business.
It gave Hollywood actress Samantha Morton one of her first major roles, later going on to star in films such as Minority Report opposite Tom Cruise. She also played Alpha in The Walking Dead.
BBC One drama The Syndicate is about five members of a lottery syndicate who get a big win. Each of the four series featured a different group of people and setting, including a supermarket and a hospital.
Mellor said she was inspired to write the drama because of "the times we are living in, where people are desperate and holding on to the dream of winning the lottery as the only solution available".
The first series aired in 2012 and starred Timothy Spall and Gavin and Stacey actress Joanna Page. Series four came out last year.
Asked about the setting of that first series being Leeds, Mellor said: "I think it's vital that the north of England is represented in mainstream drama, not just soap opera. For me personally northern dramas have a different feeling because it feels like these are my people, this is the world I know, this is the world I grew up in.
"That's not to say that I don't watch and enjoy British dramas that are set in the south of England. I just think that geographically there needs to be equality and England exists outside of London."
Mellor appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2017 and chose The Beautiful South's Perfect 10, the Fat Friends theme tune, as one of her sound tracks, saying "every time I heard that I used to get excited and get butterflies".
She explained: "It was such a lovely time of my life, it was a drama that was really important to me because I thought I had something to say about weight and body image." — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.