The Shields man behind Britain's biggest TV drama of the 1970s
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
But did you know that it was written by an award-winning South Shields man.
Edward Woodward played the title role
South Tyneside-born novelist and television writer James Mitchell was the creator behind the television series Callan, starring Edward Woodward in the title role.
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Mr Mitchell was named best writer of a series at the 1970 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards.
By then, he was living and working in London but he had been a lecturer at South Shields Marine and Technical College.
‘If you want to keep up a high output you need to be disciplined’
He said at the time: “I work from 10 in the morning to six at night, with an hour for lunch. If you want to keep up a high output - and these days, I have to - you need to be disciplined.”
Mr Mitchell was also responsible for that well known series When The Boat Comes In.
He died in 2002 at the age of 76.
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