Tony Warren was a writer best known for having created the longest-running British soap opera in the U.K., Coronation Street. The series began in 1960 and at the time of his passing, he had been credited on 8,849 episodes, with the serial still in production, and Warren serving as a consultant.
The soap focuses on the everyday lives of the working class in Manchester, England, and touts millions of fans around the world. In 2000, to mark the special 40th anniversary live episode, Prince Charles made a cameo appearance.
The series also aired on public television in the United States in the early 1970s, on the USA cable network in the 1980s, and more recently was available on Amazon’s streaming service.
Warren also wrote for the British TV series Shadow Squad, Biggles, Mrs. Thursday and The War of Darkie Pilbeam. He got the idea for Coronation Street when he was just 24 years old and was working as an actor. Warren wanted to see a show set in northwestern England, where he had grown up, and wrote the initial 13-episode run.
He was also a co-writer on the 1965 film Ferry Cross the Mersey, starring the Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers.
Warren died March 1, 2016, in Britain. He was 78.