MY TV LIFE

Lynda la Plante

Author and screenwriter Lynda, 77, created ITV dramas Prime Suspect, Widows and Trial & Retribution

What was your first TV memory?

My firsttv memory was Little Red Monkey on the BBC. It had the strangest music for a murder mystery series; it started with a screech and I remember being frightened by it. It was a six-parter starring Honor Blackman.

Who was your first TV crush?

I never really had one, but I did love Eliot Ness inthe Untouchables. Robert Stack played him. It was a programme about Prohibition agents taking on Al Capone, and it fascinated me at a very early age. I was always eager to watch that show and would make a point of tuning in.

What was your first TV appearance?

It was a very long time ago, but I think it was Z Cars. My last TV appearance should have been as a barmaid in Prime Suspect, but sadly it was cut in the edit.the one people remember was me playing Tamara Novek in Rentaghost.