Lavinia Warner
Lavinia Warner is a British television writer and producer. She created several successful TV series in the 80s and 90s, all of which featured women in the leading roles. These included the World War II female internee drama Tenko (1981-5) for the BBC, secret agent drama Wish Me Luck (1988–90) for LWT and the taxi-firm series Rides (1992-3), again for the BBC. For the latter two series she also acted as producer. Warner is now the CEO of Warner Sisters, an independent production company.
Career
After studying history and psychology at university, Warner became a PA in the drama department at LWT, before moving on to Thames Television as a researcher, mainly on This is Your Life. After this she worked in the BBC Features, Current Affairs and Drama departments as a freelance producer and director. After the launch of Channel 4 in 1982, she set up her own independent production company, Warner Sisters, which initially focussed on making television programmes.
Television progammes
- Lord Mountbatten - Man of Our Times
- 1979 Women in Captivity
- A Life with Crime
- Private Lives
- 1981-4 Tenko
- 1984 GI Brides (won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award and was BAFTA nominated for Best Documentary)
- 1985 Tenko Reunion
- Jailed by the British
- 1985 Lizzie - An Amazon Adventure (about adventuress Lizzie Hessel)
- 1987 Wish Me Luck
- 1991 Selling Hitler (based on the book by Robert Harris)
- 1992 Rides
- 1995 Dangerous Lady
- 1996 The Bite
- 1998 The Jump
- 2001 Do or Die
- 2011 The Runaway
Other activities
- One-time Vice-Chair of PACT
- One-time Edinburgh Television Festival committee member
- An original member of the 25% Campaign for increased Independent access to the BBC and ITV
- Consultant to Hollywood director Bruce Beresford on his feature film Paradise Road. Warner's book Women Beyond the Wire: A Story of Prisoners of the Japanese 1942-45 (co-written with John Sandilands) was the prime source material for the film.