Tony Warren was a former actor who turned into Britain's youngest scriptwriter. In 1960 he created Coronation Street and wrote all the early episodes. He also devised the film Ferry 'Cross the Mersey. At the end of the 60s he disappeared from the public eye, though the following decade of drink and drug addiction has been well chronicled by the tabloid newspapers. He abandoned these addictions, and The Lights of Manchester represents his first piece of major creative writing since his recovery. Tony Warren remained a consultant to Coronation Street and lived in Manchester up until his death in 2016.
