The literary and television world mourns the passing of Charlotte Bingham, the celebrated novelist and television scriptwriter who co-wrote numerous screen hits with her husband Terence Brady. She died of cancer at the age of 83.
From Debutante to Bestselling Author
Charlotte Bingham's writing career began with extraordinary early success. At just 20 years old, she penned the bestselling autobiography Coronet Among the Weeds, a humorous account of her experiences as a debutante. This launched a prolific career that would span decades, encompassing dozens of romantic novels alongside her television work.
Her literary talents emerged in childhood, writing her first novel at age ten. Before her fame, she worked for MI5 in London as a secretary, a role she later detailed in her 2018 memoir MI5 and Me: A Coronet Among the Spooks.
Television Breakthrough with Terence Brady
Bingham's most significant professional partnership was with her husband, Terence Brady, whom she married in 1964. Their collaborative work defined a era of British television comedy and drama.
Their breakthrough came with the sitcom No, Honestly (1974-75), starring John Alderton and Pauline Collins. The series drew direct inspiration from their own lives - Brady's acting background and Bingham's aristocratic upbringing and writing career. The show became an instant ratings success, arriving at a crucial moment when the couple had been out of work for six months and were considering selling their London home.
Their television contributions extended to writing for the acclaimed period drama Upstairs Downstairs in 1971 and 1972, and later creating the spin-off series Thomas & Sarah (1979) featuring Alderton and Collins.
Life Imitating Art: The Move to Somerset
In the 1980s, Bingham and Brady made a significant lifestyle change, relocating from Richmond upon Thames to rural Somerset where they lived in an 18th-century rectory. This personal experience directly inspired their 1989 television creation Forever Green, which again starred Alderton and Collins as city dwellers adjusting to country life.
Their ability to adapt successful literature for television was demonstrated with their raunchy adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Riders into a 1993 miniseries.
Other notable television work included:
- Multiple episodes of Take Three Girls (1969-71)
- The sequel series Yes, Honestly (1976-77)
- The sitcom Pig in the Middle (1980-83)
- An American adaptation attempt titled Oh Madeline (1983-84)
A Remarkable Family Background
Bingham was born in Haywards Heath, West Sussex in 1942 during the Second World War to parents who both worked for MI5. Her father, John Bingham, the 7th Lord Clanmorris, was a bestselling crime fiction author and served as inspiration for John le Carré's character George Smiley.
Her childhood involved periods living with grandparents in Northern Ireland and London before boarding at the Priory of Our Lady of Good Counsel school in Haywards Heath for nine years. She described her education as strict, recalling that "the headmistress's idea of punishment was to beat you with a hockey boot."
After school, she lived in Paris to improve her French before returning to work for MI5 at her father's suggestion while writing her first book in the evenings.
Bingham continued writing throughout her life, producing romantic fiction including The Business (1989) and Change of Heart (1994), which won the Romantic Novelists' Association's novel of the year award. Her final memoir, Spies and Stars: MI5, Showbusiness and Me was published in 2019.
Terence Brady died in 2016. Charlotte Bingham is survived by their daughter Candida, son Matthew, two grandchildren, and her brother Simon.
