Sally Head, the television producer and executive who commissioned groundbreaking dramas such as Prime Suspect, Cracker, and Band of Gold, has died at the age of 79 after a battle with cancer. She was known for her sharp instinct for what makes compelling television and her willingness to take risks on bold, original content.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born Sarah Head on 20 February 1947 in London to Daphne, a physiotherapist, and Richard Head, a civil engineer, she was known from childhood as Sally. She grew up in the village of Stoke D’Abernon, Surrey, and attended Ancaster House school in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. After a secretarial course, she joined the BBC in 1965, initially working as a secretary. "I was hopeless as a secretary," she recalled, "but I was bitten by the television bug." She worked as a researcher on David Frost's shows before leaving in 1967 for a brief "hippy interlude" in Italy and Greece.
Her career in screen drama began in London as an assistant story editor with Columbia Pictures, where she identified Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of the Jackal as ideal for a film adaptation, released in 1973. She then moved to Warner Brothers as European story editor and later script executive.
Rise at ITV and Granada
Head joined the ITV company Thames Television as story editor on the Plays for Britain series in 1976, working on gritty productions from writers such as Howard Brenton, Roy Minton, and Stephen Poliakoff. She later returned to the BBC as a script editor on projects including a Christmas adaptation of Count Dracula in 1977 and the student nurses saga Angels.
As a BBC producer from 1985, she achieved major success with The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1986), adapted from Fay Weldon's novel. "I loved, loved, loved that book from the day I bought it," she enthused.
In 1989, she became head of drama at Granada Television, where she commissioned Lynda La Plante's Prime Suspect (1991-1996), a police procedural featuring Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, a female detective facing sexism from male colleagues. The series tackled hard-hitting social issues such as racism, child abuse, and homophobia, and won nearly 20 Bafta, Royal Television Society, and Emmy awards.
Seeking similar success, Head encouraged Granada producers to pitch ideas. Gub Neal suggested a series about a criminal psychologist, with Jimmy McGovern scripting. "He's strong on sex, religion and sexual politics, and the dark side of life and the soul," Head said of the writer. The result was Cracker (1993-1996), starring Robbie Coltrane as Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald, the alcoholic, gambling psychologist, which garnered numerous awards.
Another standout drama was Band of Gold (1995-1996), Kay Mellor's series about sex workers in Bradford. Mellor had originally developed it for the BBC under the title Frontline, but the BBC's option expired without production. She brought it to Granada, where programme controller David Liddiment passed it to Head and her script associate Gwenda Bagshaw. "We both fell in love with the scripts," Head said in 1997. "They had an originality and a voice that had not been heard before." Within three weeks, Head secured a commission from ITV. The series starred Geraldine James, Cathy Tyson, and Samantha Morton as sex workers, with Barbara Dickson as the madam.
Independent Production and Later Work
In 1995, Head moved to LWT as controller of drama, and in 1997, she and Bagshaw founded Sally Head Productions. "I had done the 'suit' thing and felt I had had enough of big institutions," she said. "Running a drama department is fantastically good fun, but I wanted to get back to the coalface."
Their first programme, Plastic Man (1999), was accepted by ITV after Head persuaded John Thaw to play a surgeon having a torrid affair. "I peck away at people," she quipped.
She showed her daring with Tipping the Velvet (2002), Andrew Davies's adaptation of Sarah Waters's novel, starring Rachael Stirling and Keeley Hawes, with graphic depictions of lesbian sex. Davies also scripted the first TV version of Fanny Hill for the BBC (2007), based on John Cleland's 18th-century novel.
Other dramas from Sally Head Productions included The Cry (2002), about a woman traumatised by stillbirth; Fingersmith (2005); A Good Murder (2006); and Without You (2011), starring Anna Friel.
Personal Life and Legacy
In 1975, Head married sports journalist Frank Keating; they later divorced. She had a relationship with director Tom Clegg. She is survived by two nieces, Cathy and Sarah.
Sally Head's legacy is one of fearless commissioning and producing, bringing to television stories that were both entertaining and socially relevant, often pushing boundaries and amplifying voices that had not been heard before.
