Writer of Bread, Butterfiles and The Liver Birds

Sitcom writer Carla Lane has died at the age of 87.

She was one of the most highly paid TV scriptwriters of her generation after creating Butterflies, Bread and co-writing The Liver Birds.

She was born Roma Barrack in West Derby, Liverpool, the daughter of a merchant seaman, and her career began with the Liver Birds, which she wrote with fellow Liverpool housewife Myra Taylor, loosely based on their own experiences. It was aired as a Comedy Playhouse pilot but eventually ran for 87 episodes over ten series from 1969 to 1996. She adopted her pen name because she was shy about her new life.

It was followed by several other series for the BBC, including Butterflies, starring Wendy Craig, Solo with Felicity Kendal, and Bread, which ran from 1986 to 1991 and at its peak attracted almost 21 million to the travails of the Liverpudlian Boswell family through the recession.

Lane died at Stapley nursing home in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, earlier today.

Among those paying tribute were Danny Baker, who tweeted: 'A real comedy mind & force leaves the planet.'

And Rebecca Front said: 'Carla Lane and Victoria Wood both wrote from the heart, and put women at the heart of what they wrote.'

She was also known as an animal rights activist, looking after around 1,000 animals at her manor house in Haywards Heath, Sussex

The Carla Lane Animals in Need Sanctuary in Merseyside paid tribute to ‘a charming talent, spirited lady, and a champions of animal welfare.’

They added: ‘The world of animal welfare will be all the poorer for the loss of such a talented individual. We changed the name of our charity to recognise the work done by this special lady, her name will live on in all we do.’

Published: 31 May 2016