Gareth Gwenlan was a renowned British television comedy legend, best known for directing and producing iconic series such as The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Butterflies, and Only Fools and Horses.
Born on April 26, 1937, in Brecon, Wales, Gwenlan's early life was marked by hardship, as his father passed away when he was just two years old. He was raised by his grandparents and widowed mother, a teacher, in Cefn Coed near Merthyr Tydfil.
Gwenlan's education took place at Vaynor and Penderyn High School, Cefn Coed, where he developed a passion for the arts. He went on to serve as an RAF National Serviceman in Cyprus during the Eoka insurgency, before returning to the UK to train as an actor at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup.
In 1960, Gwenlan joined the repertory company at the Theatre Royal, York, where he met and shared digs with the actor John Alderton. He then moved to the Derby Playhouse, where he fulfilled his ambition to direct when taking over after the incumbent director fell ill.
Gwenlan's career in television began in 1965 when he joined the BBC as an assistant floor manager in the drama department. He worked on a range of productions, including The Three Musketeers and Doctor Who, before switching to comedy and directing programs such as Oh Brother!, All Gas and Gaiters, and Comedy Playhouse.
In 1970, Gwenlan was seconded to the Foreign Office and sent to Pakistan to launch the country's new state television service. He spent two years training staff in news, documentaries, and drama, and even read the news in English and interviewed the British prime minister Edward Heath.
After leaving the BBC in 1990, Gwenlan worked as a freelance director-producer on Sky television's first sitcom Time Gentlemen Please, before completing the final Christmas trilogy of Only Fools and Horses for the BBC.
Between 2002 and 2008, Gwenlan ran a comedy department for BBC Wales, producing six series of the popular sitcom High Hopes. He was also an accomplished horseman, competing successfully at dressage and serving as president of the BBC riding club.
Gwenlan received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including a Royal Television Society Fellowship, an OBE, and a lifetime achievement award from Bafta. He was married three times and had two children.
