Kay Mellor, writer of hit TV dramas Fat Friends and The Syndicate, dies aged 71

Ruth Jones, who starred in Fat Friends, says Mellor was "such a down-to-earth, funny, big-hearted person whose brilliance lay in seeing the extraordinary in the day to day".

By Andy Hayes, news reporter

Tuesday 17 May 2022 11:46, UK

Undated handout photo of Kay Mellor, best known for writing series including Fat Friends, The Syndicate and Band of Gold, who has died at the age of 71, a spokesperson for her TV production company Rollem Productions said. Issue date: Tuesday May 17, 2022.
Image: Kay Mellor wrote dramas including Fat Friends and Band of Gold
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Kay Mellor, who wrote hit TV dramas Fat Friends and The Syndicate, has died aged 71.

Born in Leeds, the writer, who began with plays, died on Sunday, her production company announced.

"We have lost a phenomenal talent and a true luminary," Rollem Productions added in a statement.

Other TV credits included Band of Gold, about a group of women from Bradford's red light district, football series Playing the Field, and Girlfriends.

Mellor also wrote episodes of Coronation Street and Brookside, and created the award-winning children's drama Children's Ward.

She became pregnant aged 16 in 1967 and married the child's father, Anthony Mellor, who was 17.

Mellor returned to her education when her two daughters (actress Gaynor Faye and television producer Yvonne Francas) were of school age, and began working for Granada Television in the 1980s.

File photo dated 16/2/2010 of Kay Mellor wears her OBE at Buckingham Palace following the investiture ceremony. Mellor, best known for writing series including Fat Friends, The Syndicate and Band of Gold, has died at the age of 71, a spokesperson for her TV production company Rollem Productions said. Issue date: Tuesday May 17, 2022.
Image: Mellor with her OBE at Buckingham Palace in 2010

Fat Friends, about the members of a slimming group in Leeds, starred James Corden, Ruth Jones, Alison Steadman and Mellor's youngest daughter, Gaynor, and was later turned into a musical.

Jones, who went on to write and star in Gavin and Stacey with Corden, said Mellor was "such a down-to-earth, funny, big-hearted person whose brilliance lay in seeing the extraordinary in the day to day".

Mellor chose the Fat Friends theme tune, The Beautiful South's Perfect 10, when she appeared on the BBC's Desert Island Discs in 2017, saying that every time she heard it she would "get excited and get butterflies".

Sir Lenny Henry said he was "lucky to work with (Mellor) on The Syndicate and found her to be incredibly creative, funny and instinctive", adding that she "knew how to get the best from us as actors".

Screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce said he was "on Corrie when (Mellor) was", adding: "She was so breezily intelligent, so casually kind, so ready to get on with stuff."

File photo dated 7/9/1999 of actress Gaynor Faye and her mother Kay Mellor at the premiere of the film , 'Ravenous', at The Odeon West End cinema, Leicester Square, London. Mellor, best known for writing series including Fat Friends, The Syndicate and Band of Gold, has died at the age of 71, a spokesperson for her TV production company Rollem Productions said. Issue date: Tuesday May 17, 2022. Read less
Image: Mellor (right) and her daughter Gaynor Faye in 1999

Emmerdale's Lisa Riley said Mellor had been "taken far far far to young" and was the "best boss to work for".

Actress Sunetra Sarker, whose credits include Playing the Field, Casualty and Cold Feet, tweeted: "I remember how comfortable (Mellor) made me feel when I worked with her, so clever and witty. From the iconic Band of Gold to (the) present day she truly championed women."

Kym Marsh said she'd had the "pleasure of working with Kay briefly last year and it was an absolute honour", adding that Mellor was a "huge talent, a huge personality, a wonderful lady".