Veteran TV producer Verity Lambert has died at 71. She helped to give the world one particular British TV hero.
He’s a favourite of mine: unusual, long-lasting, famed for his outlandish appearance, his sense of stylish outsidership, and his non-violent response to encountering evil wherever he goes. And he celebrates an anniversary this week.
I mean of course… Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant.
Mr Crisp died 8 years ago on Wednesday. The DVD of the Naked Civil Servant – the single most influential film on my life – includes a commentary from Ms Lambert, who executively produced the film for Thames TV in 1975, after it had been turned down by everyone else.
Without her I wouldn’t be the man I’m not today. Thank you, Verity.
(Oh, and thanks for that Doctor Who programme, 44 years old today. I rather like that, too.)
