John Tydeman Papers: Sue Townsend and the Adrian Mole series, 1981-2017

Correspondence, newspaper cuttings and ephemera relating to John Tydeman's working relationship with author Sue Townsend, creator of the fictional character 'Adrian Mole'.

The papers were originally kept together in a file collated by John Tydeman entitled 'Sue Townsend/Adrian Mole Papers', and include letters between the author and John Tydeman whilst he worked for BBC Radio Drama.

In 1982 John Tydeman commissioned and directed Sue Townsend's first Adrian Mole script for BBC Radio 4, when the character was original called Nigel and was 14 3/4 years old. John Tydeman and Sue Townsend developed a close working relationship over the following decades, including engaging in correspondence with Nigel/Adrian through a series of letters and postcards. The content of some of these can be found published in 'The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole' (1984) and many of the replies to these letters can also be found in Sue Townsend's archive, held at the University of Leicester (ref: ST).

Alongside correspondence, the collection also features a small amount of ephemera relating to the BBC Radio 4 series, including newspaper cuttings.

The collection also contains more recent correspondence relating to an anniversary event held at the University of Leicester in 2015 to celebrate the fictional 50th birthday of Adrian Mole. John Tydeman was involved with the event's planning and was an invited speaker, unfortunately however he was later unable to attend the event.

John Peter Tydeman (1936-2020) was born on 30 March 1936 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire to George Tydeman and Gladys, née Brown. Tydeman attended Hertford Grammar School and after completing National Service in Malaya with the Royal Artillery, attended Trinity College, Cambridge.

After graduation, Tydeman joined the BBC as a general trainee, working in various parts of the Corporation, soon deciding that he much preferred radio. He became a full-time producer in BBC Radio Drama in 1960, was promoted to Assistant Head in 1979, and succeeded Ronald Mason as Head of Department in 1986. During his role he found, nurtured and advanced new writers, including playwright Joe Orton in 1960. Tydeman saw promise in Orton's play 'The Boy Hairdresser' and championed his work in the face of the disdain of the BBC's script-reading department, which Tydeman derided as a bunch of "old biddies". It took three rewrites and a change of title to 'The Ruffian on the Stair' but Orton's play was finally broadcast under Tydeman's direction in 1964. Over the years Tydeman persuaded many of the great stage actors of the period to work for him, including John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Edith Evans.

Tom Stoppard was a struggling freelance journalist in 1963 when Tydeman accepted his first script, 'The Dissolution of Dominic Boot'. Tydeman went on to commission seven further Stoppard plays written specifically for radio, including 'If You're Glad I'll Be Frank', 'Artist Descending a Staircase' and 'In the Native State', in which he cast Peggy Ashcroft in her final performance.

In 1982 Tydeman commissioned and directed Sue Townsend's first Adrian Mole script for BBC Radio 4, when the character was original called Nigel and was 14 3/4 years old. John Tydeman and Sue Townsend developed a close working relationship over the following decades, including engaging in correspondence with Nigel/Adrian through a series of letters and postcards. The content of some of this correspondence can be found published in The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984) .

John Tydeman resigned from the BBC in 1994, two years below retirement age, having reportedly become fed up with a corporation that was "selling its soul to the internal market". He continued to produce radio plays as an independent freelancer. His other stage productions include John Mortimer's 'The Bells of Hell' (Garrick Theatre, 1977), David Buck's dramatisation of Robert Nye's 'Falstaff' (Fortune Theatre, 1984) and Emlyn Williams's 'Night Must Fall' (Haymarket Theatre, 1996).

John Tydeman was appointed OBE in 2002. In 2010 he was presented with the Radio Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Biography taken from obituaries published in The Times (10 April 2020) and The Daily Telegraph (2 May 2020).

The papers were originally deposited in an admin file entitled 'Sue Townsend/Adrian Mole Papers'.

The papers have been arranged to reflect how the letters/documents which were grouped together originally.

Some material may be unavailable for general access

Full catalogue available via: https://archives.le.ac.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=00308&pos=1

Estate of John Tydeman; Estate of Sue Townsend; BBC; various individuals

The file of papers were compiled and held by John Tydeman during his working life. Upon his death, the file was deposited with Archives & Special Collections.

Sue Townsend Collection (ref: ST)

Orton Collection (ref: MS 237)