She was a working-class girl from Leeds who could inhabit the lives of sex workers, diet club pals and lottery winners with unflinching compassion, honesty and humour.
Kay Mellor was the voice of struggling underdogs and ordinary people whose trailblazing writing also helped launch the careers of James Corden, Samantha Morton and Sheridan Smith.
The TV industry was reeling yesterday to learn the creator of iconic series including Fat Friends, Band of Gold, Playing the Field and The Syndicate, had died suddenly at the age of 71.
