Anne Valery

Anne Valery ( Firth) (24 February 1926 – 29 April 2013) was an English screenwriter, author and actress noted for co-writing episodes for the BAFTA-nominated drama Tenko in the early 1980s. The daughter of actress Doriel Paget, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in World War II and later became part of Fitzrovia's literary scene, establishing friendships with several writers. After modelling on the Paris and London catwalks and working as a producer's secretary, Valery began a career in acting in 1949 but was unable to establish a career in this field and turned to presenting on television for the BBC and Associated-Rediffusion.

She operated a secondhand shop by the late 1960s and wrote two volumes of autobiography at the encouragement of her partner Robin Jacques. Valery also wrote television scripts for soap operas and her career saw progression when the BBC asked her to write for the drama show Angels. There she met fellow writer Jill Hyem and the two were commissioned by the BBC to write episodes for Tenko. Valery later wrote the 1986 drama series Ladies in Charge. She was known as an ardent feminist and was an outspoken member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.

Biography Early life and education

She was born Anne Firth on 24 February 1926 in Hampstead, London. She was the daughter of singer and actress Doriel Paget while her father Colin was not present in her life. Valery had a dislike of schools; she attended four of them with one being a finishing school and was incorrectly diagnosed as dyslexic. Just before she turned 18, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and portrayed the mistress of Ascoyne D'Ascoyne (Alec Guinness) in Kind Hearts and Coronets that same year.

By the late 1960s, Valery operated a second-hand shop that sold clothes and bric-a-brac in West London's Portobello Road. During the writing of Tenko, Valery and Hyem faced opposition for their female points of view from men, including the producer Ken Riddington. Riddington, "a wonderful man" according to Valery, had expected the story lines would receive a more "romantic treatment". The year after the final episode of Tenko was broadcast, she assisted Hyem in writing a feature-length episode, Tenko Reunion, for which Valery wrote the accompanying novel. Valery later wrote the 1986 drama series Ladies in Charge which was about an employment agency established after World War I to aid women leaving the front lines with their independence.

Other activities and death

Valery was an ardent feminist; she was firm in her political beliefs and was involved in opposition to Greece's military junta. She was vehemently opposed to capital punishment which prompted her to once refuse to disembark from a cruise ship in Los Angeles to protest the local Californian laws. Valery had involvement with the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and served on its council, becoming one of its outspoken members over its traditional views and censorship. She died in London on 29 April 2013. The London School of Economics holds a collection relating to Valery in the library's catalogue. They include her personal papers and photographs relating to her career.

Filmography