The first account of the work of Lynda La Plante, one of Britain’s most well-known screenwriters; The first account of the work of a female writer/producer in British and US television; Focuses on the most well known and controversial dramas, Widows, Prime Suspect, Trial and Retribution and Killer Net; Maps questions of gender and genre, acting and stardom, authorship and value against the changing relationship between women and the television industry; Traces La Plante’s transformation from ‘just a writer for hire’ to an astute businesswoman, owing to the transnational appeal of her dramas