Peter Ling

Who was Peter Ling?

Peter Ling was a British writer in many media, but best known for his work in television, where he was the co-creator of the soap opera Crossroads.

Ling was born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England, on 27 May 1926, the son of a stage magician and a teacher, and was educated at Whitgift School. As a child he appeared in the Radio Luxembourg children's show The Ovaltinies, and wrote an article for Good Housekeeping magazine at the age of 14.

He was conscripted to work in the coal mines as a "Bevin Boy" during the Second World War, but was transferred the Army Pay Corps due to ill-health. After the war, recovering from tuberculosis in a British Legion Sanatorium, he published his first novel, Voices Offstage, and began submitting comedy scripts to BBC radio, selling some to Jon Pertwee's radio show Waterlogged Spa. This led to work on television, including the BBC's children's show Whirligig, where he met actress Sheilah Ward, whom he married in 1954.

In 1952 he was invited to write comic strips for the Eagle, including the schoolboy series "The Three J's", illustrated by Peter Kay, which was adapted for television in 1958. With Sheilah Ward, he also co-wrote strips for Eagle's sister title Girl, including "Two Pairs of Skates" and "Penny Starr". The couple also wrote a Girl spin-off novel, Angela has Wings, based on the comic strip "Angela Air Hostess", created by Betty Roland.