Who was Beryl Vertue? Tributes pour in as veteran TV producer behind 'Sherlock' dies aged 90

Popular British television producer and Hartswood Films’ founder Beryl Vertue recently passed away on February 13 at the age of 90. The news was confirmed by her family.

Although the cause of death has not been revealed, her daughters Sue and Debbie Vertue confirmed that she died peacefully while being surrounded by family. Sue and Debbie are also co-producers at Hartswood Films. They issued a statement which said,

“It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we have to share the sad news that mum/Beryl passed away peacefully last night. It wasn’t Covid, it was just her nearly 91-year-old body saying enough is enough.”

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Beryl Vertue's family issues statement

While sharing the news, Beryl's family stated that it was impossible to believe that she had gone and knew they were not alone in thinking that somehow she would go on forever.

The statement mentions that she was their mother, mentor, adviser, role model, holiday companion, giggle maker, and boss. She adored her family and was proud of everyone. The statement says,

“She loved a glass of wine at lunchtime, she loved asking the common sense question, she was often the last person at a party, she didn’t suffer fools, she was fair, she was kind, she was fun, she was stubborn, in fact she was the total package and we will miss her beyond words.”

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Everything known about Beryl Vertue

Beryl Vertue with her Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) medal (Image via Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)

Beryl Vertue was born in Croydon, Surrey on April 8, 1931. She initially worked as a secretary at a shipping firm after leaving Mitcham County School.

She was then invited to join Associated London Scripts as a secretary and started working with the writers’ cooperative in 1955. She then discovered that she had become an agent and represented comedy writers like Spike Milligan, Terry Nation, and others and comedians like Tony Hancock and Frankie Howerd.

Vertue joined Robert Stigwood’s company in 1967 and became an executive producer of the newly-created ALS. The first production was a 1967 wordless silent film, The Plank.

She was also involved in film spin-offs of television comedies for writers with whom she previously worked. She sold British television formats to the United States.

Her major successes include Steptoe and Son and Till Death Us Do Part. She was a co-executive producer of the film version of the rock opera, Roger Daltrey. The company lasted for eight years, after which Beryl continued with the Robert Stigwood Organization as the executive vice-president and produced programs for American television.

She then formed Hartswood Films in 1979 and produced several comedies like Men Behaving Badly, Is It Legal?, Coupling and others. She was an executive producer of the dramatic series Sherlock.

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Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Beryl Vertue was famous as the executive producer of several films and TV series. The public and other celebrities paid tribute when they heard about her death:

Beryl tied the knot with Clements Virtue in 1951 and they later divorced. They are the parents of two children, Sue and Debbie, and are currently the only known survivors of the television producer.