Radio 4 writer Tavener dies

Mark Tavener, the writer responsible for the BBC Radio 4 series Absolute Power and High Table, Lower Orders, has died of cancer. Absolute Power went on to become a TV series starring Stephen Fry. Radio 4 commissioning editor Caroline Raphael said today he would be "much missed".

Caroline told bbc.co.uk: "He had a knack of finding situations that chimed with our times and then making listeners roar with delight. His work had everything the Radio 4 audience quite rightly demands – wit, intelligence, relevance, intriguing stories and memorable characters."

Tavener's first novel In The Red was nominated for a PG Wodehouse Prize. He died on October 18th.