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| {{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
| | #REDIRECT [[w:Dennis Spooner]] |
| {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
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| {{Infobox person
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| | name = Dennis Spooner
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| | image = Dennis Spooner.jpg
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| | caption =
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| | birth_date = 1 December 1932
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| | birth_place = [[Tottenham]], [[London]], England
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| | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1986|9|20|1932|12|1}}
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| | death_place = [[Hertfordshire]], England
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| | resting_place =
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| | other_names =
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| | residence =
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| | education =
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| | occupation = [[Television writer]], [[script editor]]
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| | known_for =
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| | television = ''[[Coronation Street]]''<br> ''[[No Hiding Place]]''<br> ''Hancock''<br> ''[[Fireball XL5]]''<br> ''[[Stingray (1964 TV series)|Stingray]]''<br> ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]''<br> ''[[Doctor Who]]''<br> ''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]''<br> ''[[Man in a Suitcase]]''<br> ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''<br> ''[[The Champions]]''<br> ''[[Department S (TV series)|Department S]]''<br> ''[[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)]]''<br> ''[[Jason King (TV series)|Jason King]]''<br> ''[[The Adventurer (TV series)|The Adventurer]]''<br> ''[[Thriller (UK TV series)|Thriller]]''<br> ''[[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]''<br> ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]''<br> ''[[Bergerac (TV series)|Bergerac]]''
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| | years_active = 1960–1986
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| | spouse = Pauline
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| | parents =
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| | children = 2 sons, 1 daughter
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| | website =
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| }}
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| '''Dennis Spooner''' (1 December 1932 – 20 September 1986)<ref name="Dennis Spooner">{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9ee54834|title = Dennis Spooner}}</ref> was an English television writer and [[script editor]], known primarily for his [[spy fiction|programmes about fictional spies]] and his work in [[children's television]] in the 1960s. He had long-lasting professional working relationships with a number of other British screenwriters and producers, notably [[Brian Clemens]], [[Terry Nation]], [[Monty Berman]] and [[Richard Harris (television writer)|Richard Harris]], with whom he developed several programmes. Though he was a contributor to [[BBC]] programmes, his work made him one of the most prolific writers of televised output from [[ITC Entertainment]].
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| ==Early life==
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| Dennis was born in [[Tottenham]], London.<ref name="Dennis Spooner"/> Following a brief spell as a professional footballer with [[Leyton Orient]],<ref name=Sister>{{cite web|url=http://theavengers.tv/forever/bio-spooner.htm|title=The Avengers Forever: Dennis Spooner|work=theavengers.tv|access-date=26 March 2015}}</ref> Dennis completed his [[National Service in the United Kingdom|National Service]] with the [[Royal Air Force]] where he met [[Tony Williamson]], with whom he formed an amateur writing partnership. During the 1950s Dennis returned to office work, and met and married his wife Pauline.
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| Dennis did not desire a career in business and tried to break into the entertainment industry through performance, forming a comedy double act with Benny Davis, now a journalist living in Spain. They worked the London circuit, but found only moderate success. Spooner then turned to writing and began selling half-hour comedy scripts to the [[BBC]] TV comedian [[Harry Worth]]. This eventually led to his writing several scripts for ''[[Coronation Street]]'' in 1960. He also contributed to the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] police procedural series ''[[No Hiding Place]]'' and ''[[Ghost Squad (TV series)|Ghost Squad]]'' as well as to the top-rated comedy series ''[[Bootsie and Snudge]]''<ref name="screenonline.org.uk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/551046/|title=BFI Screenonline: Spooner, Dennis (1932-1986) Biography}}</ref> and to ATV's attempt to revive [[Tony Hancock]]'s career in ''Hancock'' (1963).<ref name="BFI">{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/551046/index.html|title= British Film Institute profile of Dennis Spooner}}</ref>
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| Around this time Spooner met [[Brian Clemens]]; they struck up a partnership that lasted for the rest of Spooner's career.<ref name=Sister/> Clemens offered the young writer work on ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' which was near the beginning of its nine-year run on ITV. Clemens bought two more of Spooner's scripts in that first year, making Spooner a fairly important writer during the [[The Avengers (TV series)#With Dr David Keel (Ian Hendry)|Ian Hendry]] era of the programme.
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| ==Children's TV==
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| While his work in the [[spy fiction]] genre was the dominant feature of his writing career, Spooner also made several key contributions to [[Children's television|children's drama]]. Most active in the genre from 1964 to 1966, he was a contributor to both the [[Gerry Anderson]] programmes and ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was to this genre that he returned at the end of his life. His final sale was the episode "Flashback" for the children's [[supernatural]] [[anthology series|anthology]], ''[[Dramarama (TV series)|Dramarama]]''.
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| ===Gerry Anderson series===
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| After Spooner befriended [[Gerry Anderson|Gerry]] and [[Sylvia Anderson]] in the early 1960s, they offered him a chance to write for their new [[Supermarionation]] puppet TV series, ''[[Supercar (TV series)|Supercar]]''. Although these scripts were unused,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/crguide/vcw.html|title=Writers|work=space1999.net|access-date=26 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218102337/http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/crguide/vcw.html|archive-date=18 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Spooner successfully submitted scripts for the Andersons' next programme, ''[[Fireball XL5]]'' in 1962. After two episodes there he received more substantial work on ''[[Stingray (1964 TV series)|Stingray]]'' and ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'',<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> writing almost 20 episodes for the two series. Although ''Thunderbirds'' was the last major work that he did for the Andersons, he returned in the 1970s to write single episodes of the more adult-oriented ''[[UFO (TV series)|UFO]]'' and ''[[The Protectors]]''. His final work for the Andersons was to write some additional scenes required to knit the first and 17th episodes of ''[[Space: 1999]]'' into a feature-length release, known as ''Alien Attack''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/epguide/t00aa.html |title=space1999.net's Overview of ''Alien Attack''. |access-date=2 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218102348/http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/epguide/t00aa.html |archive-date=18 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Spooner's work on the early Anderson programmes was also his first regular work for [[ITC Entertainment]].
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| ===''Doctor Who''===
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| Spooner worked on ''Doctor Who'' almost exclusively in the formative [[First Doctor|William Hartnell]] era. He served as [[script editor]] for 6 months<ref name="cultbox.co.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://cultbox.co.uk/features/opinion/doctor-who-the-man-who-was-story-editor-for-just-six-months|title = Doctor Who: The man who was story editor for just six months|date = 22 February 2018}}</ref> from ''[[The Rescue (Doctor Who)|The Rescue]]'' to ''[[The Chase (Doctor Who)|The Chase]]''. By the time Spooner left, the only remaining original character was [[First Doctor|the Doctor]] himself and one of Spooner's major goals during this period was to prove that the programme could survive major cast changes. This was partly achieved through the gradual introduction of humour, as is evident in the scripts Spooner himself wrote. The BBC's episode guide notes that "it is for its innovative use of humour that ''[[The Romans (Doctor Who)|The Romans]]'' will always be best remembered, and in this respect it represents a worthwhile attempt at finding new dramatic ground for the series to cover".<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/romans/detail.shtml The BBC's entry for ''The Romans''.]</ref> It was a change that resounded with the public, helping an episode of ''The Romans'' to receive the highest-ever [[Nielsen ratings#Ratings/share and total viewers|share]] in the history of the series.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}
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| Spooner was also responsible for helping to foster a new paradigm for the historical type of adventure. It was he who fully developed the notion of the pseudo-historical with his story ''[[The Time Meddler]]''.<ref name="cultbox.co.uk"/> A gag in the previous story, ''The Chase'', had been that Daleks were responsible for the disappearance of the ''[[Mary Celeste]]''. In ''The Time Meddler'', however, the central plotline was that actual historical events were a backdrop for a battle between the Doctor and an alien opponent. In sustaining the notion for a full serial, Spooner gave birth to an approach to historical events that has continued through to the most recent series of the programme. ''The Time Meddler'' also represents the first time that another member of the Doctor's race, not yet identified as the [[Time Lord]]s, appeared (other than his granddaughter, [[Susan Foreman|Susan]]).
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| Spooner also had significant experience in writing [[Dalek]] episodes. At the behest of the producer [[Verity Lambert]], he and [[Terry Nation]] (also ''Survivors'' and ''Blake’s 7'') each wrote half of the longest ''Doctor Who'' serial in history, ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan]]''. His final assignment on the programme was to solve problems with the script for the new Doctor, [[Second Doctor|Patrick Troughton]], in the serial ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]''.<ref>"Dennis Spooner:Wanna Write a Television Series?" on '' Doctor Who: The Romans'' DVD (2entertain, 2009)</ref>
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| However, Spooner had already been pressed into service on another programme that Terry Nation was script-editing. Enticed by the prospect of working on a programme that would receive attention in the lucrative American market, Spooner left ''Doctor Who'' to help Nation write the majority of the scripts for ''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]'' in 1966.<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/>
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| ==ITC==
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| The move to ''The Baron'' was the start of Spooner's second and more creative period with ITC. Starting in 1967, he became a sort of "contracted [[freelance]]r": he was obliged to write 10 episodes a year for ITC,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/dennisspooner.htm|title=DENNIS SPOONER - A TELEVISION HEAVEN BIOGRAPHY|work=televisionheaven.co.uk|access-date=26 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204316/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/dennisspooner.htm|archive-date=29 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> but he was not exclusively bound to the company.
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| After ''The Baron'' had a cool reception when broadcast by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] on American television, the show ended its run in Britain. Spooner then turned to an old friend, the television writer [[Richard Harris (television writer)|Richard Harris]], to help him in creating a new venture, ''[[Man in a Suitcase]]''.<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> However, the more significant partnership Spooner initiated in 1967 was with [[Monty Berman]], an ITC producer with whom he launched a production company called [[Scoton Productions]]. Between 1967 and 1971 Berman and Spooner created ''[[The Champions]]'', ''[[Department S (TV series)|Department S]]'', its spin-off ''[[Jason King (TV series)|Jason King]]'',<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> and ''[[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)]]''. None of these programmes lasted more than two series, yet they all survived in the public memory long enough to justify video and DVD releases decades later. Indeed, ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' was re-imagined by television producers in 2000 for a [[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000 TV series)|two-series run]]. Spooner's time with these programmes revealed not just his great interest in spy fiction, but also his penchant for rewarding friendship. Many former writing partners, including Williamson and Harris, returned to work on Spooner's ITC creations.
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| Despite his heavy involvement with ITC, Spooner also availed himself of the non-exclusivity of the arrangement. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s he continued to submit scripts to [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] and the [[BBC]]. This allowed him to be one of the most prolific writers on ''The Avengers'' during the [[Tara King]] era, and to successfully submit scripts to ''[[Paul Temple (TV series)|Paul Temple]]'' and ''[[Doomwatch]]''.
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| ==Post-ITC==
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| After his contract with ITC lapsed Spooner entered a period of genuine freelance work for the rest of his career. His scripts were accepted for series such as ''[[Bergerac (TV series)|Bergerac]]'' and ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]''. Nevertheless, as had been his motivation for joining ''The Baron''—and, really, that of ITC director [[Lew Grade]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/482705/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Grade, Lord Lew (1906–1998) Biography|work=screenonline.org.uk|access-date=26 March 2015}}</ref>—Spooner still longed for some success in the United States. To this end he rejoined [[Brian Clemens]]. In 1973 Clemens had begun ''[[Thriller (UK TV series)|Thriller]]'', an [[Associated Television|ATV]]/[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] anthological mystery series that was shown in the United States under the title ''ABC Mystery Theatre''. Although Spooner wrote only two episodes, he was one of only two writers other than Clemens himself to have done so. When Clemens made his next assault on American television, ''[[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]'', Spooner played a much larger role: he and Clemens wrote the overwhelming majority of the scripts. So great was Spooner's contribution to ''New Avengers'' that, if considered alongside his work for the parent programme, it makes him the third-most prolific writer for ''The Avengers'', and second only to Clemens for the length of his association with the programme. While this gave Spooner the greatest continuous work of his latter career, neither it nor ''Thriller'' led to a long-term presence in the United States. He continued to try to break into the American market, but sold only one idea to a [[prime time]] network show: the third season ''[[Remington Steele]]'' episode "Puzzled Steele" gave story credit to Spooner, Clemens and fellow scriptwriter [[Jeff Melvoin]].
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| ==Bridge involvement==
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| Spooner was a well-known bridge player and wrote two books, ''Useful Hints for Useless Players'' and ''Diary of a Palooka''. The contents of the latter often appeared first under a column of that name in the publication ''[[Popular Bridge Monthly]]''.<ref name=Adler/> Spooner played at Harrow Bridge Club.<ref>[http://www.ebu.co.uk/general/biographies/obituaries/dennisspooner.htm The English Bridge Union Obituary.]</ref> He often added a subtle reference to bridge to his scripts, such as naming a villain who owned two nightclubs "Stayman" (after the [[Stayman convention]]).<ref name=Adler>Phillip Adler, "Bridge: A World Record Is A World Record", ''The Trentonian'', 29 March 2018, p. 32</ref>
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| ==Family and death==
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| Spooner and his wife Pauline had three children.
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| Having heart problems,<ref name=Adler/> Spooner died on 20 September 1986 after suffering a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] aged 53.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dennis_Spooner_obituary|title=Dennis Spooner obituary - the Doctor Who Cuttings Archive}}</ref>
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| ==Writing credits==
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| {| class="wikitable"
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| |- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
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| ! Production
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| ! Notes
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| ! Broadcaster
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| |-
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| |''[[Coronation Street]]''
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| *"Episode #1.87" (1961)
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| |[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
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| |-
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| |''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''
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| 4 episodes (1961-8):
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| *"[[Girl on the Trapeze]]" (1961)
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| *"Please Don't Feed the Animals" (1961)
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| *"[[Split!]]" (1968)
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| *"[[Look – (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) – But There Were These Two Fellers...]]" (1968)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[No Hiding Place]]''
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| 4 episodes (1962):
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| *"A Job for Johnny" (1962)
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| *"Car in Flames" (1962)
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| *"Time to Kill" (1962)
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| *"Unfinished Business" (1962)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''ITV Television Playhouse''
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| *"No Cause for Alarm" (1962)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[Fireball XL5]]''
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| 9 episodes (1962-3):
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| *"Space Pen" (1962)
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| *"Space Vacation" (1963)
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| *"Robert to the Rescue" (1963)
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| *"Dangerous Cargo" (1963)
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| *"Mystery of the TA2" (1963)
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| *"Whistle for Danger" (1963)
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| *"Invasion Earth" (1963)
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| *"Faster Than Light" (1963)
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| *"Space City Special" (1963)
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| |[[Associated Television|ATV]]
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| |-
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| |''Hancock''
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| *"The Early Call" (1963)
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| |ATV
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| |-
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| |''[[Comedy Playhouse]]''
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| 2 episodes (1963-4):
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| *"The Plan" (1963)
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| *"The Siege of Sidney's Street" (1964)
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| |[[BBC1]]
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| |-
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| |''[[Foreign Affairs (1964 TV series)|Foreign Affairs]]''
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| *"Episode #1.4" (1964)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[Stingray (1964 TV series)|Stingray]]''
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| 13 episodes (1964–1965):
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| *"Loch Ness Monster" (1964)
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| *"Set Sail for Adventure" (1964)
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| *"An Echo of Danger" (1964)
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| *"[[Titan Goes Pop]]" (1964)
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| *"In Search of the Tajmanon" (1964)
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| *"A Christmas to Remember" (1964)
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| *"Rescue from the Skies" (1965)
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| *"Treasure Down Below" (1965)
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| *"Stand by for Action" (1965)
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| *"The Invaders" (1965)
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| *"Count Down" (1965)
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| *"Sea of Oil" (1965)
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| *"The Golden Sea" (1965)
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| |ATV
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| |-
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| |''[[Doctor Who]]''
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| Script editor for 26 episodes of [[Doctor Who (season 2)|Season 2]] (1965).<br>
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| 21 episodes (1964–1966):
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| *"[[The Reign of Terror (Doctor Who)|The Reign of Terror]]", Parts 1-6 (1964)
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| **"A Land of Fear"
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| **"Guests of Madame Guillotine"
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| **"A Change of Identity"
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| **"The Tyrant of France"
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| **"A Bargain of Necessity"
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| **"Prisoners of Conciergerie"
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| *"[[The Romans (Doctor Who)|The Romans]]", Parts 1-4 (1965)
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| **"The Slave Traders"
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| **"All Roads Lead to Rome"
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| **"Conspiracy"
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| **"Inferno"
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| *"[[The Time Meddler]]", Parts 1-4 (1965)
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| **"The Watcher"
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| **"The Meddling Monk"
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| **"A Battle of Wits"
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| **"Checkmate"
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| *"[[The Daleks' Master Plan]]", Parts 6 & 8-12 of 12, with the remaining episodes written by [[Terry Nation]], 1965
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| **"Coronas of the Sun"
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| **"Volcano"
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| **"Golden Death"
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| **"Escape Switch"
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| **"The Abandoned Planet"
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| **"Destruction of Time"
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| *"[[The Power of the Daleks]]", Part 1 of 6 (co-written with [[David Whitaker (screenwriter)|David Whitaker]], 1966) - ''uncredited''
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| **"Episode 1"
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| |BBC1
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| |-
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| |''[[Pardon the Expression]]''
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| *"The Little Boy Lost" (1965)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]''
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| 6 episodes (1965–1966):
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| *"[[The Mighty Atom (Thunderbirds)|The Mighty Atom]]" (1965)
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| *"[[Vault of Death (Thunderbirds)|Vault of Death]]" (1965)
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| *"[[End of the Road (Thunderbirds)|End of the Road]]" (1965)
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| *"Day of Disaster" (1965)
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| *"The Impostors" (1966)
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| *"Cry Wolf" (1966)
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| |ATV
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| |-
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| |''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]''
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| 14 episodes (1966–1967):
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| *"Diplomatic Immunity" (1966)
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| *"Enemy of the State" (1966)
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| *"The Persuaders" (1966)
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| *"And Suddenly You're Dead" (co-written with [[Terry Nation]], 1966)
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| *"There's Somebody Close Behind You" (co-written with Terry Nation, 1966)
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| *"Time to Kill" (1967)
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| *"A Memory of Evil" (co-written with Terry Nation, 1967)
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| *"You Can't Win Them All" (1967)
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| *"Masquerade", Part 1 of 2 (co-written with Terry Nation, 1966) - ''uncredited''
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| *"The Killing", Part 2 of 2 (co-written with Terry Nation, 1966) - ''uncredited''
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| *"The High Terrace" (1967)
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| *"The Edge of Fear" (1967)
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| *"Long Ago and Far Away" (1967)
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| *"So Dark the Night" (co-written with Terry Nation, 1966)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[Man in a Suitcase]]''
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| Creator, with [[Richard Harris (television writer)|Richard Harris]], of series running 29 episodes (1967–1968)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[The Champions]]''
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| Creator, with [[Monty Berman]], of series running 30 episodes (1968–1969)<br>
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| 3 episodes (1968–1969):
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| *"The Beginning" (1968)
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| *"The Search" (1968)
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| *"The Interrogation" (1969)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[Department S (TV series)|Department S]]''
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| Creator, with Monty Berman, of series running 28 episodes (1969–1970)<br>
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| |ATV
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| |-
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| |''[[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)]]''
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| Creator, with Monty Berman, of series running 26 episodes (1969–1970)<br>
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[UFO (TV series)|UFO]]''
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| |
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| *"[[Destruction (UFO)|Destruction]]" (1970)
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| |ITV
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| |-
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| |''[[Doomwatch]]''
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| |
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| 2 episodes (1970–1971):
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| *"Burial at Sea" (1970)
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| *"The Logicians" (1971)
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| |BBC1
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[Paul Temple (TV series)|Paul Temple]]''
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| |
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| *"Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?" (1971)
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| |BBC1
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| |-
| |
| |''[[Jason King (TV series)|Jason King]]''
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| |
| |
| Creator, with [[Monty Berman]], of series running 26 episodes (1971–1972)<br>
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| 3 episodes (1971–1972)
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| *"Wanna Buy a Television Series?" (1971)
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| *"An Author in Search of Two Characters" (1972)
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| *"That Isn't Me, It's Somebody Else" (1972)
| |
| |ITV
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[The Adventurer (TV series)|The Adventurer]]''
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| |
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| Creator, with [[Monty Berman]], of series running 26 episodes (1972–1973)<br>
| |
| |ATV
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[The Protectors]]''
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| |
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| *"The Bodyguards" (1973)
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| |ATV
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| |-
| |
| |''[[Thriller (UK TV series)|Thriller]]''
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| |
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| 2 episodes (1975–1976):
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| *"Terror from Within" (1975)
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| *"Fear Is Spreading" (1975)
| |
| |ITV
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[Comedy Premiere]]''
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| |
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| *"What a Turn Up" (1975)
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| |ATV
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]''
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| |
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| 9 episodes (1976–1977):
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| *"Cat Amongst the Pigeons" (1976)
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| *"Target!" (1976)
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| *"Three-Handed Game" (1976)
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| *"Faces" (1976)
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| *"Gnaws" (1976)
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| *"Medium Rare" (1977)
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| *"Complex" (1977)
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| *"Forward Base" (1977)
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| *"Emily" (1976)
| |
| |ITV
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]''
| |
| |
| |
| 2 episodes (1978):
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| *"Stake Out" (1978)
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| *"Rogue" (1978)
| |
| |ITV
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[Bergerac (TV series)|Bergerac]]''
| |
| |
| |
| 3 episodes (1981–1983)
| |
| *"Portrait of Yesterday" (1981)
| |
| *"Late for a Funeral" (1981)
| |
| *"Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie" (1983)
| |
| |BBC1
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense]]''
| |
| |
| |
| *"And the Wall Came Tumbling Down" (1984)
| |
| |ITV
| |
| |-
| |
| |''[[Remington Steele]]''
| |
| |
| |
| *"Puzzled Steele" (1984)
| |
| |[[NBC]]
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| |-
| |
| |''[[Dramarama (TV series)|Dramarama]]''
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| |
| |
| *"Flashback" (1986)
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| |ITV
| |
| |}
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| | |
| ==References==
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| {{Reflist}}
| |
| | |
| ==External links==
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| *{{IMDb name|0819388}}
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| *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014724/http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsS/SpoonerDennis.htm Dennis Spooner at The Playwrights Database]
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| | |
| | |
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Spooner, Dennis}}
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| [[Category:1932 births]]
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| [[Category:1986 deaths]]
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| [[Category:20th-century English non-fiction writers]]
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| [[Category:BBC people]]
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| [[Category:Contract bridge writers]]
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| [[Category:Bridge players from London]]
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| [[Category:English science fiction writers]]
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| [[Category:English male screenwriters]]
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| [[Category:English spy fiction writers]]
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| [[Category:English television writers]]
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| [[Category:ITV people]]
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| [[Category:Leyton Orient F.C. players]]
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| [[Category:British male television writers]]
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| [[Category:People from Tottenham]]
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| [[Category:Writers from London]]
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| [[Category:Place of death missing]]
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| [[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
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| [[Category:British male novelists]]
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| [[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
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| [[Category:Association footballers not categorized by position]]
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| [[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
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| [[Category:English footballers]]
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| [[Category:20th-century English screenwriters]]
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