True grit: the work of Tony Garnett His own impact on the corporation was more like a full frontal assault, as together with like-minded directors such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, and writers like Jeremy Sandford and Jim Allen, he fought to bring important, and often ignored, social issues like homelessness (Cathy Come Home, 1966) and abortion (Up the Junction, 1965)) directly onto television, forcing a wider debate. Up the Junction is often credited with contributing to the decriminalisation of abortion in 1967. Political radicalism continued to infuse his work through the Seventies, in series like Days of Hope and the memorable one-off The Spongers (1978). But after a decade as a film producer (his debut, Ken Loach's Kes had spurred him on) in Los Angeles, his return to Britain and the post-Thatcher indie TV landscape of the Nineties saw a new commercial edge to his work. This Life was about as commercially appealing as drama could be in 1996, yet it also perfectly summed up the lives and aspirations of young London professionals of the time. Still, the grit was never far away, and a deep-seated suspicion of authority pervades popular series like Between the Lines, Cardiac Arrest and The Cops in the Nineties, though there are few signs of it in Ballykissangel, which he also executive produced. Now retired and a novelist, Garnett continues to comment from the sidelines, a still- angry revolutionary, railing against the evermore corporate nature of 21st century TV-making, encouraging and inspiring fresh, challenging work from a new generation of socially committed film-makers. Tony Garnett: 5 key dramas Up the Junction (1965) Adapted and directed by Ken Loach from Nell Dunn's controversial novel. 10 million watched, 400 complained, mostly at scenes of sexual promiscuity and botched back-street abortion. Cathy Come Home (1966) A still-searing j'accuse at government failure to provide the basic housing provision for thousands of homeless families. Named in 2005 by Broadcast as the most influential TV drama of all time. Days of Hope (1975) Jim Allen's four-parter about the build up to the 1926 general strike sparked a furore over the parallels drawn, very deliberately, between the social injustices of the interwar years and the entrenched industrial unrest of the mid-Seventies. This Life (1996-97) Young London lawyers date, mate and survive crisis as ambition meets life's tough realities in the career-driven Nineties. Amy Jenkins drama was a slow burn, but a headline-hitting second series made it the defining drama of the time. Between the Lines (1992-94) Introduced the public to the dark underbelly of London policing as Neil Pearson's internal investigations team exposed corruption and shenanigans at all levels of the Met. It brought new levels of both slickness and realism to British TV police procedurals. Tony Garnett: Seeing Red is at the BFI Southbank until 29 June.