Eric George Chappell (25 September 1933 – 21 April 2022)[1] was an English television comedy writer and playwright who wrote or co-wrote some of the UK's biggest sitcom hits over a more than quarter-century career, first gaining significant notice in the 1970s.
[2] He worked as an auditor for the East Midlands Electricity Board for 22 years beginning in 1951, only becoming a full-time writer in 1973.
[4] Chappell wrote the play The Banana Box, which was given a staged reading at the Hampstead Theatre Club in 1970.
[3] This play later became the basis for sitcom Rising Damp, which aired on ITV from 1974 to 1978 and won the 1978 BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy.
[7] His other series included Only When I Laugh, The Bounder, Duty Free, Singles, Haggard, and Home to Roost.