[1][2] In 1976 he produced the BBC series When the Boat Comes In, a north-east drama depicting the hard days of the twenties in the fictional town of Gallowshields.
[1][3] It has been said that Lewis had a "respect for text and for writers", which brought him "acclaim", but also "a personal and professional crisis" after the BBC ordered him to scrap his writing team for the next series of When the Boat Comes In.
[1] Lewis moved to Yorkshire Television, producing The Good Companions (1980) and Flambards in 1979 — a 13-part historical drama series based on the novels by K.M.
[3] He later returned to the BBC as a freelance, working on shows ranging from The Chinese Detective (1982); Rockliffe's Babies (1987–88); Juliet Bravo (1981–83) and The Prisoner of Zenda (1984).
By the end of 1991 he had been promoted to co-producer along with Helen Greaves, both taking over charge of the show following the departure of executive producer, Michael Ferguson.
[1] Lewis felt that producing an hour of "reasonable quality drama" a week was the maximum that any broadcasting system could generate without loss of integrity.
He was also involved with his local community—three weeks before his death, his production of She Stoops to Conquer, for the South Petherton Drama Group, received "rave reviews".