took sole responsibility for writing the scripts beginning in 1973. Her successful screenwriting career continued through the 1970s and 1980s, in particular with the 1978–1983 sitcom Butterflies and the 1986–1991 sitcom Bread. In Butterflies, described as "undoubtedly ... her finest work", she addressed the lead character's desires for freedom from her "decent but dull" husband. Wendy Craig, who starred in Butterflies, said of Lane: "Her greatest gift was that she understood women and wrote the truth about them ... She spoke about what others didn't. In the case of [Craig's lead character], it was all about what was going on inside her – and many other women at the time." In Bread, which ran for seven series, "she became the first woman to mine television comedy from sexual and personal relationships through a galère of expertly-etched contemporary characters, developed against a backdrop of social issues such as divorce, adultery and.. alcoholism." In the late 1980s, Bread had the third-highest viewing figures on British television, beaten only by EastEnders and Neighbours. However, Bread was criticised by some in Liverpool for portraying a stereotypical view of people in the city, an opinion that Lane rejected. Animal welfare Lane had been a vegetarian dedicated to the care and welfare of animals since 1965, She established the "Animal Line" trust in 1990 with her friends Rita Tushingham and Linda McCartney. In 1991, she bought Saint Tudwal's Island East off the coast of Wales, to protect its wildlife. In 1993, Lane converted the grounds of her mansion, Broadhurst Manor in Horsted Keynes, Sussex, into a 25-acre animal sanctuary. She operated the sanctuary for 15 years before having to close operations due to financial constraints. In 2002, Lane returned her OBE to then prime minister Tony Blair in protest against animal cruelty. In 2013, an animal sanctuary named after her was opened in Melling, Merseyside. Later life and death Lane published her autobiography, Someday I'll Find Me: Carla Lane's Autobiography, in 2006. She returned to Liverpool in 2009. Lane died, aged 87, at Stapley Nursing Home in Mossley Hill, in Liverpool, on 31 May 2016. Television series 1969–1979, 1996: The Liver Birds (with Myra Taylor and others) 1971–1976: Bless This House (with Myra Taylor and others) 1974: No Strings 1975: Going, Going, Gone ... Free? 1977: Three Piece Suite 1978–1983, 2000: Butterflies 1981–1983: The Last Song 1981–1982: Solo 1984–1985: Leaving 1985–1987: The Mistress 1985–1986: I Woke