David Leland in Britain" won the Prix Italia (an international Television award) in 1984. In 1986 he wrote the screenplay for the thriller-drama "Mona Lisa", featuring Bob Hoskins. This film was critically acclaimed and Leland earned nominations for the Golden Globe and the Writers Guild of America. He then wrote "Personal Services" in 1986. It was directed by Terry Jones and was about Cynthia Payne, a real-life British madam who ran a private brothel. Julie Walters took the leading role. While "Personal Services" dealt with the adult life of Cynthia Payne, Leland's next film, "Wish You Were Here", concerned her teenage years.
Christine Payne Christine Payne Christine Grace Payne (born 30 December 1956) is an English trade union leader. Payne graduated from Loughborough University and studied industrial relations at Middlesex Polytechnic. In 1979, she began working for the trade union Equity, and was its television commercials organiser from 1981, then its Assistant Secretary (Recorded Performances) from 1991. In 1999, she was promoted to become Assistant General Secretary (Live Performances), and then in 2005 was elected as the union's General Secretary - the first woman to lead the union. Under Payne's leadership, membership of Equity grew from just over 35,000 in 2005, to just under