Michael Jenkins, a writer, producer, and director who made Heartbreak High and the ABC crime dramas Scales of Justice and Blue Murder popular in Australia, passed away at the age of 77.
Jenkins’ management was informed by his partner Amanda Robson that he passed away on Monday afternoon. In 2020, he received a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
Jenkins, who was born in 1946 in Sydney, pursued a degree in philosophy at university and then completed a cadetship at the ABC.
Before making his debut as a director on the ABC serial opera Bellbird in the late 1960s, he worked for a few years as a reporter in the Canberra press gallery. He then moved back to Sydney and started working as a production assistant there.
He carried on writing and directing several TV series and films for the same network for the ensuing ten years. One of his biggest hits came in 1983 with the ABC crime miniseries Scales of Justice, which at the time caused controversy due to its emphasis on police corruption.
Jenkins’ final job was as a producer, providing writing consultation for Netflix’s 2022 revival of Heartbreak High.
As of right now, nothing is known about his family, his children’s names, or whether he gave birth before passing away. His companion Amanda Robson is the one who is still alive.
In his later years, he had retired to Tasmania, but he had just moved back to Sydney to be closer to family.
