Editing Sylvia Anderson (section)

===Collaboration with Gerry Anderson===
In 1957 [[AP Films]] was commissioned by writer [[Roberta Leigh]] to produce films based on her children's stories, including ''[[The Adventures of Twizzle]]'' and ''[[Torchy the Battery Boy]]''.<ref name="Hayward"/> Sylvia Anderson worked on these projects as a production assistant.<ref name="Farquhar"/> In late 1960 the couple married,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=ZxMCvaRgSY4VKvJn61BPmQ&scan=1|title=Index entry|accessdate=9 November 2021|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> and she developed a wider role in production duties.<ref name="Griffin"/><ref name="Space1999"/>

The couple worked together as a team, co-writing and co-creating the first episode of a series then sharing the work according to their strengths. Gerry tended to specialise in special effects and hardware, and Sylvia in character, voices, costume, dialogue and plotlines.<ref name="Olah">{{cite news |last=Olah |first=Nathalie |date=2 November 2013 |title=Being Lady Penelope: Thunderbirds co-creator Sylvia Anderson looks back on her extraordinary life |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/being-lady-penelope-thunderbirds-co-creator-sylvia-anderson-looks-back-her-extraordinary-life-8914024.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/being-lady-penelope-thunderbirds-co-creator-sylvia-anderson-looks-back-her-extraordinary-life-8914024.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=16 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fanderson.org.uk/prodguides/prodind.html |title=The Gerry Anderson Production Index |website=www.fanderson.org.uk |access-date=17 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="Farquhar"/>

In this way, Anderson contributed plot development and voice work for a series of half-hour shows including ''[[Supercar (TV series)|Supercar]]'', ''[[Stingray (1964 TV series)|Stingray]]'' and ''[[Fireball XL5]]''.<ref name="Olah"/> The ''Supercar'' end titles credit her (as Sylvia Thamm) as the dialogue director, a task which she would also handle in other projects.  However, she felt the half-hour format was insufficient to fully develop characters and stories, and she persuaded the team's TV producer [[Lew Grade, Baron Grade|Lew Grade]] to extend their shows to a full hour.<ref name="Olah"/>

In the early 1960s, the Andersons co-created the series ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'', and Sylvia created the characters. She was aware that Grade intended to sell the show to American TV networks and wanted to make the show appealing to American audiences, hence she introduced the "British aristocrat" character of Lady Penelope, and Parker her "Cockney chauffeur".<ref name="Hayward"/>

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, an aristocratic fashionista who was an undercover agent, was to become one of her most popular characters; Anderson both created the character and provided her voice.<ref name="BBC News"/><ref name="Olah"/> AP&nbsp;Films puppet designer Mary Turner used Anderson as the template for the creation of the Lady Penelope puppets, a decision of which Anderson was not immediately aware. Interviewed by the&nbsp;''Daily Mirror'' in 1968, Turner commented: "we wanted a glamorous blonde and [Anderson] was the obvious choice."<ref name="M'Lady">{{cite book |title=Yes, M'Lady |last=Anderson |first=Sylvia |publisher=Smith Gryphon |year=1991 |isbn=978-1-856850-11-7 |location=London}}</ref>{{rp|44}} In 1966 and 1968, Anderson produced two feature-length films based on the ''Thunderbirds'' story, ''[[Thunderbirds Are Go]]'' and ''[[Thunderbird 6]]''.<ref name="Hayward"/>

She was co-creator with Gerry Anderson for the series ''[[UFO (British TV series)|UFO]]'' (1969–1970) on which she co-produced, was responsible for fashions on the show and did the majority of the casting.

The Andersons' creative partnership ended when their marriage broke down during the production of the [[List of Space: 1999 episodes#Year One (1975–1976)|first series]] of ''[[Space: 1999]]'' in 1975.<ref name="Space1999"/> Gerry announced his intention to separate on the evening of the [[wrap party]],<ref name="M'Lady"/><ref name="GAbio-171">{{cite book |last1=Archer |first1=Simon |author-link1=Simon Archer (author) |last2=Nicholls |first2=Stan |author-link2=Stan Nicholls |title=Gerry Anderson: the Authorised Biography |year=1996 |publisher=[[Legend Books]] |page=171 |isbn=0-09-978141-7}}</ref> following which Sylvia ceased her involvement with the company, which by this time had twice been renamed and was now called Group Three.