Carla's secret affair: Poem to illicit boyfriend that reveals love really WAS like a butterfly for sitcom queen locked in a stale marriage

It is one of the best loved shows from the 'Queen of Sitcoms'.  But the tale of a frustrated housewife daydreaming about adultery in Butterflies (stills from the TV series pictured top and bottom right) was in fact inspired by the affair that ended the marriage of Carla Lane (pictured left).


Now, after the writer's death last week at the age of 87, a poem (inset) in which she gave voice to the emotional turmoil of the 20-year-long relationship can be published for the first time.