The following are some of the shows I have directed or produced.

Most of the following productions have links to pages with more details about them - if you are interested....

Wonderful  TV Drama Series.

Staring

Claire Higgins- Ken Hutchinson - Gabrielle Anwar

Being a crook isn't a very pleasant way of life. It is particularly disagreeable to be married to someone in the underworld and worse still to be a mobster's daughter.

'There is little peace for a man who lives amongst hoodlums and there may be no hiding place'.

 'There is certainly no honour 

SECRET ARMY

Has been re-released on DVD

Beautifully presented box of 4 DVDs of the 3rd Series.

  in UK High Street shops such as HMV, Smiths

 http://www.play.com

Prisoner of War  

The last Run

Ring of Roses  

Ambush 

Light the Blue Touch Paper

Collaborator 

KESSLER

Has been re-released on DVD

and is now available from high street stores and Amazon 

Clifford Rose & Alison Glennie

Alan Dobie

Nitza Saul &  Nick Young

Dr Who is available from the BBC shop

I worked with all the Doctors up to and including Tom Baker. Had the pleasure of directing Cybermen, Sea Devils, Daleks and my favorite - the Robots from the space miner...

DR WHO

Colony in Space

Sea Devils - just released with interviews and commentary

Revenge of the Cybermen

Robots of Death

Death to the Daleks

Blake's7 is available from the BBC shop

BLAKE'S 7

THE WAY BACK, 

 THE WEB,  

PROJECT AVALON

DELIVERANCE

I directed the first ever episode and then several more from the first series.  Great fun to do - 

Bravely going where others had been before!

Soon to be re-released on DVD

BLOOD

ROYAL

BECAME

BLOOD MONEY

Available from the BBC Shop and eBay

A Tale of Two Cities

BBC Sunday Classic Serial of which

I wrote the adaptation as well as Directing

Won an Emmy.

Available from the BBC shop

ONEDIN LINE

I directed several episodes over a couple of seasons of this popular series.

Peter was a delightful actor to work with and most of the success of the series was down to his portrayal of James Onedin.

Worked again with him on One by One

TREASURE

ISLAND

We shot the West Indian island sequences on the southern tip of Corsica - that was as far as the budget allowed us to go! The Jungle was shot on the Mildmay estate near  Plymouth which has been home location to several previous versions of this 'Sea Story'.

BLUE WATER DESTINATIONS

Just finished working on the sailing series - BLUE WATER CRUISING 

& 

BLUE WATER DESTINATIONS 

Warship

A very good BBC 1 drama series about life in a Leander Class Frigate

HMS HERO.

Created and mainly written by Ian Mackintosh a serving RN officer. He was awarded a posthumous MBE  for his work in Intelligence - a real life James Bond!

Locations in Hong Kong, Plymouth & Portsmouth. 

Tangier

Feature film produced by

Linked Ring Productions

set in 

Gibraltar, Tangier 

with 

Billie Whitelaw & Ronnie Cox

Available from Amazon and eBay

Howard's Way

From my original idea,

 The series was produced by the late 

Gerry Glaister.

Very successful 'boating and between the sheets' drama series set on the Hamble River.

As well as directing I created the sailing sequences that backed the end credits.

 A really fund days shooting with a helicopter, speed boats and some splendid craft to photograph!

One by One

Zoo Vet series about work with exotic animals - lots of fun - very interesting working with Jimmy Clubb

&

 Sally Chipperfields Circus.

DUTCH TELEVISION

DRAMA

***** New 'rant' about trying to direct telly in Dutch!

Nail Corner/Spijkerhook

Had the pleasure of directing and creating the first & second series. My function was to bring UK tv techniques to Netherlands TV.

Friends for life/Vrienden voor het Leven

Found the Scripts, did the casting, created the recording techniques and imported the UK system of Sit Com to the Netherlands. 

After Henry/Zonder Ernst

Found the script, Produced and Directed the Pilot then got fired by Joop v/d Ende!

 Firsts are always interesting!

Jansen Jansen

working for the Vara I directed this clever sit com based on Swedish Series.  3 series of it - I think..

(My brief sojourn in Netherlands Television)

Won lots of awards and got to live in Amsterdam

The Complete Secret Army

to be published on 01 December.

“Thanks to ’Allo! ’Allo!, Secret Army - the best drama series ever made by the BBC - seems to have vanished from the public memory. Andy Priestner redresses this accident of history in a book written with all the enthusiasm, devotion and forensic insight that Secret Army deserves. You need to see Secret Army and you need to read this book.” Gareth Roberts, Writer -Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures

www.classictvpress.co.uk.

The Sea Devils

RE-RELEASED ON DVD WITH ADDED FEATURES  - INCLUDING 'AUDIO TRACK' WITH BARRY LETTS AND MYSELF REMEMBERING WHEN STORIES....

I would think it is available from a DVD shop near you...

Blue Water Destinations & Blue Water Cruising

are being re-edited to 75 minutes and will soon be available on 2 CDs

A wonderful selection of DVD's about far away places that can be reached by a cruising boat on a blue water passage... 

Before you set sail you must view these DVD's and then make your passage plan.

http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm0108468/  This should go to my IMDb page

To be a young television director in the 60's 70's & 80's was wonderful.  

I was 24 when I did the (6 week) directors course at the BBC then directed my first broadcast television drama production. 

 Television was growing at a rate and the creative side was run by people from the theatre or film industry.  Directors in those days did the casting, were consulted during the writing process and had a freedom impossible today. 

Because I was on the staff of the BBC, as a Production Assistant - production manager/first assistant in film terms - I was allowed to direct shows whilst still on the staff. (All drama directors are freelance in UK TV) Until 1970/1 I would direct a show then have to go back to being a PA - Always a bit difficult but with a wife, children and a mortgage, it had it's attractions but I hated the system and wanted to go freelance. 

In 1970 Ronnie Marsh, then head of drama, gave me a years contract worth of freelance directing engagements. I left the staff and became freelance television director. 

What a nice man and what a kind thing to do.

Television has now grown up and on soaps the role of the director is primarily to point cameras. The speed and instant acting required to-day has taken much of the fun out the work and many - particularly BBC soaps - are run by committee.  

Not sure if this is good or bad, but for young directors it is very sad.

I would have paid to do the directing work that came my way - certainly it was a bit intimidating sometimes, very scary even, but it never was boring and I was allowed to experiment and sometimes to fail - the most exciting thing I can imagine.

 I was so lucky.