Douglas Camfield
Encyclopedia
Douglas Gaston Sydney Camfield (8 May 1931 - 27 January 1984) was an accomplished director
for television
from the 1960s to the 1980s. His programme credits include Z-Cars
, Paul Temple
, Van der Valk, The Sweeney
, Shoestring, The Professionals
, Out of the Unknown
, The Nightmare Man
, the BBC
dramatisation of Beau Geste and Ivanhoe
the 1982 television movie
.
and was production assistant on its earliest serials, The Pilot Episode, An Unearthly Child
and Marco Polo
. Camfield went on to direct many other stories in its first thirteen years:
He sought to get Philip Hinchcliffe
to commission his script for the programme, which involved aliens, the French Foreign Legion
and would have killed off the character of Sarah Jane Smith
. However, this story was not produced, and Sarah left the programme in The Hand of Fear
.
Camfield was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps
in 1951 during his National Service
. Later the same year he transferred to the West Yorkshire Regiment (Territorial Army). He was promoted Lieutenant
in 1952. He left in 1956.
In later life he suffered from a heart ailment, and died of a heart attack. He was married to the actress Sheila Dunn
, whom he cast in the Doctor Who stories The Daleks' Master Plan, The Invasion and Inferno.
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
from the 1960s to the 1980s. His programme credits include Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
, Paul Temple
Paul Temple
Paul Temple is a fictional character created by British writer Francis Durbridge for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple in 1938. Temple is an amateur private detective and author of crime fiction...
, Van der Valk, The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
, Shoestring, The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
, Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Each episode was an independent dramatisation of a separate science fiction short story...
, The Nightmare Man
The Nightmare Man
The Nightmare Man is a science fiction and horror television serial, produced by the BBC in 1981.An adaptation of the novel Child of Vodyanoi by David Wiltshire, The Nightmare Man is set on a small Scottish island with the population gripped by fear following a series of savage murders and the...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
dramatisation of Beau Geste and Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe (1982 film)
Ivanhoe is a 1982 television film adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's novel of the same name. The film was directed by Douglas Camfield and screenplay written by John Gay...
the 1982 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
.
Career
He is particularly well known for his work on Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and was production assistant on its earliest serials, The Pilot Episode, An Unearthly Child
An Unearthly Child
The serial that became An Unearthly Child was originally commissioned from writer Anthony Coburn in June 1963, when it was intended to run as the second Doctor Who serial. At this stage, it was planned that the series would open with a serial entitled The Giants, to be written by BBC staff...
and Marco Polo
Marco Polo (Doctor Who)
-CD and DVD releases:*In 2003, a three-CD set of the audio soundtrack was released, as part of Doctor Who's 40th anniversary. This CD set is unique in containing a map of Cathay as represented during the period of the Doctor's visit to China, and also explaining historical inaccuracies...
. Camfield went on to direct many other stories in its first thirteen years:
- Planet of GiantsPlanet of Giants*An early draft of this story – by C.E. Webber and entitled The Giants – was originally meant to be the first story of the first season.-Episode 4:*This story was originally four episodes in length...
-episode 3 only - The CrusadeThe Crusade (Doctor Who)The Crusade is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from March 27 to April 17, 1965. The story is set in Palestine, near Jerusalem, during the Third Crusade.-Plot:...
- The Time MeddlerThe Time MeddlerThe Time Meddler is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 July to 24 July 1965...
(notable for its imaginative use of effects to overcome studio confines); - The Daleks' Master PlanThe Daleks' Master PlanThe Daleks' Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The twelve episodes were aired from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966...
(mammoth twelve episodes in length co-written by Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner); - The Web of FearThe Web of FearThe Web of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968. This serial — which marks the return of the Yeti, the Great Intelligence, and Professor Travers — is the sequel to The Abominable...
(the story that introduced the popular character of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, and saw the return of the Yeti); - The InvasionThe Invasion (Doctor Who)The Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from 2 November to 21 December 1968...
(which became the most expensive Doctor Who serial up to that time, featuring an unprecedented amount of location filming as well as introducing the organisation UNIT to the series); - InfernoInferno (Doctor Who)Don Houghton came to Terrence Dicks with an idea for the story based on the real life Project Mohole. A smaller budget for the serial drove the idea of a parallel world, where the studio could use the same actors in multiple roles...
(he became ill during the recording of episode 2 of this serial and the remaining studio scenes were directed by the series' producer, Barry Letts, but he was still credited for these scenes); - Terror of the ZygonsTerror of the ZygonsTerror of the Zygons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 August to 20 September 1975...
(the story that saw the departure of companion Harry Sullivan); and - The Seeds of DoomThe Seeds of DoomThe Seeds of Doom is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 31 January to 6 March 1976...
He sought to get Philip Hinchcliffe
Philip Hinchcliffe
Philip Hinchcliffe is a British television producer, who brought shows including Private Schulz and The Charmer to the screen, probably best known for the overseeing of British television series Doctor Who from 1974-1977...
to commission his script for the programme, which involved aliens, the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
and would have killed off the character of Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
. However, this story was not produced, and Sarah left the programme in The Hand of Fear
The Hand of Fear
The Hand of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 October to 23 October 1976...
.
Camfield was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
in 1951 during his National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
. Later the same year he transferred to the West Yorkshire Regiment (Territorial Army). He was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1952. He left in 1956.
In later life he suffered from a heart ailment, and died of a heart attack. He was married to the actress Sheila Dunn
Sheila Dunn
Sheila Mary Dunn was an actor who worked primarily on television.She appeared in two editions of The Wednesday Play in the early part of her career...
, whom he cast in the Doctor Who stories The Daleks' Master Plan, The Invasion and Inferno.