Roger Singleton-Turner
Encyclopedia
Roger Singleton-Turner is a British
television director
, known for a number of series including The Demon Headmaster
for the BBC.
. He continued to direct for the series until its end in 1996, as well as adapting many books, including Winnie the Pooh, Treasure Island
and The Hobbit
.
He was the second director ever to work on the long-running iconic children's drama Grange Hill
. He directed around 25 episodes in all, for which he won a BAFTA for Best Children's Programme in 1980, along with executive producer Anna Home.
Singleton-Turner also directed 1991's Watt on Earth. In 1996, he directed The Demon Headmaster
, arguably his best-known work, short-listed for BAFTA, the RTS and the Prix Jeunesse in 1997.
His other works include Gruey
& and Gruey Twoey by Martin Riley, Happy Families
, Mortimer and Arabel, The Wild House
and CITV's Welcome to orty-Fou for Carlton Television. He produced and co-directed, with Steve Wright, series 3 and 4 of The Ark commissioned by ITV Factual from Granada Kids, transmitted in 2004.
Singleton-Turner has trained other directors at the BBC and has taught on various courses at different Universities in the UK and Thailand
. He has recently spent a lot of his time at the University of Sunderland
, where he teaches TV Studio modules.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television director
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...
, known for a number of series including The Demon Headmaster
The Demon Headmaster (TV series)
The Demon Headmaster is a British television series based on the children's books by Gillian Cross of the same name. Made for CBBC, the drama was first broadcast between 1996 and 1998...
for the BBC.
Directing
Singleton-Turner began his directing career in 1974 on the long-running story-telling programme, JackanoryJackanory
Jackanory is a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap o' Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 24 March 1996,...
. He continued to direct for the series until its end in 1996, as well as adapting many books, including Winnie the Pooh, Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
and The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
.
He was the second director ever to work on the long-running iconic children's drama Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
. He directed around 25 episodes in all, for which he won a BAFTA for Best Children's Programme in 1980, along with executive producer Anna Home.
Singleton-Turner also directed 1991's Watt on Earth. In 1996, he directed The Demon Headmaster
The Demon Headmaster (TV series)
The Demon Headmaster is a British television series based on the children's books by Gillian Cross of the same name. Made for CBBC, the drama was first broadcast between 1996 and 1998...
, arguably his best-known work, short-listed for BAFTA, the RTS and the Prix Jeunesse in 1997.
His other works include Gruey
Gruey
Gruey was a 1988 BBC TV children's comedy about the misadventures and escapades of Stephen 'Gruey' Grucock, a mischievous schoolboy in the Jennings and Just William mould. In 1989 another series was produced and aired, titled Gruey Twoey. Gruey was played by Kieran O'Brien. Gruey's best friend...
& and Gruey Twoey by Martin Riley, Happy Families
Happy Families
Happy Families is a traditional card game played in the UK, usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete families. The player whose turn it is asks...
, Mortimer and Arabel, The Wild House
The Wild House
The Wild House was a serialised children's programme produced between 1997 and 1999 broadcast by the BBC. The idea was created by Jean Buchanan, and later series were written partially by Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time...
and CITV's Welcome to orty-Fou for Carlton Television. He produced and co-directed, with Steve Wright, series 3 and 4 of The Ark commissioned by ITV Factual from Granada Kids, transmitted in 2004.
Singleton-Turner has trained other directors at the BBC and has taught on various courses at different Universities in the UK and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. He has recently spent a lot of his time at the University of Sunderland
University of Sunderland
The University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....
, where he teaches TV Studio modules.