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Christopher Barry

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Christopher Barry
Born
Christopher Chisholm Barry

(1925-09-20)20 September 1925
East Greenwich, London, England
Died7 February 2014(2014-02-07) (aged 88)
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
OccupationTelevision director
Years active1949–2000
Known forDoctor Who

Christopher Chisholm Barry (20 September 1925 – 7 February 2014)[1] was a British television director. He worked extensively in BBC television drama and became best known for his work on the science fiction series Doctor Who.[2] He also directed the direct to video Doctor Who spin-off Downtime in 1995.[3]

Early life and education

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Barry was the son of Sir Gerald Barry, editor of the News Chronicle and director general of the Festival of Britain in 1951, and his first wife Gladys,[4][5] He attended Blundell's School in Devon and the University of Cambridge, before service in the Royal Air Force.[2]

Career

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Barry became a trainee at Ealing Studios and worked on the film The Ship That Died of Shame (1955) as an assistant director to Basil Dearden. He joined the BBC as a production assistant in 1955.[2]

In 1963, Barry was asked by producer Verity Lambert to be one of the initial directors of the BBC's new science fiction television series Doctor Who.[2] Barry's work on Doctor Who went on to cover the longest span of any director during the original run of the series, overseeing episodes until 1979.[6]

Among Barry's other television credits were episodes of Compact (1962), Ann Veronica (1964), Paul Temple (1970–71), Z-Cars (1971–78), Poldark (1975), The Onedin Line (1977), All Creatures Great and Small (1978–80), Juliet Bravo (1980) and Dramarama (1989).[7][8] His other science fiction credits were for Out of the Unknown (1969), Moonbase 3 (1973) and The Tripods (1984).[6] He appeared in a feature covering his life's work on the DVD release of the Doctor Who serial The Creature from the Pit (1979), released in May 2010.[9]

Personal life

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Barry lived in Oxfordshire in his retirement.[10] He died following an escalator fall in a shopping centre in Banbury on 7 February 2014. An inquest into his death was held on 5 June 2014.[11]

Doctor Who credits

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hadoke, Toby (17 February 2014). "Christopher Barry obituary". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b c d Brian Pendreigh (18 February 2014). "Obituary: Christopher Barry, television director". www.scotsman.com.
  3. ^ "Downtime (1995) - BFI". www.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017.
  4. ^ Hadoke, Toby (17 February 2014). "Christopher Barry obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Christopher Barry". 26 February 2024. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b "An Adventure in Space and Time - Christopher Barry - BBC Two". BBC.
  7. ^ News, Doctor Who. "Christopher Barry 1925 - 2014". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Mitchin' (1989)". Archived from the original on 20 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit". DVD Talk.
  10. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (10 February 2014). "Doctor Who director Christopher Barry dies, aged 88". Digital Spy.
  11. ^ Dixon, Hayley (15 February 2014). "Doctor Who director dies after escalator fall". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  12. ^ "The Rescue - Details". Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide. BBC.
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