Barry Letts(1925-2009)
- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Barry Letts started his career as an actor. He began in repertory in
York whilst also working for a local radio station in Leeds. After a
chance meeting with BBC producer/director Rex Tucker, he started
working with him first on radio and then on television. His first
television appearance was in a 1950 production of "Gunpowder Guy,"
about Guy Fawkes.
He eventually decided he wanted to go into directing and in 1967 attended the BBC directors' course. He worked on episodes of "Z Cars" and "The Newcomers" before directing the six-part Doctor Who story "The Enemy of the World" in 1967. He became producer of Doctor Who in 1969 and remained in that post until 1974. During this period he also co-created and produced the six-part BBC science-fiction drama series "Moonbase 3," transmitted in 1973.
After leaving Doctor Who, he marked time for a while by acting as an assistant of sorts to department head Ronnie Marsh. He then decided to make a return to directing and approached various producers for work. One of the assignments he landed was "The Android Invasion" for Doctor Who in 1975.
Straight after that came a production of "The Prince and the Pauper" for John McCrae. However McCrae was promoted to Head of Drama for a New Zealand TV station, so Letts was asked to take over as producer of the classical serials on BBC1. Amongst those for which he was responsible were "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1978), "The Mill of the Floss" (1979) and "The Old Curiosity Shop" (1980).
Following his stint as Doctor Who's executive producer at the beginning of the eighties he continued to work as a director, particularly on the classic serials. In the 1990s, he wrote (and subsequently novelised) two Doctor Who radio serials, "The Paradise of Death" and "Doctor Who and the Ghosts of N-Space," both starring Jon Pertwee.
He eventually decided he wanted to go into directing and in 1967 attended the BBC directors' course. He worked on episodes of "Z Cars" and "The Newcomers" before directing the six-part Doctor Who story "The Enemy of the World" in 1967. He became producer of Doctor Who in 1969 and remained in that post until 1974. During this period he also co-created and produced the six-part BBC science-fiction drama series "Moonbase 3," transmitted in 1973.
After leaving Doctor Who, he marked time for a while by acting as an assistant of sorts to department head Ronnie Marsh. He then decided to make a return to directing and approached various producers for work. One of the assignments he landed was "The Android Invasion" for Doctor Who in 1975.
Straight after that came a production of "The Prince and the Pauper" for John McCrae. However McCrae was promoted to Head of Drama for a New Zealand TV station, so Letts was asked to take over as producer of the classical serials on BBC1. Amongst those for which he was responsible were "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1978), "The Mill of the Floss" (1979) and "The Old Curiosity Shop" (1980).
Following his stint as Doctor Who's executive producer at the beginning of the eighties he continued to work as a director, particularly on the classic serials. In the 1990s, he wrote (and subsequently novelised) two Doctor Who radio serials, "The Paradise of Death" and "Doctor Who and the Ghosts of N-Space," both starring Jon Pertwee.
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