Spotlight: Don Taylor (Director - During Barty's Party and Buddyboy) Part One

Donald Victor Taylor was born on 30^th June 1936 in Chiswick, London into a working class background. His first encounter with the medium of television was at the age of 14 when he watched his father assemble a television set from a do-it-yourself kit. His first direct involvement was a few years later when he got hold of tickets to watch a game show presented by Charlie Chester being filmed. Chester picked him out of the crowd and made him sing ‘I Belong to Glasgow’ whilst also standing on his head. This humiliating scenario was witnessed by his then girlfriend who quickly dumped him after the show was over.

After gaining a scholarship he was educated at Chiswick Grammar School and then undertook a degree in English Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford from 1955. Whilst at Oxford he became an active member of the Experimental Theatre Club[1] and in 1957 he directed the world premiere of the play Epitaph for George Dillon by the notable playwright John Osborne. The production gained positive reviews including the trade paper The Stage which notted “Don Taylor’s perceptive direction is fully alive to the impelling qualities of the play, the climaxes being notably well-handled.[2]” He graduated in 1958 and joined the Oxford Playhouse as the theatre director’s assistant but was dismissed after six months. He took on work as a supply teacher to make ends meet.

In 1960, at the age of 23, he joined the BBC as a trainee on a six month contract and undertook the corporation’s director’s training course. This culminated in Taylor directing a twenty minute studio production after just eight weeks tuition. Taylor chose to adapt a Tennessee Williams short play, The Last of My Solid Gold Watches, which was seen by the then head of the BBC drama department, Michael Barry, who praised the production. Barry offered Taylor a contract as a director in the drama department, where he would specialise in directing single plays. Taylor, from strong socialist stock (his father was a trade unionist), felt himself slightly out of step with the established hierarchy within the BBC, though he found a kindred spirit when he began a long association with the writer David Mercer in 1961. Both held strong socialist beliefs and had concerns for how socialism was progressing. Taylor directed three plays by Mercer between 1961 and 1963 – Where the Difference Begins, A Climate of Fear and Birth of a Private Man – that formed a trilogy that overall explored the failure of socialism.

The first single play Taylor directed was The Road to Carey Street (10^th November 1960), a tale of bankruptcy which was well received within the BBC at the time, though Taylor himself felt that the script was poor. Prior to this he had directed two episodes of the police drama Scotland Yard; “Interpol” (31^st May 1960) and “Used in Evidence” (21^st June 1960), which used film to shoot the action and location sequences. These helped bridge between studio scenes which were still shot and transmitted live. Taylor’s episodes required night filming and car chases, something which the director found difficult to complete. Following these episodes the BBC confirmed that his contract was extended by a further two years. He was now an established BBC director and as such he was able to pick and choose what projects he would work on.

More single dramas for the BBC followed with The Dark Man (8^th December 1960) starring Robert Shaw. Written by N J Crisp the play was one of the first dramas on British TV to tackle the subject of racism. Shaw would also star in Taylor’s next credited production, The Train Set (5^th January 1961), written by Midlands born writer David Turner. The play was set in a Birmingham factory where a worker wants to buy his son a model railway for his birthday, but cannot afford it. Written and performed in the area’s dialect the play attracted approval from both critics and the BBC. Further single plays followed including Cheerio Lou (13^th March 1961) and On The Boundary (29^th June 1961), his second collaboration with David Turner, which was centred on the lives of people living on the border between slums and the modern building schemes in the city of Birmingham.

During September 1961 Michael Barry resigned as head of drama. This would eventually have an impact on Taylor’s career and future with the BBC, but for now a caretaking head was appointed the form of former assistant head of department Norman Rutherford. Elwyn Jones stepped into the role of assistant head, and as such became Taylor’s immediate boss as he oversaw the daily work of the drama department.

Further single play credits during this period of change included Summer Autumn Winter Spring (11^th September 1961) and Where the Difference Begins (15^th December 1961), his first collaboration with David Mercer. This play was centred on the political differences between a father and his two sons. Barry Foster appeared as one of the sons with Leslie Sands as the patriarch of a divided family. Comedienne Hylda Baker made her television drama debut in the play following her role in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Again the play was positively received with both Foster and Sands being singled out for their portrayals. Taylor’s final play produced during 1961 was Choirboys Unite! (21^st December 1961) which featured Manning Wilson in the cast, who Taylor would use as a voice over artist in the Beasts episode ‘During Barty’s Party’. This was another play written by David Turner and was a lighter in tone work about a Birmingham choir going on strike.

‘The Alderman’ (28^th January 1962), about a retiring Labour town councillor, was Taylor’s first contribution to the BBC Sunday Night Play strand. The live production very nearly became a disaster when, shortly before the performance went on air, a camera mounting planned to be used for high shots looking down on the action irreparably broke. With no time to acquire a replacement mounting Taylor instead used the tallest cameraman in his team using a standard mounting to achieve the shots.

Taylor continued with work within the single play format with The Winter’s Tale (20^th April 1962), his favourite Shakespeare play, which again featured the actor Robert Shaw in the cast. This adaptation of the Shakespeare play also starred Patrick Macnee, Geoffrey Bayldon and Ron Moody. Working from another script by David Mercer Taylor oversaw A Climate of Fear (22^nd June 1962) starring John Stratton and Geoffrey Bayldon. This was a potentially politically provocative tale of a young woman who becomes estranged from her husband on joining CND (The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). The play tapped into the groundswell of support that CND enjoyed as the idea of mutually assured destruction in the event of a nuclear war became increasingly possible as Cold War tensions soared. After this Taylor made a rare excursion into directing for an ongoing series with an episode of Z Cars – ‘Unconditional Surrender’ (31^st July 1962). Directing this episode was a condition that had been laid down when he had approached Elwyn Jones to mount a production of The Winter’s Tale.

A Suitable Case For Treatment (21^st October 1962), another script by Mercer, was a study of the angry young socialist Morgan Delt and his descent into madness after his wife leaves him. The script was funny and original and Taylor was immediately fired up with enthusiasm for the play. However, when he attempted to get it green lit for production Elwyn Jones was not convinced the play would work. This led to heated debates and disputes over several days before Jones relented, but not before threatening that if the play failed then Taylor would forfeit his job at the BBC. The play was found to overrun the sixty minute allocated slot so Taylor, having won Jones round, compromised and cut the length down by ten minutes. Instead of a live transmission the play was pre-recorded to video tape and this allowed Taylor to be extremely inventive with the use of film, visual jokes and dream sequences. The boundaries for the use of sound where also pushed with the use of music acting as a commentary on the play’s events. This was something new and exciting and the critics reacted by praising the production to the hilt whilst Mercer was awarded the Screenwriter’s Guild for best play of the year. Sadly there is no recording of the original play in the BBC archives so Ian Hendry’s interpretation of the role of Morgan is lost forever. However we can still see the successful cinema adaptation from 1966 under the title of Morgan A Suitable Case for Treatment starring David Warner and directed by Karel Reisz.

‘Libel on a Liar’ (25^th November 1962) was Taylor’s next contribution to the BBC Sunday Night Play series. The story centred on a teacher, Stephen Moriarty, who writes a novel about a school where he used to work. Members of staff at the school read the book and identify themselves as inspiration for some of the story’s characters and contemplate a libel action. The Birth of A Private Man (8^th March 1963) saw Taylor produce and direct another script by David Mercer and was the final part in the loose trilogy the duo had begun with Where the Difference Begins. The play, set in Eastern Europe, was a critique of socialism within these countries and Taylor approached Elwyn Jones with the suggestion that he and Mercer visit some of the locations in the script to enable research. Rather surprisingly he agreed. To arrange visas for the visit the pair were interviewed at the Polish Embassy about their political viewpoints for several hours. With the visas granted Taylor and Mercer visited Warsaw, Poland and East Berlin viewing the Berlin Wall which would figure in the conclusion of the play. Plans were drawn up for location shooting in Poland and cast and production crew prepared for the shoot. However, shortly before they were due to depart visas were suddenly withdrawn without any explanation. Mercer quickly rewrote the Polish location sequences setting them on a train carriage (filmed at Ealing Studios) and locations were located within the UK including a cemetery in Wakefield, Yorkshire and a brewery in Watford which doubled for the Berlin Wall.

Taylor did not agree with the appointment of Sydney Newman as the head of BBC drama or of the changes that Newman made on his arrival. These included splitting the drama department into two areas – plays and serial – with the emphasis on increasing the output of serials and steering the tone of plays to become less elitist in order to appeal to a wider audience. Newman also implemented a producer system which assigned directors to scripts, as opposed to the old system where directors could work with the scripts of their choosing. Finally Newman split the roles of producer and director into two individual jobs, something which under the old system had been combined into one. This would leave Taylor with just the role of director on his future projects. Taylor also began to feel his choice of plays were not favoured by Newman and this led to friction between the two.

Taylor’s next BBC Sunday Night Play episode, the first to be made under the new departmental conditions, was another script from David Mercer. ‘For Tea on a Sunday’ (17^th March 1963) was an allegory criticising the tensions boiling beneath the surface of 1960s British society which concluded with the character Nicholas destroying his flat with an axe. To capture this climax Taylor had three identical sets constructed – one for rehearsal and two for possible takes – though he filmed all three acts of destruction as a precaution which paid dividends when he used shots from the rehearsal in his final edit of the sequence. This segment proved to be particularly controversial with a reported 134 calls of complaint about the violence and intensity of the scene made to the BBC[3]

Taylor’s next BBC Sunday Night Play fell foul to direct interference by Sydney Newman. Written by George Target and originally titled ‘Workshop Limits’, the play was about an industrial dispute in a factory. Newman objected to the title and preferred to call it ‘You Can’t Throw Your Mates’ (7^th July 1963) which Taylor refused to do. Newman issued a direct order which saw the name change go ahead despite Taylor’s objections. It was a minor issue but it was the turning point for Taylor as he felt that the new regime did not welcome him.

His final episode of the BBC Sunday Night Theatre was ‘The Full Chatter’ (16^th June 1963) from a script by Hugh Whitemore. This was a comedic story about Frederic Instance, a teacher who hates television, but longs to be a writer. The play utilised the techniques which Taylor had pioneered in A Suitable Case for Treatment with surrealism, dream sequences, mock adverts and voice over and was another big hit with audiences and critics. After this Taylor found he had no further projects assigned to him despite having a contract for another year. Newman then moved him from the plays department to the series department much to the horror of Taylor who had shunned work in series to pursue his beloved area of single plays. Newman then offered Taylor the chance to produce a new series he was setting up for a family slot on a Saturday teatime, something he was calling Doctor Who. Taylor declined.

Frustrated with the lack of projects Taylor looked towards theatre and during November 1964 he directed the stage play Maxibules at the Royal Theatre in Brighton. Back at the BBC after trying, but ultimately failing, to develop his own drama anthology series based around a University Taylor’s final work as a BBC staff director was The Wednesday Play instalment ‘Dan, Dan, The Charity Man’ (3^rd February 1965). Written by Hugh Whitemore and starring Barry Foster as Dan Sankey who is a national celebrity due to his charity work, but what lies beneath the façade? Again Taylor employed unusual techniques to further the narrative and push the medium including silent movie style captions, sped up film and characters who pause the action to address the audience directly.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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[1] The Experimental Theatre Club (ETC) was founded in 1936 as an amateur dramatics society and an alternative to the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Notable previous members of ETC include Rowan Atkinson, Alan Bennett, Lindsay Anderson, Ken Loach and Dudley Moore

[2] “Early Work By John Osborne”, The Stage, Thursday 28^th February 1957, page 10
[3] Richard Sear, ‘Storm at a Tea Party’, Daily Mirror, 18 March 1963, p. 14.

Spotlight - Nicholas Palmer (producer Murrain and Beasts)

 Nicholas Palmer was born on October 19^th, 1937 in London and gained experience as a theatre manager before successfully applying to become an assistant floor manager at Associated Television (ATV). In this role he learnt the technical side of television play production which he would use to inform his later scriptwriting. Palmer was only twenty one when he adapted the Noel Coward play ‘Private Lives’ for ITV Television Playhouse (16^th January 1959). It was, and still is, quite an achievement to have your name on a popular, prime time TV production as a writer at such a young age. ATV deemed the play enough of a success to give Palmer another project and the result was the ITV Play of the Week – ‘A Man Involved’ (8^th December 1959), adapted from the novel by Edward Grierson. Further script credits during this period include ‘The Jason Group’ (3^rd January 1961), a business drama for the ITV Play of the Week strand. This was later adapted by Palmer for a stage version which was produced by Farnham Repertory Company in September 1962.

On strength of these commissions Palmer acquired an agent, H M Tennent, and was given a two year contract. His first role with an agent was as script editor and script doctor for the crime drama Ghost Squad. The series, partially inspired by the book of the same name by John Gosling[1], detailed the squad’s work on cases that normally fell outside the normal scope of work. The series, a co-production between ATV, ITC Entertainment and the Rank Organisation, ran for three seasons between September 1961 and May 1964. The production of the series set a template for future ITC programmes; it was the first programme the company made that would fit a sixty minute slot, featured an American actor in the cast to encourage international sales and was the first series shot on 35mm film. In between work on Ghost Squad Palmer also supplied scripts to other series including an episode for the police drama No Hiding Place – ‘Date For Deception’ (4^th December 1962).

After the final season of Ghost Squad Palmer elected to go freelance and submitted a script to the drama series The Sullavan Brothers – ‘A Plea For Provocation’ (31^st October 1964) which featured future ‘During Barty’s Party’ actor Anthony Bate in the cast. Palmer also supplied the first of three scripts to the drama anthology Love Story starting with ‘The Rainbow Man’ (5^th May 1964) which featured Jane Asher, later to star in Nigel Kneale’s seminal The Stone Tape, in an early lead role. His second submission to the series was the episode ‘Pinkie’ (19^th September 1966). His final script was ‘Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind’ (10^th August 1967), the story of a holiday romance.

During 1965 Palmer also had a script for the BBC Sherlock Holmes series starring Douglas Wilmer as Holmes and Nigel Stock as Doctor Watson. Palmer had adapted the story ‘The Beryl Coronet’ (10^th April 1965), the first time the story had been filmed since the silent cinema era, and this version is considered a highlight of the Wilmer TV series. Palmer’s script was later adapted for a six episode West German TV iteration of Sherlock Holmes. His script, ‘Das Beryll-Diadem’ (11^th February 1968), was produced by the German company Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and featured Eric Schellow as Sherlock Holmes and Paul Edwin Roth as Doctor Watson. The series was technically a remake of the 1964 BBC series with scripts for this series by Palmer and a group of other British TV scriptwriters including Giles Cooper, Vincent Tilsey and Anthony Read. The scripts were translated and adapted by a group of German writers before filming commenced.

Back at ATV Palmer was heavily involved with the production of the new Ted Willis creation Virgin of the Secret Service, starring Clinton Greyn as Captain Robert Virgin, an Edwardian version of James Bond for the small screen. Virgin travelled the globe fighting enemies of The British Empire with his loyal batman Fred Doublett played by John Cater. All heroes need a nemesis and Virgin’s was the evil Von Brauner and his equally dastardly aide Strieback. Palmer was given the task of not only launching the series with his script ‘Dark Deeds of the North West Frontier’ (28^th March 1968) but also undertaking the role of script editor in an official capacity for the first time. He also wrote a second script, ‘The Professor Goes West’ (13^th June 1968), before the series ended for good a week later.

Palmer’s next script was an episode of the offbeat ITC action adventure series Strange Report which starred Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange, a retired Scotland Yard criminologist who investigates bizarre occurrences and mysteries in the midst of Swinging Sixties London. Strange is aided by two young sidekicks; Hamlyn Gynt portrayed by Kaz Garas and Evelyn McLean played by a post-Doctor Who Anneke Wills. Palmer wrote the episode ‘Report 7931: Sniper – When Is Your Cousin Not?’ (14^th December 1969). Palmer had recently been promoted by ATV to the role of producer and was engaged to oversee the production of the first season of the police procedural drama Fraud Squad. Created by Ivor Jay, script editor for Coronation Street, the series followed the work of Detective Inspector Gamble (Patrick O’Connell) and Detective Sergeant Vicky Hicks (Joanna Van Gyseghem) who investigated tricksters and fraudsters in all levels of society. The series is historically notable for being one of the earliest TV dramas to have a female police officer in a lead capacity. The first season ran for thirteen episodes and was transmitted between 20^th May 1969 and 12^th August 1969. A second season, with Palmer again on script editing duties, was broadcast 19^th September 1970 to 12^th December 1970.

Palmer’s next producer role was Suspicion, an umbrella title for themed anthology drama, which ran for nine episodes between 23^rd November 1971 and 25^th January 1972. ‘Murrain’ actor Marjorie Yates would feature in the first episode, ‘Plain Jane’ (23^rd November 1971) whilst Bernard Horsfall, later to feature in the Beasts episode ‘The Dummy’, appeared in the second episode, ‘Off Season’ (30^th November 1971). Episode three, ‘I’ll Go Along With That’ (7^th December 1971), had Anthony Bate. With so many actors later to feature in Beasts featuring in Palmer’s work it was evident that he was making notes for any future projects requiring his casting input.

Palmer penned ‘Reunion’ (8^th July 1972) and ‘Crossfire’ (21^st July 1973), episodes of the popular police drama New Scotland Yard, before entering one of his busiest work periods as he juggled producer assignments with script editing duties on several productions. As a producer Palmer was charged with overseeing an instalment of Late Night Theatre – ‘We’re Strangers Here’ (1^st August 1973), written by Eric Chappell who would later create the sitcom Rising Damp. He then produced a further season of the drama anthology Love Story with notable episodes including ‘Walter’ (20^th November 1973) directed by Richard Bramall who would later direct the technically challenging Beasts episode ‘Special Offer’. ‘As You Were’ (18^th December 1973) was directed by Piers Haggard who had directed the British folk horror film Blood On Satan’s Claw (1971) and later the final Quatermass (1979) TV series.

At the same time as being the producer to the above shows Palmer was also employed as the script editor of a new ATV police drama, Hunter’s Walk. During this period Palmer forged working relationships with several people who would go on to work on ‘Murrain’ and Beasts including actor David Simeon and director / producer John Cooper. The first season of Hunter’s Walk ran for thirteen episodes transmitted between June and August 1973. A second season of another thirteen episodes was broadcast April to July 1974. Palmer would also script two episodes of the first season; ‘Outcast’ (18^th June 1973) and ‘Vanishing Trick’ (1^st July 1973).

During 1973 Palmer was appointed the Single Plays Producer for ATV and in this role he would commission writers and oversee the production of many stand-alone productions and instalments of anthology strands such as Beasts. His next credit as a producer was for an episode of The ITV Play – ‘Mary, Mary’ (8^th April 1974) featuring an early role for the actor Nigel Havers. Written by Susan Pleat the play attempted to offer a sympathetic look at a woman who snatches babies. A further producer credit was for the one-off production They Disappear When They Lie Down (11^th June 1974) which featured future Professionals star Lewis Collins in an early TV role. More single play producer credits followed including ITV Sunday Night Theatre – ‘Willy’ (3^rd June 1973) which provided roles for Paul Copley and Anna Massey, ITV Sunday Night Theatre – ‘Hopcraft into Europe’ (23^rd September 1973) which cast Arthur Lowe and Clive Revill and ITV Sunday Night Drama – ‘Harry Lifters’ (17^th November 1974) amongst others. One of the notable single plays Palmer produced during this period was Comets Among The Stars (10^th December 1974) about Professor J J R Macleod and Frederick Grant Banting who won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1923 for their work on insulin. Ralph Richardson and Nigel Havers starred.

Piano Smashers of the Golden Sun (2^nd July 1974) was a one-off feature length drama produced by Palmer and scripted by Willis Hall. The Golden Sun of the title was a pub situated between a modern high rise block and a slum area which ran an annual piano smashing competition. One of Palmer’s most high profile and notable projects for 1975 was to serve as producer on all seven episodes of Against the Crowd, an umbrella title for a themed series of individual plays. The series would provide a varied output around the theme of the one against the many, of which ‘Murrain’ was one, from an eclectic mix of writers and directors. Palmer himself penned the opening episode, ‘Tell It to the Chancellor’ (13^th July 1975), whilst other writers included Fay Wheldon with ‘Poor Baby’ (20^th July 1975) and Kinglsey Amis with ‘We Are Guilty’ (17^th August 1975).  Palmer’s most notable producer credit for 1975 has to be the play Jenny Can’t Work Any Faster (8^th December 1975) which starred Pauline Quirke as a young autistic girl. This role would directly lead to Quirke being cast in the Beasts episode ‘Special Offer’. Palmer also had a play he had written produced for the theatre during the year. The farce How It Can Ruin Your Health was staged the Westcliffe Palace theatre during February 1975.

Palmer’s first transmitted credit for 1976, although it was filmed way back in December 1974, was an ITV Sunday Night Drama instalment – ‘Afternoon Dancing’ (28^th March 1976) telling the story of two old ladies who go dancing each week and what happens after one of them dies. This was followed by a couple on one-off dramas; ‘Barney’s Last Battle’ (2^nd May 1976) written by Ted Willis and ‘Chicken’ (29^th August 1976) starring the superlative Ian Bannen as Keith Morse, a business man known as “the butcher” after making 5000 men redundant. However, his major work for the year was Beasts with all six episodes filled with actors and technicians Palmer previously worked with and trusted. Post-Beasts Nicholas had a producer credit on ‘Two Stars for Comfort’ (6^th June 1977) written by Rumpole of the Bailey creator John Mortimer to mark the Queen’s silver jubilee. Kenneth More and Judy Parfitt starred. Nicholas was also the producer on two episodes of The Sunday Drama strand. ‘Why Here?’[2] (7^th August 1977) was the story of group of people with learning difficulties who set up home in a suburban street and how this impacts on the neighbours. The other Sunday Drama episode was ‘Blue Skies from Now On’ (20^th November 1977).

 The following year Palmer returned to script writing and wrote a single episode of the anthology series Scorpio Tales, ‘Crimes of Persuasion’ (27^th May 1978), directed by Shaun O’Riordan and starring Anthony Bate as a MP who intends to reintroduce the death penalty in a dark tale of revenge. This was followed by Heartland, a series of single plays around the theme of romance, which ran for two seasons during 1979 and 1980. Palmer also produced the intriguing sounding ‘Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind’ (19^th May 1981) for the ITV Playhouse drama anthology. The play, written by Brian Phelan, featured a production assistant returning from having worked on a documentary about Sowetto. When the editing begins the production assistant finds it has a strange effect on her.  

For the remainder of his career Palmer tended to concentrate on one-off dramas rather than instalments of umbrella titled anthologies of plays. His credits include The Balance of Nature (14^th August 1983), On the Shelf (1984) and the ill-conceived bizarre science fiction themed musical, Facelift (8^th April 1984), starring Martin Shaw. One of the more fondly recalled productions of Palmer’s later career is Connie made by Central Independent Television. Palmer produced the Stephanie Beacham starring series set in the world of the Midlands clothing industry which ran for thirteen episodes during the summer of 1985. The programme was a satire on the excesses of the 1980s created by Ron Hutchinson. The theme song, written by the playwright Willy Russell (yes he really did!), was sung by Rebecca Storm and reached the giddy heights of number twenty two in the UK charts. The anti-Thatcherite tone of the series reflected Palmer’s own political beliefs.

His final transmitted work as a script writer was an episode of the thriller anthology Unnatural Causes. Palmer was reunited with his ‘Murrain’ and Beasts colleague John Cooper who directed the episode ‘Partner’s (13^th December 1986). As the series producer Palmer also commissioned Nigel Kneale for ‘Ladies Night’ (6^th December 1986), an intriguing play which sees a traditional gentleman’s men club thrown into chaos when women are allowed in during “ladies night.” One member of the club is so incensed by the incursion that he results to murder…

The following year Palmer was again working with Nigel Kneale once more on a one-off drama called Gentry (1987) which starred Roger Daltrey as part of a gang of crooks searching an empty house for the money they hid there years before. His final producer credit was for the one-off drama Made in Spain (20^th June 1989) which told the events of five women arriving in Spain after their husbands are arrested. He was made redundant in 1989 from Central Television though in his final years he was offered a residency at the BBC as a script supervisor for their flagship drama Casualty and acted as an executive producer on the series Chandler and Co (1994 – 1995).

Palmer knew quality writing and was able to help bring to the screen not only some of Nigel Kneale’s greatest work in the field of horror but also commissions which reflected Kneale’s lesser known, earlier social realism work. Palmer was always aware of the viewing public and considered himself as one of the viewer’s when commissioning plays or productions. He was able to often commission without the modern committee style ways of making drama we see in modern television and so was able to take creative risks – “he was own executive, assistant, associate and producer, as well as story editor, and could keep the time short between commission and production.”[3]

Palmer died on 6^th May 1995 at the relative young age of only fifty seven, possibly from the impact of diabetes on his general health and well-being. He was married twice and was the father of two daughters.

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[1] Gosling was a retired police officer and ex-member of the real life squad

[2] ITV’s entry for the 1978 Prague Television Festival

[3] Independent Obituary by Roy Battersby, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-nicholas-palmer-1620710.html (accessed 22nd January 2017).