Directing

Paddy Russell

Born July 4, 1928 · Highgate, London, England, UK

Died November 2, 2017 · aged 89

Patricia "Paddy" Russell (4 July‌ 1928 – 2 November 2017) was a British television director. She was among the earliest female directors at the BBC. She was the first female floor manager to work for the BBC, her non-gendered credit being a means of avoiding problems with prospective technical crews. Although she appeared in the first two episodes of The Quatermass Experiment (1953), her main rol…

Known For

Doctor Who: Invasion of the DinosaursDoctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs · 1974
Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs
6.81974
MovieScience FictionDrama
The Third Doctor and Sarah arrive in 1970s London to find it has been evacuated because dinosaurs have appeared mysteriously. It turns out the dinosaurs are being brought to London via a time machine to further a plan to revert London to a pre-technological level.
No Such Thing as a VampireNo Such Thing as a Vampire · 1968
No Such Thing as a Vampire
1968
MovieHorror
Alexis, the wife of Dr. Cheria, mysteriously falls ill, it's believed by the villagers that she is a victim of a vampire. One night, she awakes screaming with blood running from two marks down her neck.
Doctor Who: Pyramids of MarsDoctor Who: Pyramids of Mars · 1975
Doctor Who: Pyramids of Mars
8.61975
MovieScience FictionDrama
In a Victorian Gothic mansion, strange things are afoot. The master of the house, away in Egypt, has been replaced by a sinister Egyptian. Cloth-wrapped Mummies roam the grounds, killing people. Beneath a pyramid, the last of the Osirans — Sutekh the Destroyer — waits to be freed, to at long last bring his gift of death to all who live.
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's EveDoctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve · 1966
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
7.21966
MovieHistoryAction
The TARDIS materialises in Paris in the year 1572 and the Doctor decides to visit the famous apothecary Charles Preslin. Steven, meanwhile, is befriended by a group of Huguenots from the household of the Protestant Admiral de Coligny. Having rescued a young serving girl, Anne Chaplet, from some pursuing guards, the Huguenots gain their first inkling of a heinous plan being hatched at the command of the Catholic Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici.
Doctor Who: Horror of Fang RockDoctor Who: Horror of Fang Rock · 1977
Doctor Who: Horror of Fang Rock
7.61977
MovieActionAdventure
The cursed island of Fang Rock off the south coast of England is a place of rumour and tales of beasts from the sea. Three lighthouse men at the turn of the century face their fears when something comes from the sea to bring death to all it touches.
Come Buttercup, Come Daisy, Come......?Come Buttercup, Come Daisy, Come......? · 1965
Come Buttercup, Come Daisy, Come......?
10.01965
MovieTV MovieScience Fiction
Henry Wilkes cultivates rare tropical plants as a hobby, with an attention to detail closer to obsession. The length to which he goes to propagate and nurture new hybrids alarms his wife. Is there more going on in the greenhouse than could safely be exhibited at the next Battersea Flower Show?
The Corpse Can't PlayThe Corpse Can't Play · 1968
The Corpse Can't Play
7.81968
MovieHorrorMystery
Ronnie's party is going well, but his mother Alice is waiting for her husband Tom to return from the office to help supervise. The doorbell rings, but instead of Tom it's Simon Potter, a strange little boy who Ronnie dislikes, and who knows some unusual and horrifying variations of children's party games.
Doctor WhoDoctor Who · 1963
Doctor Who
7.91963
SeriesDramaAction & Adventure
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

Filmography

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CompactCompact · 1962
Compact
5.01962
SeriesDramaSoap
Compact was a British television soap opera shown by the BBC between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, who together went on to devise Crossroads. In contrast to the kitchen sink realism of Coronation Street, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took the viewer into the business workplace, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays. When Compact began, the editor was a woman, Joanne Minster, yet it was not long before she was replaced by Ian Harmon, the son of the magazine's owner. Despite being largely criticised by reviewers, Compact was popular with the general public, and in 1964 a regular omnibus edition was introduced, broadcast on Sundays. Morris Barry, a some-time actor and BBC director – he directed several Doctor Who stories in the 1960s – took over as producer and was given a brief to spice the series up in view of the criticism it had received from the national press. But the BBC, never comfortable with the concept of soap opera, quietly dropped the series in 1965.

Director

3-2-13-2-1 · 1978
3-2-1
10.01978
Series
3–2–1 was a popular British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, between 29 July 1978 and 24 December 1988, with former Butlins Redcoat Ted Rogers as the host. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez and was three shows in one, a quiz show, a variety show and a game show. The show was a huge success consistently pulling in large ratings. The first series, though, intended as a summer filler, attracted up to 16.5 million viewers and subsequent years never failed to peak below 12 million. The show occupied a Saturday early evening slot for most of its run. The final Christmas special attracted 12.5 million viewers, so, it is to this day unclear why an eleventh series was not commissioned in 1989. Ted Rogers claimed in a 1996 interview that "The Oxbridge lot got control of TV and they didn't really want it. It was too downmarket for them. We were still getting 12 million viewers when they took it off after ten years. These days if a show gets nine million everyone does a lap of honour.".

Director