Nigel Farrell
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Nigel George Farrell, born on 22 January 1953 in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, died 24 September 2011, was a television documentary film-maker who was a pioneer in what has been termed 'docu-soaps'. He initially followed his father into medicine, but soon entered the world of television via local journalism. He worked on programmes such as
South Today ''BBC South Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the south of England, covering Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, West Sussex, much of Dorset and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire. The service is produced and bro ...
and Breakfast Time, and on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
appeared on
Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of r ...
’s Saturday evening show Loose Ends. He will primarily be remembered for a 50-programme Radio 4 series called The Village (which went on to become a ''
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
''); three series of ''Country House'' set at
Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...
, '' An Island Parish'', which evolved from '' A Country Parish'', launched in 2001 on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
and a series on Channel 4 called ''A Place In France''. He also directed and presented a 1991 TV documentary film about passengers on one of the British freight ships plying between the UK and the Caribbean, ''Banana Boat.''


Bibliography

Farrell wrote several books based on his experiences and as tie-ins for his television series'. * ''TV & Radio: Everybody's Soapbox'' (1983) with Bruce Parker, Blandford Press * ''Smile It’s Only Television'' (1984), Blandford Press * ''How to be a Commuter : and Survive!'' (1986), Javelin Books * ''Fatherhood - The Awful Truth'' (1987), Javelin Books * ''The Village: The Early Years'' (1996), BBC Books * ''A Place in France : An Indian Summer'' (2004) with Reza Mahammad, Macmillan


Personal life

Educated at
Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...
School in
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, he was the son of a doctor. Farrell had three children, Thomas, Alexandra and Georgina, from his 1977 marriage to Mo, which ended in divorce in 2002. Having previously lived in the
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
village of
Crondall Crondall () is a village and large civil parish in the Hart District, Hart district, in the north east of Hampshire in England, in the Crondall Hundred (division), Hundred surveyed in the Domesday Book of 1086. The village is on the gentle slope ...
and with a holiday home in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
,Nigel's Place in France (2005). Episode 3. Paul Sommers (Executive Producer). Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd for Channel 4, TX 1 March 2005. he moved to Les Fabres near
Vals-les-Bains Vals-les-Bains (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardèche department The following is a list of the 335 communes of the Ardèche department of France. The communes ...
in France's
Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.A Place in France: An Indian Summer (2004). Episode 8. Paul Sommers (Executive Producer). Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd for Channel 4, TX 11 March 2004. This later broke downA Place in France: An Indian Summer (2004). Episode 7. Paul Sommers (Executive Producer). Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd for Channel 4, TX 18 March 2004. and he started a relationship with Sally-Ann Fitt, who, despite some televised skirmishes during Nigel's Place in France,Nigel's Place in France (2005). Episode 2. Paul Sommers (Executive Producer). Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd for Channel 4, TX 22 February 2005. was to remain his partner until his death. Farrell was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
in early 2010. By November of the same year he was in remission but he died in September 2011 after the cancer returned.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Nigel 1953 births 2011 deaths English television directors Deaths from pancreatic cancer