Ted Childs is a British television producer,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, and director.

Career

Childs commenced training as a programme director with

ABC Weekend TV ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one ...

in 1962. He went on to produce and direct a wide variety of factual programmes and documentary films, including episodes of ''This Week'', the then ITV current affairs flagship, and also contributed to the acclaimed series ''

The World at War ''The World at War'' is a 26-episode British documentary television series that chronicles the events of the Second World War. It was produced in 1973, at a cost of £900,000 (), the most expensive factual series ever produced. It was produ ...

''. He was one of the founders of

Euston Films Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary company of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network ...

, the film production company established by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

in the early 1970s. Whilst there he produced ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Insp ...

'', ''

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and intelligence in British, Commonwealth, Irish, and other police forces. A Special Branch unit acquires and develops intelligence, usu ...

'' and the ''

Quatermass Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading the Brit ...

'' series, together with a number of theatrical and television films, as well as writing and/or directing films and series episodes for both ITV and the BBC. In 1984, Childs was appointed Controller of Drama at

Central Independent Television ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee for the Midlands. It was created following the rest ...

and, subsequently, Managing Director of Central Films. In this dual role, he acted as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

on an extensive range of films and series for ITV. These included ''

Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...

'', ''

Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...

'', '' Soldier Soldier'', ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their m ...

'', '' Sharpe'', '' Cadfael'', ''

Chancer ''Chancer'' is a British television crime drama serial, produced by Central Television for ITV, that first broadcast on 6 March 1990. Starring Clive Owen in the title role of Stephen Crane, ''Chancer'' tells the story of a likable conman and ...

'', '' Gone to The Dogs'', ''

Kavanagh QC ''Kavanagh QC'' is a British television series made by Central Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. All five series are available on DVD in both Region 1 and Region 2. Plot The series starred John Thaw as barrister James Kavanagh QC, ...

'' and ''

Thief Takers ''Thief Takers'' is a British television crime drama series, created by Roy Mitchell, and produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. The series depicts the work of a team of officers based in the Metropolitan Police Ser ...

''. Following the acquisition of Central Television by

Carlton Communications Carlton was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton shareholders gained ...

, Childs opted to assume a freelance role. He continued to write and develop new television drama and films as an executive producer. As such, he was responsible for the series '' Heat of the Sun'', the ''Inspector Morse'' episode ''The Wench Is Dead'', the television films ''Into the Blue'', '' Goodnight Mister Tom'' and ''The Waiting Time'', together with a ''Kavanagh QC'' film special, the ''

Monsignor Renard ''Monsignor Renard'' was a four-part ITV television drama set in occupied France during World War II. It starred John Thaw as Monsignor Augustin Renard, a French priest who is drawn into the Resistance movement. The series was later shown in th ...

'' series, and ''The Remorseful Day'', the final episode of ''Inspector Morse''. From 2004 to 2005 he was responsible for developing '' The Brief'', a legal series, on which he acted as executive producer on two series. He also acted as executive producer on ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

'', a spin-off series from ''Inspector Morse''. In October 2012 Ted Childs was the very special guest at a 43tv Retro TV Sweeney Meet in Twickenham, where he gave a lunchtime talk about his career in TV & Film and also answered questions from members of 43tv.

Awards

In 1991, The Production Guild honoured him with its annual Award of Merit. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

(RTS) in 1992. He was Chairman of the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(BAFTA) in 1994 and 1995. He received the RTS Award for outstanding creative contribution to British Television in 1995. In the same year he was awarded the RTS Baird Medal for outstanding contribution to British regional television. In the 1997

New Year's Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, he was made an OBE for services to broadcast television. Also, in 1997, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Moving Image Society (formerly the British Kinematograph and Television Society.) In May 1998, he received the BAFTA Award for outstanding creative contribution to television. In 2000, he received the Broadcasting Press Guild's Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting. In July 2015, the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Ted British male screenwriters British television directors British television producers Living people 1934 births