Catherine Haste, Lady Bragg (6 August 1945 – 29 April 2021) was an English author, biographer, historian and documentary film director, who worked freelance for major television networks in the UK and US over a period of 40 years.

Television documentaries

Haste directed political and historical documentaries and series, including ''Munich: The Peace of Paper''. For '' Cold War'',

Jeremy Isaacs Sir Jeremy Israel Isaacs (born 28 September 1932) is a Scottish television producer and executive, opera manager, and a recipient of many British Academy Television Awards and International Emmy Awards. He won the British Film Institute Fello ...

' 24-part series, Haste directed five films. She directed Flashback TV's ''Hitler's Brides'' about women in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

; produced ''Death of a Democrat'' in '' Secret History'', the series broadcast by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

; and ''Married to the Prime Minister'', presented by

Cherie Blair Cherie, Lady Blair, (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Tony Blair. Early life and education Boot ...

, the wife of the then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...

Books

Haste’s first book, ''Keep the Home Fires Burning'' (1977), was described by journalist

Phillip Knightley Phillip George Knightley (23 January 1929 – 7 December 2016) was an Australian journalist, critic, and non-fiction author. He became a visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln, England, and was a media commentator on the ...

as: "One can only hope that this important book will make it more difficult for any British government so deeply to deceive its people ever again." Maureen Freely wrote that ''Rules of Desire'' (1997) was "as diverting and as suggestive as a very good novel.... temperate, balanced, subtle and humane". ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' critic wrote that ''Nazi Women: Hitler’s Seduction of a Nation'' (2001) "opens up the bizarre moral universe of the Third Reich ....at once comprehensible and compelling, and at times deeply moving. It is media history at its best." The prize-winning ''Sheila Fell: A Passion for Paint'' (2010), a biography/monograph of the Cumbrian Expressionist landscape painter, signalled Haste’s shift to biography and was, according to Andrew Lambirth, "a handsome, slim volume ....elegantly and deftly put together".

Personal life and death

Haste was one of three surviving daughters of Eric and Margaret Haste. She was married from 1973 to 2018 to the broadcaster

Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of '' The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documen ...

, whom she met at a protest; the couple had two children, Tom and Alice. She was a member of

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associati ...

, 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), the

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The ...

and

Directors UK Directors UK (previously DPRS) is the professional association for British directors working in the audiovisual sector, with over 4,500 members. The organisation is both a collective management organisation for the distribution of secondary rights ...

(formerly Directors Guild of Great Britain), and had been a trustee of

Index on Censorship Index on Censorship is an organization campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association w ...

and World Film Collective. She lived in Hampstead, north London, and like her former husband was a member of the Labour Party. She died from cancer in April 2021, aged 75.

Bibliography

* ''Passionate Spirit: The Life of Alma Mahler'' * ''Craigie Aitchison: A Life in Colour'' * ''Sheila Fell: A Passion for Paint'' * ''Clarissa Eden A Memoir: From Churchill to Ede'' (ed.) * ''The Goldfish Bowl'', with Cherie Booth * ''Nazi Women: Hitler’s Seduction of a Nation'' * ''Rules of Desire'' * ''Keep The Home Fires Burning''

Filmography

* ''Married to the Prime Minister'' (Flashback TV for Channel 4) 2005 * ''Hitler’s Brides'' (Flashback TV for Channel 4) 2000; part of series titled ''Nazi Women'' * ''Millennium'' (Jeremy Isaacs Productions/CNN/BBC) 1999 * ''Cold War'' (CNN) 1998 * ''Cold War'' (Jeremy Isaacs Productions/CNN/BBC2) 1996–98; 24-part series * ''Secret History: Death of a Democrat'' (Brook Associates for Channel 4/Arts and Entertainment) * ''Munich: The Peace of Paper...'' (Brook Associates for Thames Television/ WGBH, Boston) 1988

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haste, Cate 1945 births 2021 deaths English women non-fiction writers English television directors English television producers British women television producers British television producers British women television directors