Chris Boucher (writer)

Christopher Franklin Boucher (15 February 1943 – 11 December 2022) was an English television screenwriter, script editor and novelist. He is known for his frequent contributions to two genres, science fiction and crime fiction, and worked on the series ''Doctor Who'', ''Blake's 7'', '' Shoestring'', '' Bergerac'', and ''The Bill''. He also created the series '' Star Cops''.

Early life

Boucher was born on 15 February 1943 in Maldon, Essex, the only child of Simpson and Alexandra Boucher (née Wheeler). He was educated at Maldon Grammar School. Prior to becoming a television writer, Boucher worked at Calor Gas as a management trainee and gained a Bachelor of Arts in economics at the University of Essex.

Career

Boucher began his work in television science fiction for the series ''Doctor Who'', writing the serials ''The Face of Evil'', '' The Robots of Death'' and ''Image of the Fendahl'' (all broadcast in 1977). Prior to his death in 2022, he was the last remaining living ''Doctor Who'' scriptwriter from prior to Season 18 in 1980. One of his contributions to ''Doctor Who'' was the creation of the companion Leela (Louise Jameson), the savage who featured in the series from 1977 to 1978. The character was inspired by the Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled. Boucher was commissioned for the programme by script editor Robert Holmes, who suggested that Boucher should be appointed in that role for the science fiction series ''Blake's 7'' (1978–81). He served in this role for the entirety of its four-series run, and also wrote several episodes himself, including the final episode.

Boucher was the script editor of the second series of the TV drama '' Shoestring'' in 1980, which followed the investigations of private detective and radio show host Eddie Shoestring (Trevor Eve). Following the end of ''Blake's 7'', Boucher script-edited and wrote for the third series of the police drama ''Juliet Bravo'' in 1982. He then moved on to script-edit another detective show, '' Bergerac'', working on the programme from 1983 to 1987.

All of the above programmes were produced in-house by the BBC and broadcast on the BBC1 network. For the ITV network, he worked on Thames Television's police drama series ''The Bill'' as script editor in 1987. In that year he also returned to the BBC to create his own series, '' Star Cops'', which combined the science fiction and crime genres. The series encountered several production problems and was not a ratings success, lasting only nine episodes on BBC2, but has maintained a cult following among fans of science fiction.

Later works included several ''Doctor Who'' novels for BBC Books, all featuring the character of Leela, and a series of straight-to- CD full-cast audio dramas entitled ''Kaldor City'', which combine elements from his ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Robots of Death'' with his ''Blake's 7'' work.

Views and advocacy

Boucher was an avowed atheist. He disapproved of the introduction of religion into government policy and the education of children.

Personal life and death

Boucher married Lynda Macklin in 1966. They had three sons: Luke, Nathan and Daniel.

Boucher died on 11 December 2022, at the age of 79. He was the last surviving ''Doctor Who'' scriptwriter from prior to the 1980s.

Writing credits

Novels

* 1998: ''Doctor Who'': '' Last Man Running''
* 1999: ''Doctor Who'': '' Corpse Marker''
* 2001: ''Doctor Who'': '' Psi-ence Fiction''
* 2005: ''Doctor Who'': ''Match of the Day''

References

External links

*

''Star Cops''-based interview at 'The Anorak Zone' website


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boucher, Chris
1943 births
2022 deaths
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
20th-century English novelists
20th-century English screenwriters
21st-century English novelists
Alumni of the University of Essex
British male television writers
English atheists
English science fiction writers
English television writers
People from Maldon, Essex
British television show creators
Writers from Essex
Writers of Doctor Who novels