Dennis Vance (18 March 1924 – 6 October 1983) was a British

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and occasional actor. Born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, he signed up as a

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

pilot during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Post-war he began his career as an actor in the late 1940s, appearing in small film parts, such as

Poet's Pub ''Poet's Pub'' is a 1949 British second feature ('B') comedy film directed by Frederick Wilson and starring Derek Bond, Rona Anderson and James Robertson Justice. It was written by Diana Morgan based on the 1929 novel of the same title ...

, in 1949, before switching to become a producer with

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

in the early 1950s. Later, in 1955 he became the first Head of Drama at the ITV contractor

ABC Weekend TV ABC Television Limited, popularly known as ABC Weekend TV, was a British broadcaster 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 of ...

, who went on air in 1956, serving the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

and the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

at weekends. He also produced episodes of ''

The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel'' is a 1955–1956 British television series based on the 1905 novel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' by Baroness Orczy, Baroness Emmuska Orczy. The series was created by writer Michael Hogan (screenwriter), M ...

'' (1956), also directing a couple of episodes. At ABC, Vance oversaw the creation of the anthology drama series ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...

'', which was networked nationally across the ITV regions on Sunday evenings. It became an important long running landmark in British television drama series. Vance, however, left the Head of Drama role in 1958 for a promotion within ABC, being replaced by

Sydney Newman Sydney Cecil Newman (; April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian producer and screenwriter who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, he was app ...

. He soon returned to producing and directing work, helming episodes of programmes such as ABC's '' The Avengers'' (1961). On 11 April 1961 Vance stabbed his colleague Janice Willett in the shoulder during filming for the Avengers episode Dance with Death at ABC's

Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky One and others. The complex also prov ...

. Vance, who had experienced a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

the previous year, was charged with

grievous bodily harm Assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the ...

later the same day after giving himself up to police. At his subsequent trial, held at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

on 27 April, Vance was found guilty due to

diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental funct ...

and sentenced to three years' probation, after a psychiatrist successfully argued in his defence. He was ordered to spend twelve months of this sentence as a patient at London's St Luke's Hospital. Vance was dismissed by ABC, but later worked for

Associated Television ATV Network Limited, originally Associated TeleVision (ATV), was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (TV network), ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on week ...

and others. He produced and directed

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

' '' The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes'' (1971). He produced and directed '' The Misfit'' and '' The Bass Player and the Blonde'' for ATV, and directed episodes of '' Public Eye'' and '' Van der Valk'' for Thames. He also became involved with the

Thomson Organization International Thomson Organization (ITO) was a Canadian holding company that was active from 1978 to 1989, with interests in publishing, travel, and natural resources. It was created as a part of a corporate restructuring of the Thomson Organizat ...

, helping to set up radio and television operations for developing countries.Hayes and McGinlay, p. 236
/ref> Vance was married six times, with one child from each of his first three marriages. He died in

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a suburb of southwest London, England, southwest of Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,189 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Wimb ...

in 1983, at the age of fifty-nine.

Filmography

* '' Scott of the Antarctic'' (1948) * '' Trouble in the Air'' (1948) * '' Warning to Wantons'' (1949) * ''

'' (1949) * '' Shadow of the Eagle'' (1950)

References

External links

* 1924 births 1983 deaths British television directors British television producers 20th-century British male actors People from Birkenhead 20th-century British businesspeople Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Fleet Air Arm aviators {{UK-tv-bio-stub