Eleanor Jane Scoones (20 January 1981 – 2 July 2023) was an English television producer and director. A history graduate of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, she worked on programmes presented by the historian

Lucy Worsley Dr. Lucy Worsley (born 18 December 1973) is an English historian, author, curator and television presenter. She was the joint chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces but is best known amongst UK television viewers as a presenter of BBC Televi ...

and others broadcast on multiple British television channels such as

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

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 ...

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

and Channel 5.

Biography

Scoones was born on 20 January 1981, in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. She was the daughter of the English language teacher to foreign students Philip Anthony Francis Scoones and the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

worker Jane Francesca (). Scoones moved to

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

when she was four and was educated at

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in west London, England. The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top ...

in London. She excelled in history, having become interested in the subject by a history teacher. Scoones studied history at

. Following graduation, she got a job at Silver River, a production company. Scoones was an assistant producer and worked on a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary on

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

in 2008. In 2011, she made the first collaboration with the historian

when she was the assistant producer of the series ''If These Walls Could Talk'' broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in 2011. The following year, Scoones again worked with Worsley on the three-part series ''Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: 17th Century History for Girls'' on women of

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

period following the end of the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

run by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

. The series was the first one she directed, something she aspired to be. Scoones directed the series ''Fit to Rule? How Royal Illness Changed History'' broadcast on

in 2013, scrutinising the biological and psychological strengths and weaknesses of rulers from

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

. She was the writer and director of the two-part 2014 BBC Two series ''Russia's Lost Princesses'' on the four daughters of Tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

who were murdered by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

. Scoones went on to direct the BBC Two documentary ''The Ascent of Woman'' by the historian Amanda Foreman, discovering stories on history-making women from 10,000 BC to the present. She was the director of episodes of the

genealogy documentary series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' from 2016 to 2020. The episodes included the comedian

Greg Davies Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'' (2012–2019), Dan Davies in '' Man ...

, the singer

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

, the actress

Naomie Harris Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is an English actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series '' Simon and the Witch'' in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the zombie film '' 28 Days Later'' (2 ...

, the actress

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022, 2025). She came to pro ...

and the comedian

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television personality. He is known for his roles as JP in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and as Alfie Wickers in the BBC ...

with his father. Scoones also worked for

Twenty Twenty Television Twenty Twenty Television is a British television production company that joined the Shed Media Group (now Warner Bros. Television Productions UK) in September 2007. The company produces documentaries, current affairs, drama, living history, an ...

Wall to Wall Media Wall to Wall Media, part of Warner Bros. Television Studios UK (formerly Shed Media Group), is a television production company that produces event specials and drama, factual entertainment, science and history programmes for broadcast by netw ...

and Viacom International Studios, and other programmes she worked on include ''Our Victorian Christmas'' broadcast on Channel 5, '' A House Through Time'' for BBC Two, ''Lucy Worsley's Royal Palace Secrets'' for BBC Four, '' The Supersizers...'', ''Sex Story: Fifty Shades of Grey'' for

, and both ''Dancing Cheek to Cheek: An Intimate History of Dance'' and ''Dan Cruickshank: At Home With The British'' for BBC Four.

Personal life

Scoones was married to the finance worker Xavier and had two children with him. She died of ovarian cancer on 2 June 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scoones, Eleanor 1981 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English women 21st-century English women Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British women television directors English women television producers Deaths from ovarian cancer in the United Kingdom English television directors English television producers People educated at St Paul's Girls' School People from Stepney