Rodney Bennett (24 March 1935 – 3 January 2017) was a British television director. He worked for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

and directed television programmes for the

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 ...

and ITV.

Early life and education

Bennett was born in

Chagford Chagford is a market town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign and the A382, 4 miles (6 km) west of Moretonhampstead. The name is derived from ''chag'', meaning gorse or broom, an ...

, Devon, and raised in

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

. He studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, and also received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Career

He began working for the BBC in radio and moved into television with the launch of

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air 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 matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

. His subsequent work included directing episodes of ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'' and three ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' stories, ''

The Ark in Space ''The Ark in Space'' is the second serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created ...

'', ''

The Sontaran Experiment ''The Sontaran Experiment'' is the third serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was originally broadcast on BBC1 on 22 February and 1 March 1975. The serial is set on Earth more than 10 ...

'', (both 1975) and ''

The Masque of Mandragora ''The Masque of Mandragora'' is the first serial of the Doctor Who (season 14), 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 4 to 25 September 19 ...

'' (1976). He also directed

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen as well as for his work at the Royal National Theatre, he has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, two ...

and

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

in the BBC Shakespeare production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' in 1980. For ITV he directed the comedy-drama series ''

Anything More Would Be Greedy ''Anything More Would Be Greedy'' is a six-part British television comedy-drama miniseries was written and created by Malcolm Bradbury and directed by Rodney Bennett, this series was produced by Anglia Television for the ITV Network, first aire ...

'' in 1989 and episodes of '' The Darling Buds of May''.

References

External links

*
Doctor Who Classic Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Rodney 1935 births 2017 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of University College London BBC people British television directors Doctor Who articles lacking infobox image People from the Borough of West Devon