Andrew Williams (born 8 May 1962) is a British writer and former television journalist. He is a former Senior Producer and Director at the BBC, the author of six historical novels and two histories of the Second World War.
Early life
Andrew Williams was born on 8 May 1962 in Sheffield. He was educated at
Carre's Grammar School
Carre's Grammar School is a selective secondary school for boys in Sleaford, a market town in Lincolnshire, England.
Founded on 1 September 1604 by an indenture of Robert Carre, the school was funded by rents from farmland and run by a group ...
, Sleaford and
Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
and was a member of its
University Challenge
''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
team in 1983. He trained with Westminster Press and worked as a reporter with The Kentish Times newspaper group in south London.
Career
Williams joined the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
as a News Trainee in 1986 and worked as a Producer on ''
Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
''. In 1992, he directed and produced the documentary ''A Journey Home'' with the model,
Iman
Iman, Imann, Imaan, Eman, Emaan, or Imman may refer to:
Places
* Iman, Iran, a village in Kalashi District, Kermanshah Province
* The Iman River, the former name of the Bolshaya Ussurka River, a tributary of the Ussuri River in Russia's Primors ...
, on the famine and civil war in her native Somalia. Then in 1993 he joined ''
Panorama
A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
'' as an assistant editor, reporting on the domestic and international stories of the day. His programme with Reporter,
Jane Corbin
Jane Phillipa Corbin, Lady Maples (born 16 July 1954) is a British journalist and film-maker who has made over a hundred documentaries mainly for the BBC and its current affairs programme ''Panorama''. She specialises in covering Central Asia, t ...
, on the
1995 massacre at Srebrenica, ''War Crime: Five Days in Hell'', was used as evidence at the
International War Crimes Tribunal
The Russell Tribunal, also known as the International War Crimes Tribunal, Russell–Sartre Tribunal, or Stockholm Tribunal, was a private People's Tribunal organised in 1966 by Bertrand Russell, British philosopher and Nobel Prize winner, and ...
in The Hague, and nominated for an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
.
In 1997, Williams directed and produced a ground breaking television series with Reporter,
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politic ...
, on the history of the Provisional IRA and
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
, ''Provos''. He then joined BBC documentaries to write and direct programmes for ''
Timewatch
''Timewatch'' is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29 September 1982 and is produced by the BBC.
The ''Timewatch'' brandname is used as a ...
'' and ''Reputations''. His documentary, ''Journey to the Killing Fields'', included an interview with
Pol Pot
Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
's deputy,
Nuon Chea
Nuon Chea ( km, នួន ជា; born Lao Kim Lorn; 7 July 1926 – 4 August 2019), also known as Long Bunruot ( km, ឡុង ប៊ុនរត្ន) or Rungloet Laodi ( th, รุ่งเลิศ เหล่าดี), was a Cambodian co ...
before his arrest on war crimes charges. The programme was nominated for a
Grierson Award
The Grierson Awards are awards set up by The Grierson Trust to recognise innovative and exciting documentary films, created to commemorate the life and work of the pioneering Scottish documentary filmmaker John Grierson.
The inaugural Awards w ...
. His television history of the struggle against the German U-boat during World War II, ''The Battle of the Atlantic'' won the
Mountbatten Maritime Prize
The Mountbatten Maritime Award is awarded annually by the Maritime Foundation (formerly the British Maritime Charitable Foundation) to the author of a distinguished publication that has made a significant contribution to the maritime history of th ...
and A New York Film and Television Festival Award, and was nominated for a
Royal Television Society Award
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
, and he wrote a best selling companion book to the series. In 2004, he produced and wrote the series, ''D-Day to Berlin'' and the accompanying book;
["Surviving D-Day", ''The Sunday Times'' New Review, 6 June 2004] and in 2008 he directed a six-part drama documentary series about Stalin, ''
World War II: Behind Closed Doors''.
Williams' first historical novel, ''The Interrogator'' was published by
John Murray in 2009, and was shortlisted for both the Crime Writers Association (CWA)
Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association for best thriller of the year. The award is sponsored by the estate of Ian Fleming.
It is given to a title that fits the broadest definition of ...
, and the
Ellis Peters Historical Award.
["Plantation slaves, Russian anarchists and a Tudor lawyer battle it out for book prize", ''The Scotsman'', 1 April 2011] His second, ''To Kill A Tsar'' was shortlisted for the Ellis Peters Historical Award and the
.
[ His 2019 novel, ''Witchfinder'' was set inside the British intelligence services in the years following the defection of Kim Philby in 1963, and tells the story of spy catcher, Peter Wright's misguided attempt to prove the existence of a master spy at the top of MI5 and to purge 'the Establishment' of those he suspected of communist sympathies. Based on real events, Williams' latest, ''The Prime Minister's Affair'' is the story of an attempt to blackmail Labour's first Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, and of a conspiracy to bring down his government.
]
Personal life
He is married to Kate Mavor
Katherine Lyndsay Mavor, (born 30 March 1962) is a British charity executive and businesswoman. Since May 2015, she has been chief executive officer (CEO) of English Heritage. Previously, she was CEO of Project Scotland from 2005 to 2009, and C ...
, the CEO of English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
Published works
;History
* Williams, Andrew (2001). ''The Battle of the Atlantic'', BBC Books.
* Williams, Andrew (2004). ''D-Day to Berlin'', Hodder & Stoughton.
;Historical novels
* Williams, Andrew (2009). ''The Interrogator''. John Murray.
* Williams, Andrew (2010). ''To Kill A Tsar''. John Murray.
* Williams, Andrew (2012). ''The Poison Tide''. John Murray.
* Williams, Andrew (2014). "The Suicide Club". Hodder & Stoughton.
* Williams, Andrew (2019). "Witchfinder". Hodder & Stoughton.
* Williams, Andrew (2022). "The Prime Minister's Affair". Hodder & Stoughton.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Andrew
British historical novelists
British documentary filmmakers
1962 births
Living people
People educated at Carre's Grammar School
Contestants on University Challenge