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Philip Michael Hinchcliffe (born October 1944) is a retired English television producer, screenwriter and script editor. After graduating from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, he began his career as a writer and script editor at

Associated Television Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and ...

before joining the

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...

to produce ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' in one of its most popular eras from 1974 to 1977. In 2010 Hinchcliffe was chosen by

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as the best ever producer of the series. Following ''Doctor Who'', Hinchcliffe remained with the BBC as a producer for several years, working on series such as '' Private Schulz'', before launching a freelance career in the mid-1980s, which included making '' The Charmer'' for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

in 1987. He finished his career as an executive producer for

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...

, with his final credit on '' Take Me'' in 2001.

Background and early work

Hinchcliffe was born in

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

, Yorkshire. He was educated at

Slough Grammar School Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

, where he studied

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. After a brief period working for a travel company and then as a teacher, he joined

in 1968, writing episodes for series including the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' (1970). He then served as script editor of the sitcom ''

Alexander the Greatest ''Alexander the Greatest'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1971 to 1972. Starring Gary Warren, it was written by Bernard Kops and made for the ITV network by ATV. Cast * Gary Warren – Alexander Green *Sydney Tafler – Joe Green ...

'' (1971–72), the children's adventure series ''

The Jensen Code The Jensen Code is a UK children's television sci-fi thriller series. Produced in colour by Associated Television (ATV) in 13 installments, it originally aired weekly on the ITV network between 28 February 1973 and 23 May 1973. It was writte ...

'' (1973) and the children's drama series ''

The Kids from 47A ''The Kids from 47A'' is a British children's television series produced by Associated Television. Three series were made; the first (comprising 15 episodes) was shown in 1973, the second (13 episodes) and third (13 episodes) in 1974. The third ...

'' (1973). He also became an associate producer on ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''.

''Doctor Who''

Hinchcliffe's agent and contacts from his time as a script editor won him the position as the new producer of the BBC's ''Doctor Who''. In Spring 1974, at the age of 29, he was approached by the corporation's head of serials to take his first full production job, initially trailing and then succeeding long-serving producer

Barry Letts Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of '' Doctor Who'' from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre ...

. Although he trailed Letts on

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

's first story, ''

Robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

'', he was first credited on ''

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'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 January to 15 February 1975. The serial is set more tha ...

''. Throughout his first year he was mostly producing scripts that had been commissioned by the previous production team prior to their departure. Hinchcliffe, together with script editor Robert Holmes, ushered in a change in tone for the series, which became darker and more adult than previously, with a gothic atmosphere influenced by the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

s produced by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve clas ...

. This horror influence is especially evident in serials like ''

Planet of Evil ''Planet of Evil'' is the second serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 27 September to 18 October 1975. The serial is set on and ab ...

'', ''

Pyramids of Mars ''Pyramids of Mars'' is the third serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer under the pseudonym of "Stephen Harris" and directed by Paddy Russell, the ...

'', ''

The Brain of Morbius ''The Brain of Morbius'' is the fifth serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1976. The screenwriter credit is given ...

'', ''

The Hand of Fear ''The Hand of Fear'' is the second serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 23 October 1976. The serial was the last regular appe ...

'' and ''

The Talons of Weng-Chiang ''The Talons of Weng-Chiang'' is the sixth and final serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 2 April 1977. In the serial ...

'', all of which have content which directly recalls well known horror novels and movies. Hinchcliffe also aspired to give the programme a more literary feel with a stronger science fiction basis. Working closely with Holmes, Hinchcliffe tried to "tighten the whole storytelling up a bit and pay more attention to the design", but he conceded that it was improved "in some stories more than others". As part of the effort to "tighten" the storytelling they were permitted to reduce the number of six-parters to just one a season (the previous team of Barry Letts and

Terrance Dicks Terrance William Dicks (14 April 1935 – 29 August 2019) was an English people, English author and television screenwriter, script editor and Television producer, producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fictio ...

made three six-parters per season in their last three seasons). Hinchcliffe was reluctant to use characters and monsters from the series' past: the

Daleks The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

, the

Cybermen The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...

and the

Sontarans The Sontarans ( ) are a fictional race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial humanoids principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. A warrior race characterised by ...

only appeared once during his tenure, and these stories were commissioned by Barry Letts. The Master and the

Time Lords The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, is a memb ...

returned for one adventure, ''

The Deadly Assassin ''The Deadly Assassin'' is the third serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 October to 20 November 1976. It is the first seri ...

'', at the suggestion of script editor Robert Holmes, but were portrayed very differently from their previous appearances. The character of

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...

and the

United Nations Intelligence Taskforce Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (al ...

made their final regular appearances in Hinchcliffe's second season. The early Tom Baker era of the series is cited by

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lot ...

as the peak of ''Doctor Who'' in its first run. However, the

...
received several complaints from

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permiss ...

of the

National Viewers' and Listeners' Association Mediawatch-UK, formerly known as the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (National VALA or NVLA), was a pressure group in the United Kingdom, which campaigned against the publication and broadcast of Mass media, media content that it vi ...

that the series was unduly frightening for children and could traumatise them. The NVALA had been critical of the series before but the complaints reached their height in the Hinchcliffe period. Her strongest criticism was for ''

'', where an attempt is made to drown the Doctor at the end of an episode. While the BBC publicly defended the programme, after three seasons Hinchcliffe was moved onto the adult police thriller series ''Target'' in 1977, and his replacement Graham Williams, who had created ''Target'', was specifically instructed to lighten the tone of the storylines and reduce violence. Screenonline states that this resulted in "the start of an erratic decline in both popularity and quality" for ''Doctor Who'' which led to its eventual cancellation. Hinchcliffe also wrote three novelisations of ''Doctor Who'' serials for

Target Books Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well ...

, adapting the

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the First Doctor, first incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, ...

era story ''

The Keys of Marinus ''The Keys of Marinus'' is the fifth serial in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC TV/BBC1 in six weekly parts from 11 April to 16 May 1964. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Joh ...

'', as well as two stories from his own era, ''

The Seeds of Doom ''The Seeds of Doom'' is the sixth and final serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 31 January to 6 March 1976. In the serial, the F ...

'' and ''

The Masque of Mandragora ''The Masque of Mandragora'' is the first serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 4 to 25 September 1976. The serial is set in the fi ...

''.

Subsequent career

After ''

'', Hinchcliffe worked on numerous series, single dramas and films, including ''

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

'', '' Private Schulz'', ''

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

'', '' The Charmer'', ''Take Me Home'', ''Friday on My Mind'' and many others. He stepped down from the producer role in 1995, after working on the feature films ''

An Awfully Big Adventure ''An Awfully Big Adventure'' is a 1995 British coming-of-age film directed by Mike Newell. The story concerns a teenage girl who joins a local repertory theatre troupe in Liverpool. During a winter production of ''Peter Pan'', the play quickly ...

'' starring

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

and ''

Total Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

'' starring Leonardo DiCaprio, but was engaged as an executive producer by

from 1998 to 2001, overseeing series including ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 19 ...

'' and the John Hannah episodes of ''

Rebus A rebus () is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+) ...

'', and one-off dramas including ''The Last Musketeer'' with

Robson Green Robson Golightly Green (born 18 December 1964) is an English actor, angler, singer-songwriter and presenter. His first major TV role was as hospital porter Jimmy Powell in BBC drama series ''Casualty'' in 1989. He then went on to portray Fusili ...

. Hinchcliffe has made numerous appearances on DVD releases of ''Doctor Who'' serials made during his time as producer. The documentary ''Serial Thrillers'', included on the ''

'' DVD release, focuses on his three-year reign as producer in depth, examining what made the show so successful during that period. In 2012, ''Life After Who: Philip Hinchcliffe '' was included on ''

The Android Invasion ''The Android Invasion'' is the fourth serial of the Doctor Who (season 13), thirteenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 22 November to ...

'' DVD release, in which his daughter Celina Hinchcliffe interviewed him about his career in British television and film after his work on ''Doctor Who''. With the death of

Derrick Sherwin Derrick George Sherwin (16 April 1936 – 17 October 2018) was an English television producer, writer, story editor and actor. After beginning his career in the theatre, Sherwin became an actor in television before moving into writing. He becam ...

in October 2018, Hinchcliffe is the only producer of the classic series of ''Doctor Who'' still alive. In 2021, Hinchliffe came out of retirement, returning to ''Doctor Who'' to help

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

produce audio dramas based on "lost" story ideas from his era on ''Doctor Who''.

Personal life

Hinchcliffe married Deirdre Hanefey in 1970 and has two children. His daughter,

Celina Hinchcliffe Celina Alexandra Hinchcliffe (born 21 March 1976 in Windsor, Berkshire) is an English television sports broadcaster. She has worked for BBC, Sky News and ITV. Early life Hinchcliffe is the daughter of television producer Philip Hinchcliffe an ...

(born 1976), is a television presenter, primarily on sports programmes, and has worked extensively for the BBC, ITV &

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

References

External links

*
Biography of Philip Hinchcliffe at On Target
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinchcliffe, Philip 1944 births Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge BBC television producers English television producers English television writers Living people People educated at Upton Court Grammar School People from Dewsbury