HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Peter Cregeen (born 28 January 1940 in London, England) is a British television director, producer and executive. He was the original director of ITV's successful police drama, ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...
'', and made a substantial contribution to the series thereafter. He also served as Head of Series for
BBC television drama BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importa ...
between 1989 and 1993, which included cancelling ''
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 ...
'' after its 26th season and several years of poor viewing figures.


Career

Cregeen began directing for television in the 1960s and producing in the 1970s. During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s he worked on numerous popular television series, including: ''
The Troubleshooters ''The Troubleshooters'' (titled ''Mogul'' for the first series) is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. It recounted events in an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. Th ...
'' (1965); ''
King of the River ''King of the River'' is a British television series transmitted by the BBC between 1966 and 1967. The series centred on the King family and their efforts to maintain their sail-driven barge transport business. It starred Bernard Lee, otherwise ...
'' (1966); ''
Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science fi ...
'' (1969; 1971); ''
The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, na ...
'' (1971; 1976); ''
The Sandbaggers ''The Sandbaggers'' is a British spy drama television series about men and women on the front lines of the Cold War. Set contemporaneously with its original broadcast on ITV in 1978 and 1980, ''The Sandbaggers'' examines the effect of espionag ...
'' (1978); ''
Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of th ...
'' (1972; 1974) and ''
Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
'' (1977–1978). Cregeen has worked on various police dramas, including: ''
The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police o ...
'' (1980); '' The Expert'' (1969); '' Softly Softly'' (1969–1972); ''
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 in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it deb ...
'' (1965); ''
Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over con ...
'' (1983), and the pilot to ITV's successful long-running drama, ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...
'', which was originally named '' Woodentop'' (1983). As original director, Cregeen was responsible for ''The Bills "distinctive and atmospheric feel", which he created by adopting a "
fly-on-the-wall Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, t ...
documentary style" with a single handheld camera. The response to ''Woodentop'' was so positive that within a month
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
had commissioned a 12 part series, which was renamed ''The Bill''. Cregeen remained with ''The Bill'', directing and producing between 1984 and 1987, and rose to executive producer between 1988 and 1989. Cregeen worked on ''The Bill'' during "its most popular period" when it switched in 1988 from a series to a year-round, twice-weekly half-hour format. He left the series and ITV in 1989 to become Head of Series at the BBC, later poaching fellow producer of ''The Bill'', Michael Ferguson, to become executive producer of the BBC's flagship soap opera, ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
''. As Head of Series at the BBC, Cregeen was responsible for the Corporation's one-off and returning drama series. During his tenure, Cregeen made the controversial decision to cancel the long-running science fiction programme ''
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 ...
'' following the end of its 26th season in 1989. At the time, Cregeen told fans to expect a longer than usual wait for series 27, though he promised it would return. However ''Doctor Who'' did not return as an ongoing series on the BBC until 2005, without Cregeen's involvement, 16 years later. In 2007, Cregeen and various other BBC staff gave the reasons for the cancellation of ''Doctor Who'' on a documentary entitled "End Game", which is featured on 26th series DVD ''
Survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
''. Reasons given included a general feeling at the BBC that the series needed a "rest", plummeting ratings—partly a result of being broadcast in direct competition to ITV's highest rated programme, ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...
''—and a general disdain for science fiction among BBC staff at the time. In 2013, during an interview to mark the 50th anniversary of the series, ''Doctor Who'' executive producer
Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...
described the decision to abandon ''Doctor Who'' in 1989 as a decision of "outright stupidity and unforgivable blindness." Cregeen continued to produce various programmes for the BBC, having previously been the executive producer for
BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
's ''
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less ''Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less'' was Jeffrey Archer's first novel, first published in 1976. It was said to have been inspired by Archer's real-life experience of near-bankruptcy. Synopsis Harvey Metcalfe, a Polish immigrant to the United ...
'' in 1990—a two-part miniseries based on
Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...
's best-selling book—and he also produced for '' A Question of Guilt'' in 1993. In 1993 a ''Doctor Who'' feature length film to mark the series' 30th anniversary was planned, with Cregeen taking on the role as producer; however production of the film, '' The Dark Dimension'', was terminated by the BBC for "financial and logistical reasons." Cregeen remained "Head of Series" at the BBC until May 1993, when he was replaced by Michael Wearing. He has worked on numerous projects for ITV and the BBC since, and was responsible for commissioning
Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...
's successful drama ''
Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their m ...
'' in 1993. Cregeen has also been involved in theatre, working alongside multimillionairess,
Janet Holmes à Court Janet Holmes à Court, AC, HonFAHA, HonFAIB (born Janet Lee Ranford on 29 November 1943 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian businesswoman and one of Australia's wealthiest women. She is the Chairperson of one of Australia's largest ...
, to encourage TV writers to contribute to her stage productions. He resumed producing and directing of ''The Bill'' throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, and produced ''The Choir'', a five-part adaptation of the novel by
Joanna Trollope Joanna Trollope (; born 9 December 1943) is an English writer. She has also written under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Her novel ''Parson Harding's Daughter'' won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Ass ...
, for the BBC (1994–1995). From 1999 to 2000 he produced for ITV's ''
Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...
'', and in 2001 he was appointed series executive producer of ITV's new soap opera '' Night and Day'', which revolved around the lives of six very different families. He commented "We're making a soap that's modern, romantic and aspirational – a programme from a different perspective and in some ways a more realistic perspective. It's modern, sexy and fun with a very dark undercurrent." The soap was relatively unsuccessful, and was axed in 2003. Cregeen's latest directorial TV credit was for a 2003 episode of the popular BBC medical drama, '' Casualty''.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cregeen, Peter Living people 1940 births British television directors British television producers ITV people Television people from London