Rex Tucker (20 February 1913 – 10 August 1996) was a British

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

in the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures th ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

. Tucker joined the BBC in 1937 to work in radio where he remained for several years before moving to TV work. In 1954 Tucker wrote and directed ''The Three Princes'' which featured future Doctor Who 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, ...

and actor

Roger Delgado Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto (1 March 1918 – 18 June 1973) was a British actor. He played many roles on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing minor villains" before becoming ...

who later became well known for playing the Doctor's opponent The Master. In 1961 he wrote, produced and directed the historical serial ''

Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...

'', which was remade in 1968. Tucker also wrote a sequel '' Pegasus'' for broadcast in 1969. Amongst his work, he was a driving force during the formative stages of '' Doctor Who'' in 1963, acting as a caretaker producer prior to the arrival of

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...

. Tucker's friend, the actor and director

Hugh David Hugh David (17 July 1925 – 11 September 1987) was a British actor turned television director. David was born in Aberystwyth, Wales. His directorial credits include ''Compact'', ''Z-Cars'', '' The Pallisers'' and ''Doctor Who ''Doct ...

— whom Tucker had actually approached about playing the leading role in the series — later claimed in interviews that it was Tucker who had named the series ''Doctor Who'', although Tucker himself credited

Sydney Newman Sydney Cecil Newman (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman w ...

with this. Tucker was also the director originally assigned to the first serial, ''

An Unearthly Child ''An Unearthly Child'' (sometimes referred to as ''100,000 BC'') is the first serial of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963 ...

'', and later it had been planned that Tucker would direct more of the programme's introductory season. However, these commitments did not work out, and ultimately he directed only ''

The Gunfighters ''The Gunfighters'' is the seventh serial of the third season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 April to 21 May 1966. The serial is set in and around the tow ...

'' in 1966. During the last episode, ''The O.K. Corral'', a dispute arose between Tucker and then producer

Innes Lloyd George Innes Llewelyn Lloyd (24 December 1925 – 23 August 1991) was a Welsh television producer. He had a long career in BBC drama, which included producing series such as ''Doctor Who'' and ''Talking Heads''. Early life and career Fo ...

over the editing of the episode, leading to Tucker requesting that his credit be excised. In 2013 the BBC commissioned a docudrama about the creation and early days of ''Doctor Who'', called ''

An Adventure in Space and Time ''An Adventure in Space and Time'' is a 2013 British biographical television film, starring David Bradley, Brian Cox, Jessica Raine and Sacha Dhawan. Directed by Terry McDonough, and written by regular ''Doctor Who'' writer Mark Gatiss, it p ...

'', as part of the programme's fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Tucker appears as a character in the drama, played by actor Andrew Woodall. His daughter Jane Tucker was part of the Rod, Jane and Freddy musical trio.

References

External links

*
''Rex Tucker - The Forgotten Producer'', by Paul Scoones (''Time Space Visualiser'' issue 49, November 1996)
1913 births 1996 deaths People from March, Cambridgeshire British television directors {{UK-tv-bio-stub