Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, Lancashire by his single mother. After failing his 11-plus examination he went to St Theodore's Secondary Modern School and then on to Burnley Municipal College for his A-levels. From here Binns went on to study a BA in Politics & Modern History at
Lancaster University
Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...
and then an MA in International Relations at the
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
. He also holds an MSc in Sociology of Education from the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
.
Career
In 1974, while working at Lancaster University for a doctorate focused on political behaviour, and realising he was getting nowhere with it, he got a job at the BBC in their Audience Research Department doing a study of the influence of the media during the
1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum
The United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, also known variously as the Referendum on the European Community (Common Market), the Common Market referendum and EEC membership referendum, took place under the provisions of the R ...
. He then became a schoolteacher for several years and in 1980 passed selection for
21 SAS
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, for which he served until 1983. In 1985, he re-joined the BBC and worked in Current Affairs and Documentary Features, including a stint on
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 ...
. He later joined Trans World International, the television arm of Mark McCormack's
International Management Group
IMG, originally known as the International Management Group, is a global sports, events and talent management company headquartered in New York City. It has been owned by Endeavor since 2013. Trans World International (TWI) is an event and pro ...
, where he worked for 20 years and became its Director of Special Projects. After a brief period as Head of Production at Octagon CSI, in 2006, he began his own media company, Big Ape Media with his wife, Lucy.
Film work
Historical
Binns history television credits include the 'In-Colour' genre of programmes – notably the BAFTA and Grierson winner, ''Britain at War in Colour'', and the Peabody winner, ''The Second World War in Colour''.
His other historical work includes ''Chasing Churchill: In Search of My Grandfather'' broadcast on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
's granddaughter travels the world, including the United States, France,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and South Africa, in search of her grandfather's legacy.
Most recently Binns' television productions have involved a shift of perspective towards the
Orient
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
. ''Indochine: A People's War in Colour'' (2009) tells the story of the people of
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
and their battle to gain their freedom over three decades and through three wars. This was followed by ''Korea: The Forgotten War in Colour'' (2010) the story of the 1950–53 Korean War. Then came, ''Seisen: the Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire'' (2012) – a history of Japan's militaristic ambitions during the first half of the 20th century, including their role in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. His latest productions include, ''India: A Visual Homage'', a history of India from 1900 to 1985, Mao: A Study in Tyranny and ''Journey of Hope'', the Story of the Handshake for Peace, peace initiative.
Sport
Binns has also produced a number of sporting programmes and projects. He launched the successful and still-running
Trans World Sport
''Trans World Sport'' (TWS), originally stylised ''Transworld Sport'' (still used in some television listings and electronic programme guides) is a sports-orientated television programme produced by IMG Media in London, England. It is shown w ...
in 1987. In 1993 he launched, and was the first Executive Producer of, FIFA Futbol Mundial one of the longest running football-based magazine shows still on the air.
Next he instituted the Olympic Games Camera of Record in 1994 – with a single camera crew and access to all areas, Binns captured the magic and atmosphere of the Games in a personal, behind-the-scenes style at each Games, from
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
(1994) to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
(2004). Throughout the 1990s Binns produced a number of other Olympic documentaries, including "Olympic Century" (1994), the
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
's official centennial history, and ''The Olympic Series'' (1998).
Binns also launched, and ran for 10 years, the Olympic Television Archive Bureau. An organisation that was instrumental in retrieving and restoring all the official films of the Olympic Games right back to the 1936 Berlin Games.
Away from the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, Binns also produced the official biographical documentary of
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
, ''Tiger'' (2003), the official history of the
Wimbledon Championship
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...
s ''Wimbledon'' (2001) and
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
's official history of football, ''The People's Game'' (1989).
Written work
Historical fiction
Binns has written 6
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
novels, four in the ''Making of England'' quartet, and two about the Great War. His first novel, ''Conquest'' – based on the events surrounding the
Norman invasion of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conquer ...
in 1066 – was published by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Norman rule of England after 1066 and the first Christian Crusade to the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
. Next came ''Anarchy'' (released in June 2013), which tells the story of England's first civil war between
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
and
Matilda
Matilda or Mathilda may refer to:
Animals
* Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder
* Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse
* Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...
. The quartet was completed with his latest novel ''Lionheart'' (released in November 2013), about the adventures of
Richard the Lionheart
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
and the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
. His two Great War books are ''the Shadow of War'' about the catastrophic events of 1914 and its sequel ''the Darkness and the Thunder'' set in 1915. He has recently released a new book set in Belfast, during the Troubles. Its title is Betrayal and was published in February 2018.
Non-fiction
Binns' non-fiction writing credits include: ''The Greatest: Who is Britain’s Top Sports Star?'' (1996) published by
Boxtree Ltd
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
in conjunction with
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
; The ''Second World War in Colour'' (1999) published by
Pavilion Books
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...
; ''Britain at War in Colour'' (2000) published by
Carlton Books
Welbeck Publishing Group, formerly Carlton Publishing Group, is a London-based independent book publisher of fiction, narrative and illustrated non-fiction, as well as gift and children's books. Established in 2019 by Executive Directors Mark Sm ...
; ''America at War in Colour'' (2001) published by Carlton Books; and ''British Empire in Colour'' (2002) published by Carlton Books.
Personal life
Binns has been a member of the
Reform Club
The Reform Club is a private members' club on the south side of Pall Mall in central London, England. As with all of London's original gentlemen's clubs, it comprised an all-male membership for decades, but it was one of the first all-male cl ...
for over 30 years and the (Special Forces Club) for 10. He is also a member of the
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...
(SPAB) and the Vernacular Architecture Group.
A lifelong supporter of Burnley Football Club, Binns saw his first game in 1957, watching them play the '
Busby Babes
The "Busby Babes" were the group of footballers, recruited and trained by Manchester United F.C. chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth team into the first team under the management of ...
' at
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football ...
. He had the pleasure of seeing Burnley's greatest ever player,
Jimmy McIlroy
James McIlroy (25 October 1931 – 20 August 2018) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, who played for Glentoran, Burnley, Stoke City and Oldham Athletic. He was regarded as one of Burnley's greatest players, having played 497 matc ...
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England, where he lives with Lucy and twin boys, Charlie and Jack.
Bibliography
Historical fiction
''The Great War'' series
* ''Shadow of War'' (2014)
* ''The Darkness and the Thunder'' (2015)
* ''Barbarossa and the Bloodiest War in History (2021)
* ''British Empire in Colour'' (2002)
* ''America at War in Colour'' (2001)
* ''Britain at War in Colour'' (2000)
* ''The Second World War in Colour'' (1999)
* ''The Greatest: Who is Britain's Top Sports Star?'' (1996)
Filmography
* ''Dream the Dream ''(2019)
* ''A Journey of Hope''(2017)
* ''Chuan's Ocean'' (2016)
* ''Mao: A Study in Tyranny'' (2015)
* ''A Journey of Hope'' (2014)
* ''Sport Under Threat'' (2012)
* ''Seisen: the Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire'' (2012)
* ''Korea: The Forgotten War in Colour'' (2010)
* ''Indochine: A People's War in Colour'' (2009)
* ''Phil Daniels’ Football Matchday Madness'' (2008)
* ''Catalyst for Change'' (2007)
* ''Inside the Lions’ Den'' (2006)
* ''What Price Fame'' (2006)
* ''The Football League Show'' (2005)
* ''Golazo'' (2005)
* ''Chasing Churchill: In Search of My Grandfather'' (2005)
* ''Tiger: The Authorised Biography'' (2004)
* ''Japan's War'' (2003)
* ''Churchill'' (2003)
* ''The British Empire in Colour'' (2002)
* ''The Queen Mother: Her Reign in Colour 1937–1953'' (2001)
* ''Apollo'' (2002)
* ''Britain at War in Colour'' (2001)
* ''The Second World War in Colour'' (2000)
* ''Inventions'' (1999)
* ''Fabulous Fortunes'' (1998)
* ''The Olympic Series'' (1998)
* ''Century'' (1997)
* ''McCormack – A Journey through Contemporary Sport'' (1996)
* ''Mountain Airs'' (1995)
* ''Olympic Century'' (1994)
* ''Futbol Mundial'' (1993)
* ''Guardians of the Flame'' (1992)
* ''Blood, Sweat and Glory'' (1991)
* ''Fangio'' (1991)
* ''The People's Game'' (1991)
* ''Simon Combes: An African Experience'' (1989)
* ''Artworld'' (1989)
* ''
Trans World Sport
''Trans World Sport'' (TWS), originally stylised ''Transworld Sport'' (still used in some television listings and electronic programme guides) is a sports-orientated television programme produced by IMG Media in London, England. It is shown w ...