Giles Foster has been an English television director since 1975, specialising in television dramas. He has also directed in Australia and in Germany (2012-2014). He wrote some television dramas in the 1970s. He is from

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

and was educated at

Monkton Combe School (Thy Word is Truth) , established = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , founder = The Revd Francis Pocock , head_label = Head Master , head ...

TV directed

Foster was nominated three times for BAFTA awards for ''Silas Marner'' (1985), ''

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

'' (''

A Lady of Letters "A Lady of Letters" is a dramatic monologue written by Alan Bennett in 1987 for television, as part of his ''Talking Heads'' series for the BBC. The series became very popular, moving onto BBC Radio, international theatre, becoming one of the best ...

'') (1987), and won Best Single Drama for his film ''

Hotel du Lac ''Hotel du Lac'' is a 1984 in literature, 1984 Booker Prize-winning novel by United Kingdom, English writer Anita Brookner. It centres on Edith Hope, a romance novelist who is staying in a hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva. There she meets o ...

'' (1986). He also directed the television series ''Four Seasons'' (2008) which was rewritten to be set in his home town of Bath.

Selected filmography

*''The Aerodrome'' (1983) — based on a novel by

Rex Warner Rex Warner (9 March 1905 – 24 June 1986) was an English classicist, writer, and translator. He is now probably best remembered for ''The Aerodrome'' (1941).Chris Hopkins, ''English Fiction in the 1930s: Language, Genre, History'' Continuum Inte ...

*''

Dutch Girls ''Dutch Girls'' is a 1985 film, released by the London Weekend Television Company, produced by Sue Birtwistle, directed by Giles Foster, and written by William Boyd (writer), William Boyd. The film is about a group of teenage boys who go to the N ...

'' (1985) *''Silas Marner'' (1985) — based on ''

Silas Marner ''Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe'' is the third novel by George Eliot. It was published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ...

'' by

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...

*''

'' (1986) — based on ''

'' by

Anita Brookner Anita Brookner (16 July 1928 – 10 March 2016) was an English novelist and art historian. She was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge from 1967 to 1968 and was the first woman to hold this visiting professorship. She wa ...

*''

Northanger Abbey ''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the ...

'' (1987) — based on ''

'' by

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

*''

Consuming Passions ''Consuming Passions'' is a 1988 black comedy film which stars Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, and Sammi Davis and was directed by Giles Foster. Synopsis The film is based on '' Secrets'' by Michael Palin and Terry Jones a BBC television pl ...

'' (1988) — based on ''

Secrets Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

'' by

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

and

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

*''

Tree of Hands ''Tree of Hands'' (released in the US as ''Innocent Victim'') is a 1989 British psychological drama film directed by Giles Foster and starring Helen Shaver, Lauren Bacall, Malcolm Stoddard and Peter Firth. It is based on the 1984 novel ''The ...

'' (1989) — based on ''

The Tree of Hands ''The Tree of Hands'' is a 1984 suspense novel by the author Ruth Rendell. It won the CWA Silver Dagger in 1984, and was short listed for the MWA Edgar Award upon publication in America. The book has been filmed twice. One adaptation featured ...

'' by

Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

*''

Monster Maker "Monster Maker" is a 1989 45-minute television special, adapted by Matthew Jacobs from the 1979 novel of the same name by Nicholas Fisk. Harry Dean Stanton plays an American Special Effects expert living in England, who is befriended by a young ...

'' (1989) — based on a novel by Nicholas Fisk *''The Lilac Bus'' (1990) — based on '' The Lilac Bus'' by

Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, colum ...

*''The Rector's Wife'' (1994) — based on a 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' Asso ...

*''

Oliver's Travels ''Oliver's Travels'' is a five-part television serial written by Alan Plater and starring Alan Bates, Sinéad Cusack, Bill Paterson, and Miles Anderson. It first aired in the UK in 1995. Plot Bates plays the titular Oliver (it is never made ...

'' (1995) — based on a novel by

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. Career Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his family ...

*'' Coming Home'' (1998) — based on a novel by

Rosamunde Pilcher Rosamunde Pilcher, OBE (''née'' Scott; 22 September 1924 – 6 February 2019) was a British writer of romance novels, mainstream fiction, and short stories, from 1949 until her retirement in 2000. Her novels sold over 60 million copies world ...

*''Relative Strangers'' (1999) *''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, ...

'' (2000) — based on ''

'' by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

*''

Bertie and Elizabeth ''Bertie & Elizabeth'' is a 2002 television film directed by Giles Foster and produced by Carlton Television. The film explores the relationship between King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth from their first meeting to the King's death i ...

'' (2002) *''

Summer Solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...

'' (2005) — based on a story by

*'' Starting Over'' (2007) — based on a novel by

Robin Pilcher Robin Pilcher (born 10 August 1950) is a British author, the eldest son of author Rosamunde Pilcher Rosamunde Pilcher, OBE (''née'' Scott; 22 September 1924 – 6 February 2019) was a British writer of romance novels, mainstream fiction, a ...

*''Four Seasons'' (2008) — based on a story by

*''Rosamunde Pilcher's Shades of Love'' (2010) — based on a story by

*''The Other Wife'' (2012) — based on a story by

*''Unknown Heart'' (2014) — based on a story by

References

External links

* British television directors British television writers People educated at Monkton Combe School Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-tv-bio-stub