Fiona Cumming (9 October 1937 – 1 January 2015) was a Scottish

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 ...

, noted for her work on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

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television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

Life

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

She began her career as an

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

at the Royal Scottish Academy. She appeared in both film and television. Her early roles included an episode of the BBC television series, ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictiona ...

'', in 1963. She also worked as an announcer on

Border Television ITV Border, previously Border Television and commonly referred to as simply Border, is the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 service provided by ITV (TV channel), ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Anglo-Scottish border, England/Scotland border region, ...

(present-day ITV Border). She transitioned from acting to

television production A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

in 1964. She had initially applied to the BBC and taught school in Scotland before breaking into production. She recalled her entry into the industry in a 2014 interview, telling Scotland Now, "I had applied to the BBC in 1964 when they were getting ready for BBC2, and I had been accepted - but they lost my file and because I had a teaching degree, I came back up to Glasgow and started teaching at

Bellahouston Academy Bellahouston Academy is a non-denominational state-run secondary school in Bellahouston, south-west Glasgow, Scotland. History Bellahouston Academy first opened in 1876 as a private school run by Alexander Sim. It was taken over by the Go ...

. I can remember in 1963 when the kids came in, talking about this brilliant TV show they had seen the Saturday night before, and I said, 'What do you mean, it's set in a police box?'...Then in 1964 I went to the BBC as a relief assistant floor manager, where you were slotted into various programmes. I was doing the twice-weekly soaps Compact and Swizzlewick, and the first time I was moved on to something different it was ''Doctor Who''." In 1965, she was hired as an assistant

floor manager A floor manager or floor director is a member of the crew of a television show. The floor manager is responsible for giving information from the director in the control room, to the crew on the studio floor, and then back to the director. Duties * ...

on the set of ''

The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve ''The Massacre'' (also known as ''The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve'') is the completely missing fourth serial of the third season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly pa ...

''. "I was put onto The Massacre in 1965 - so it's now 48 years since I first worked on ''Doctor Who''.

Peter Purves Peter John Purves (; born 10 February 1939) is an English television presenter and actor. He played Steven Taylor in ''Doctor Who'' under the First Doctor, a role he continued to play in audio dramas for Big Finish Productions. He later became ...

was William Hartnell's assistant at that time and the director was

Paddy Russell Patricia "Paddy" Russell (4 July‌ 1928 – 2 November 2017) was a British television director. She was among the earliest female directors at the BBC. Early life and career Born in Highgate, to Bertie Russell, a P&O clerk, and his wife, Alici ...

, who had such a great reputation," she recalled in 2014. Cumming later worked as a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

for several episodes of ''Doctor Who'' during the 1960s and 1970s, including '' The Highlanders'', ''

The Seeds of Death ''The Seeds of Death'' is the fifth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Written by Brian Hayles and an uncredited Terrance Dicks and directed by Michael Ferguson, it originally aired ...

'', and ''

The Mutants ''The Mutants'' is the fourth serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 April to 13 May 1972. The serial is set on and high above th ...

''. In 1974, Cumming was hired as a staff television director for the BBC. She directed episodes for some of the BBC leading dramatic series during the 1970s, including ''

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

'', '' Play for Today'', ''

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 debut ...

'', and '' The Omega Factor'', a short-lived series which aired in 1979. In 1980, Cumming directed two episodes of ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'' during the show's third season, ''Sarcophagus'' and ''Rumours of Death''. She also contributed in that year to directing the three-film children's TV series '' God's Wonderful Railway''.Author's site. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
/ref> Cumming was booked to direct '' The Ultimate Evil'' during ''Doctor Whos 23rd season in 1986, but the production was cancelled when the show was put on

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * Gl ...

. While she did not direct additional episodes on ''Doctor Who'', she maintained a working relationship with the show 's producer,

John Nathan-Turner John Nathan-Turner (''né'' Turner; 12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002) was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. He was also the final producer of the series' firs ...

, and collaborated with him at Teynham Productions. In 1988, Cumming made a cameo appearance as a tourist at Windsor Castle in '' Silver Nemesis'' for Doctor Who's 25th season. She also oversaw the re-edit of her 1983 serial, '' Enlightenment'', for its re-release as part of the Black Guardian Trilogy DVD box set in 2009 as well as the re-edit of her 1984 serial, ''

Planet of Fire ''Planet of Fire'' is the fifth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 February to 2 March 1984. In the serial, the Doctor's ...

'' for its re-release as part of the Kamelion Tales DVD box set in 2010. Fiona Cumming, who resided in Dumfries and Galloway, died on 1 January 2015, at the age of 77.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cumming, Fiona 1937 births 2015 deaths British television directors Scottish television directors British actresses British women television directors People from Dumfries and Galloway