Roy John Battersby (20 April 1936 – 10 January 2024) was a British television director, known for his work in drama productions such as Between The Lines, Inspector Morse, Cracker and A Touch of Frost.[1] Early in his career, he made documentary features for the BBC programmes Tomorrow's World and Towards Tomorrow. In 2005, his film Red Mercury was shown at the Montreal World Film Festival.[2]
Roy Battersby | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 April 1936 |
| Died | 10 January 2024 (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Television director |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Kate Beckinsale (step-daughter) |
Battersby was married to actress Judy Loe and was the stepfather of actress Kate Beckinsale.[3] Battersby was a Trotskyist for some years,[4] becoming a full-time organiser for the now defunct Workers Revolutionary Party.[5] The association had ended by 1981,[6] but the connection led to his being blacklisted by the BBC.[7]
Battersby died after a stroke on 10 January 2024, at the age of 87.[8][9]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Episodes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969, 1970 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre | Machine | TV play written by Hugh Charteris |
| Roll on Four O'Clock | TV play written by Colin Welland | ||
| 1970 | The Body | Documentary narrated by Vanessa Redgrave and Frank Finlay | |
| 1972 | Home and Away | ||
| 1972-1974 | Play For Today | Better Than The Movies | TV play written by John Elliot and starring Bryan Marshall |
| The Operation | TV play written by Roger Smith | ||
| Leeds United | TV play written by Colin Welland and starring Elizabeth Spriggs | ||
| 1975 | Centre Play | Post Mortem | |
| 1975–1976 | Couples | 9 episodes | |
| 1977 | The Palestinian | ||
| 1981 | A Change in Time | ||
| 1983 | No Excuses | ||
| The Home Front | At The Grammar | ||
| Low Key Lady on High Speed Train | |||
| The Poodle Strikes Back | |||
| Walk in My Shoes | |||
| 1984 | Winter Flight | ||
| 1986 | King of the Ghetto | 4 episodes | |
| Unnatural Causes | Evensong | ||
| Screenplay | The Act | ||
| 1990 | Eurocops | Pushed | Crime drama by Billy Hamon starring John Benfield as Jackson |
| Firing the Bullets | |||
| 1990, 1991 | The Play on One | Yellowbacks | |
| Escape From Kampala | |||
| 1991 | Inspector Morse | Fat Chance | Crime drama starring John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Maurice Denham and Zoë Wanamaker. |
| 1992-1993 | Between The Lines | Lies and Damned Lies | Crime drama starring Neil Pearson |
| A Watch & Chain of Course | |||
| Some Must Watch | |||
| Manoeuvre 11 | |||
| 1994-2006 | A Touch of Frost | Widows and Orphans | Crime drama starring David Jason |
| Quarry | |||
| Dancing in the Dark | |||
| Endangered Species | |||
| 1994 | Between The Lines | The End User | Crime drama starring Neil Pearson |
| 1995 | Cracker | Brotherly Love | Crime drama starring Robbie Coltrane and Geraldine Somerville |
| 1997 | The Moth | ||
| 1998 | Space Island One | A Child Is Born | |
| 1999 | Doomwatch: Winter Angel | ||
| 2000 | In Defence | 2 episodes | |
| 2005 | Red Mercury |
Awards
edit| Year | Result | Award | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Won | BAFTA Alan Clarke award[10] | |
| 2006 | Nominated | Montréal World Film Festival Grand Prix des Amériques | for Red Mercury (2005) |
References
edit- ^ "Roy Battersby". IMDb. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ "Festival nod for Muslim bomb film". BBC Online. 12 August 2005. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ^ "Literature Study Guides - By Popularity - eNotes.com". Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ Sanjiv Bhattacharya "Kate Beckinsale", GQ Magazine, February 2006, as reproduced on Bhattacharya's website.
- ^ Stephen Lacey Tony Garnett, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2007, p.76
- ^ Roy Battersby Obituary: Nicholas Palmer, The Independent,
- ^ Mark Hollingsworth and Richard Norton-Taylor Blacklist: The Inside Story of Political Vetting, London: Hogarth Press, p.116-17 (Chapter 5 "MI5 and the BBC: Stamping the ‘Christmas Tree’ Files")
- ^ "Kate Beckinsale announces her stepfather has died". Yahoo! Movies. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ Hayward, Anthony (16 January 2024). "Roy Battersby obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards (1996)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 July 2016.