Michael E. Briant

He is in La Rochelle on the West coast of France in an old house near the Vieux Port which has its own studio and edit facility. [April 2005]

At 23 he took the Directors Course and whilst still on the staff as a PA directed series like The Newcomers (1965), Z Cars (1962) and Doctor Who (1963). After three years of bouncing between PA and Director. Ronald Marsh - head of Serials offered him a years worth of directing work and he became a freelance TV drama director. A successful career directing popular drama followed, winning him an Emmy for A Tale of Two Cities for which he also wrote the adaptation.

Of the six Doctor Who (1963) serials he directed, his favourite was Doctor Who: The Robots of Death: Part One (1977). It is also a favourite of the series' fans, being voted the sixth greatest story of the original run in Outpost Gallifrey's 40th anniversary poll in 2003.

Born in 1942, Michael went full time to the Italia Conti Stage School in Archer Street, London W1 when he was 12. Three months later he gave his first professional performance as an elf and a rainbow child at the Royal Festival Hall. The following year he played the lead Crispian. As a child/young actor he worked extensively in the theaters, film and television - touring for Carl Clopet, regularly appearing at Bromley Rep and playing leads in many television productions. In his teens he became an ASM and played several roles at the Little Theater - Great Yarmouth. When Michael was 21 he joined the BBC as an AFM in Drama department and a year later became a Production Assistant.