Bill Sellars
Bill Sellars | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Sellars 5 June 1921 (aged 90) |
| Nationality |   England |
| Occupation | Television producer |
| Employer | BBC |
| Known for | Producing several long-running programmes, including, The Newcomers, The Doctors (1969), The Brothers, and several short series, such as The Chinese Puzzle. Perhaps most famous for his production of All Creatures Great and Small throughout its entire run. Infamous for creating and producing Triangle, a soap opera cited as amongst the worst television had to offer on TV Hell. |
William Sellars (born 5 June 1921, aged 90) is a British television producer, most active from the 1960s to the 1980s. His entire career was spent working on projects for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Of these, All Creatures Great and Small, which he produced for its entire run, was the biggest success. Conversely, his biggest critical failure was likely Triangle, a soap opera set on board a ferry in the North Sea.
As director
Sellars' first significant creative work for the BBC was as a director. From 1962-1965, he was periodically assigned to some of the more daring shows of the time, such as the upscale soap, Compact, and the early Doctor Who. For this latter programme, he oversaw The Celestial Toymaker.[2] He also directed episodes of United! and 199 Park Lane during this period. However, due to the BBC's policy of wiping videotape, little of Sellars' directorial work survives.
As producer
After a three-year period as a contract director, Sellars shifted into the role as producer. His first in this role was as Verity Lambert's successor on The Newcomers.[3] From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, he moved through a quick succession of soap operas, including The Doctors and The Brothers. By 1973, he had entered a five-year period of directing shorter-form dramas. Most of these endeavours were, like The Chinese Puzzle and a portion of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, far afield from his usual work in soap opera.
By 1978, however, he found himself back to regular series work. This time, however, he was handed All Creatures Great and Small. Although he would produce other shows in the downtime from All Creatures — such as the poorly reeceived Triangle and the Creatures-clone, One By One — he would work on Creatures until the close of his active career in 1990. Indeed, it was for Creatures that he received his only two significant awards nominations: a BAFTA nomination for Best Drama Series in 1979, and a Primetime Emmy nomination for Best Children's Series in 1990.[4]
References
- ^ BFI entry on Bill Sellars
- ^ Behind-the-scenes description of the making of The Celestial Toymaker
- ^ BFI's page on The Newcomers, showing Sellars firmly the producer from at least May to December 1967
- ^ Sellars' awards page at IMDb