By Michael Seely

Miwk, out now

The fascinating career of the television director responsible for some Doctor Who classics and many other great pieces of British TV.

As with many other books that come from independent British publisher Miwk, the quickest version of this review is “buy it now”. Michael Seely has delved deeply into the life of Douglas Camfield, unearthing old interviews from across the years, as well as talking to many of the key players in Camfield’s life (including Katy Manning and John Levene). Doctor Who fans are bound to jump to the sections discussing the many episodes with which he was involved – from the earliest instalments up to his proposed Foreign Legion story and the scheduled cutback version of The Seeds of Doom (although I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that Camfield’s notes for the edits he’d make still exist?)

But Camfield was so much more than a Doctor Who director: his work with Euston Films, his contributions to modern drama (giving Manning a well-deserved chance to show her range after she had left Doctor Who in a play that was very daring for its time), and his police shows are all covered in detail. There are episodes of shows from the 1970s and 1980s that I still remember clearly (The Pier episode of Danger UXB is a case in point) but had no idea until I read this that they’d been helmed by Camfield – which probably explain why they’ve stuck so long. One show which I was delighted to see covered in detail was The Nightmare Man, whose music was provided by my own mentor, Robert Stewart – and, if I remember rightly, recorded at Lime Grove on the day that John Lennon was shot.

Seely does far more than provide an overview of Camfield’s career. Both through skilful use of interview material and linking text, he gives a very good idea of the man and what drove him, particularly when, in later life, health issues came to the fore and he became religious.

Verdict: Essential reading for those interested in this period of television history, as well as Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 fans. 9/10

Paul Simpson