Stephen Whittaker

Biography

Stephen Whittaker (28 June 1947 – 7 February 2003) was a British actor and director. He worked largely in British film and television, and attended Henley-in-Arden School in Warwickshire before further training as an actor at London's Corona Academy. He began his career aged 17, as a "bad boy" in the film To Sir With Love (1966), and in the classic BBC Doctor Who adventure The Web of Fear, as a soldier battling Yeti in the London Underground. In 1985, Whittaker took a director's training course and directed a short training film, which he sent to John Schlesinger (who had directed him in Yanks). Schlesinger suggested him to producer Mark Shivas as director for Channel 4's drama trilogy What If It's Raining?, written by Anthony Minghella. This was the beginning of a directing career of prestigious TV and film work. Shortly before Whittaker's death, writer Julian Fellowes spoke of him as "the most exciting director in the industry." In 2001, he filmed his final project, The Rocket Post, a romantic drama set on a remote Scottish island. The film had severe funding problems and was eventually released in 2006, three years after his death. The credits bear a dedication to his memory. …

Directed

1. Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) — Director
2. Inspector Morse (1987) — Director
3. Dalziel and Pascoe (1996) — Director
4. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001) — Director
5. Portrait of a Marriage (1990) — Director
6. The Rocket Post (2004) — Director
7. Closing Numbers (1993) — Director
8. Sons & Lovers (2003) — Director
9. Screen Two (1985) — Director
10. Stone Cold (1997) — Director
11. Killing Me Softly (1996) — Director
12. Hearts and Minds (1995) — Director
13. Grafters (1998) — Director
14. Tangier Cop (1997) — Director
15. Eurocops (1988) — Director
16. Stone, Scissors, Paper (1997) — Director
17. A Life for a Life (1998) — Director
18. Scene (1968) — Director
19. Love Birds (1988) — Director
20. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001) — Director
21. What If It's Raining (1986) — Director

Also appeared in

1. I Dream of Jeannie (1965) — Bellboy
2. Bewitched (1964) — Eddy
3. Doctor Who (1963) — Craftsman Weams
4. To Sir, with Love (1967) — Schoolboy
5. The Keep (1983) — S.S. Kommando
6. Yanks (1979) — Merchant Seaman
7. I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) — Leper Count
8. Up the Junction (1968) — Alf
9. Bury Me an Angel (1971) — The Killer
10. Out of the Unknown (1965) — Harold
11. Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965) — Joey
12. BBC Play of the Month (1965) — Paratrooper
13. Doctor Who: The Web of Fear (1968) — Craftsman Weams
14. Z-Cars (1962) — Stan Finch
15. Crown Court (1972) — Kevin Wilson Lewis
16. Crossroads (1964) — Tony Mortimer
17. Armchair Theatre (1956) — Marco
18. ITV Play of the Week (1955) — Belhaven
19. The Wednesday Play (1964) — Davis
20. The Legend of Robin Hood (1975) — Ralph Gammon
21. Sanctuary (1967) — Peter Lord
22. Champion House (1967) — The Clerk
23. The One and Only Phyllis Dixey (1978) — Reporter
24. Countercrime (1968) — George West
25. The Paradise Run (1976) — Terrorist
26. Only a Game (1981) — Dave Rawlings
27. The World in Silence (1966) — Harold
28. Sat'day While Sunday (1967) — Ossie