# Christopher Barry

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British television director (1925–2014)

Not to be confused with [Chris Barrie](/source/Chris_Barrie) or [Marion Christopher Barry](/source/Marion_Christopher_Barry).

Christopher Barry Born Christopher Chisholm Barry (1925-09-20)20 September 1925 East Greenwich, London, England Died 7 February 2014(2014-02-07) (aged 88) Horton Hospital, Banbury, Oxfordshire Alma mater University of Cambridge Occupation Television director Years active 1949–2000 Known for Doctor Who

**Christopher Chisholm Barry** (20 September 1925 – 7 February 2014)[1] was a British television director. He worked extensively in [BBC television drama](/source/BBC_television_drama) and became best known for his work on the [science fiction](/source/Science_fiction) series *[Doctor Who](/source/Doctor_Who)*.[2] He also directed the [direct to video](/source/Direct_to_video) *Doctor Who* spin-off *[Downtime](/source/Downtime_(Doctor_Who))* in 1995.[3]

## Early life and education

Barry was the son of [Sir Gerald Barry](/source/Gerald_Barry_(British_journalist)), editor of the *News Chronicle* and director general of the [Festival of Britain](/source/Festival_of_Britain) in 1951, and his first wife Gladys,[4][5] He attended [Blundell's School](/source/Blundell's_School) in Devon and the [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge), before service in the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force).[2]

## Career

Barry became a trainee at [Ealing Studios](/source/Ealing_Studios) and worked on the film *[The Ship That Died of Shame](/source/The_Ship_That_Died_of_Shame)* (1955) as an assistant director to [Basil Dearden](/source/Basil_Dearden). He joined the BBC as a production assistant in 1955.[2]

In 1963, Barry was asked by producer [Verity Lambert](/source/Verity_Lambert) to be one of the initial directors of the BBC's new science fiction television series *Doctor Who*.[2] Barry's work on *Doctor Who* went on to cover the longest span of any director during the original run of the series, overseeing episodes until 1979.[6]

Among Barry's other television credits were episodes of *[Compact](/source/Compact_(TV_series))* (1962), *[Ann Veronica](/source/Ann_Veronica_(TV_series))* (1964), *[Paul Temple](/source/Paul_Temple_(TV_series))* (1970–71), *[Z-Cars](/source/Z-Cars)* (1971–78), *[Poldark](/source/Poldark_(1975_TV_series))* (1975), *[The Onedin Line](/source/The_Onedin_Line)* (1977), *[All Creatures Great and Small](/source/All_Creatures_Great_and_Small_(1978_TV_series))* (1978–80), *[Juliet Bravo](/source/Juliet_Bravo)* (1980) and *[Dramarama](/source/Dramarama_(TV_series))* (1989).[7] His other science fiction credits were for *[Out of the Unknown](/source/Out_of_the_Unknown)* (1969), *[Moonbase 3](/source/Moonbase_3)* (1973) and *[The Tripods](/source/The_Tripods_(TV_series))* (1984).[6] He appeared in a feature covering his life's work on the DVD release of the *Doctor Who* serial *[The Creature from the Pit](/source/The_Creature_from_the_Pit)* (1979), released in May 2010.[8]

## Personal life

Barry lived in [Oxfordshire](/source/Oxfordshire) in his retirement.[9] He died following an escalator fall in a shopping centre in [Banbury](/source/Banbury) on 7 February 2014. An inquest into his death was held on 5 June 2014.[10]

## *Doctor Who* credits

- *[The Daleks](/source/The_Daleks)* – episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5 (1963–64)

- *[The Rescue](/source/The_Rescue_(Doctor_Who))* (1965)[11]

- *[The Romans](/source/The_Romans_(Doctor_Who))* (1965)[1]

- *[The Savages](/source/The_Savages_(Doctor_Who))* (1966)[1]

- *[The Power of the Daleks](/source/The_Power_of_the_Daleks)* (1966)[1]

- *[The Dæmons](/source/The_D%C3%A6mons)* (1971)[1]

- *[The Mutants](/source/The_Mutants)* (1972)[1]

- *[Robot](/source/Robot_(Doctor_Who))* (1974)[1]

- *[The Brain of Morbius](/source/The_Brain_of_Morbius)* (1976)[1]

- *[The Creature from the Pit](/source/The_Creature_from_the_Pit)* (1979)[1]

- *[Downtime](/source/Downtime_(Doctor_Who))* (1995)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-theguardian_1-8) [Hadoke, Toby](/source/Toby_Hadoke) (17 February 2014). ["Christopher Barry obituary"](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/feb/17/christopher-barry). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-scotsman_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-scotsman_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-scotsman_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-scotsman_2-3) Brian Pendreigh (18 February 2014). ["Obituary: Christopher Barry, television director"](http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-christopher-barry-television-director-1-3309674). *www.scotsman.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Downtime (1995) - BFI"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170820042127/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7ed35a29). *www.bfi.org.uk*. Archived from [the original](http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7ed35a29) on 20 August 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Hadoke, Toby (17 February 2014). ["Christopher Barry obituary"](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/feb/17/christopher-barry). *The Guardian*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0261-3077](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 26 February 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Christopher Barry"](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/christopher-barry-0kvwgm8h9cd). *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 26 February 2024. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0140-0460](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0140-0460). Retrieved 26 February 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bbctwo_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bbctwo_6-1) ["An Adventure in Space and Time - Christopher Barry - BBC Two"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2V8sHmPfwChfnPg4Y8FnN1v/christopher-barry). *BBC*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Mitchin' (1989)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170820040609/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79df3114). Archived from [the original](http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79df3114) on 20 August 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit"](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/46564/doctor-who-the-creature-from-the-pit/). *DVD Talk*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Jeffery, Morgan (10 February 2014). ["Doctor Who director Christopher Barry dies, aged 88"](https://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a550086/doctor-who-director-christopher-barry-dies-aged-88.html). *[Digital Spy](/source/Digital_Spy)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Telegraph_10-0)** Dixon, Hayley (15 February 2014). ["Doctor Who director dies after escalator fall"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/10640524/Doctor-Who-director-dies-after-escalator-fall.html). *[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*. London. Retrieved 16 February 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["The Rescue - Details"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080226215839/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/rescue/detail.shtml). *Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide*. [BBC](/source/BBC). Archived from [the original](https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/rescue/detail.shtml) on 26 February 2008.

## External links

- [Christopher Barry](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0057959/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

Authority control databases International VIAF WorldCat National United States Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Christopher Barry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Barry) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Barry?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.