Graeme MacDonald

{{Distinguish|Graeme Macdonald (River City)}}{{short description|British television producer and executive}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Graeme MacDonald | image =  | alt =  | caption = | birth_name = Graeme Patrick David MacDonald | birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|7|30|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|1997|9|30|1930|7|30|df=y}} | death_place = | other_names = Graeme McDonald<br />Graham McDonald | occupation = | years_active = | employer = [[Granada Television]]<br />[[BBC]] | known_for = | notable_works = | title = [[BBC television drama|BBC Television Head of Drama]] {{small|(1981-1985)}}<br />Controller of [[BBC2]] {{small|(1982-1987)}} }} '''Graeme Patrick David MacDonald''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|OBE}} (30 July 1930 – 30 September 1997), sometimes credited as '''Graeme McDonald''' or '''Graham McDonald''', was a British television producer and executive.

==Early life== MacDonald was educated at [[St Paul's School, London]] and [[Jesus College, Cambridge]], where he initially studied geology and physics, but changed to an arts degree. While at Cambridge he was vice-president of the [[Footlights]] and president of the University Players, but left without a degree.<ref name="independent">{{cite news |last1=Granger |first1=Derek |title=Obituary: Graeme McDonald |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-graeme-mcdonald-1234646.html| date=7 October 1997 |accessdate=17 July 2020 |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref>

== Career == MacDonald began his career in 1960 as a trainee director at [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]]. In 1966 he joined the [[BBC]], becoming a producer in the drama department, working particularly on anthology play series such as ''[[The Wednesday Play]]'' (for which he produced some of [[Dennis Potter]]'s early work), ''[[Thirty-Minute Theatre]]'', and ''[[Theatre 625]]''. In the 1970s he became the producer of the single play strand ''[[Play for Today]]'', the successor to ''The Wednesday Play'', during which he worked on many acclaimed pieces, such as [[Jack Rosenthal]]'s ''[[Bar Mitzvah Boy]]'' (1976).

By this time one of the senior producers working in the BBC's drama department, in 1977 he was promoted to become the Head of Serials. This department was merged with the Series department in 1979, and MacDonald became head of the new larger Series & Serials department which ensued. In 1981, he was promoted again to succeed [[Shaun Sutton]] as the overall Head of Drama at BBC Television.

MacDonald became the Controller of [[BBC Two|BBC2]] in 1983, the first ever BBC channel controller to come from a background in the drama department. He was controller of the channel until 1987 (combining it with his Head of Drama role until he left this post in 1985), during which the [[Zircon affair]] erupted surrounding an edition of the ''Secret Society'' documentary series due to be shown on the channel.

MacDonald left the BBC in 1987 and became chief executive of Anglia Films (1988–94), where he produced the television film ''[[Goldeneye (1989 film)|Goldeneye]]'' (1989) about [[Ian Fleming]], and later [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh#Post-university|Ardent Productions]] (1994–97).<ref name="independent"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|0531739}}

{{start box}} {{s-media}} {{succession box | title = [[BBC television drama|BBC Television Head of Drama]] | before = [[Shaun Sutton]] | after = [[Jonathan Powell (producer)|Jonathan Powell]] | years = 1981-1985 }} {{succession box | title = Controller of [[BBC2]] | before = [[Brian Wenham]] | after = [[Alan Yentob]] | years = 1982-1987 }} {{end box}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Graeme}} [[Category:1930 births]] [[Category:1997 deaths]] [[Category:Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge]] [[Category:BBC executives]] [[Category:BBC television producers]] [[Category:BBC Two controllers]] [[Category:British television producers]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:People educated at St Paul's School, London]]