# Peter Goodchild

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**Peter Robert Edward Goodchild** (18 August 1939 – 6 May 2025) was a British television editor at the [BBC](/source/BBC), who notably edited *Horizon* and initiated the popular 1980s BBC science series *[Q.E.D.](/source/Q.E.D._(British_TV_series))*.

## Early life and education

Goodchild was born on 18 August 1939.[1] He studied at [St John's College, Oxford](/source/St_John's_College,_Oxford).[2] Before Oxford, he was a student at Aldenham, located near Elstree, Herts.

## Career

### BBC

Goodchild joined the BBC's *[Horizon](/source/Horizon_(BBC_TV_series))*, becoming a producer from 1965-69.[3] From 1969-76 he was Editor of *Horizon*, at the time the series was much in its heyday and essential viewing for many people. Under him, it won a [BAFTA](/source/British_Academy_of_Film_and_Television_Arts) award ([British Academy Television Awards](/source/British_Academy_Television_Awards)) in 1972 and 1974 for Best Factual Series.

He was the executive producer of the [BAFTA](/source/British_Academy_of_Film_and_Television_Arts) Award-winning series "Marie Curie" (1977), with [John Glenister](/source/John_Glenister) as the director, which won the award for [Best Drama Series and Serial](/source/British_Academy_Television_Award_for_Best_Drama_Series) and [Jane Lapotaire](/source/Jane_Lapotaire) as nomination for [British Academy Television Award for Best Actress](/source/British_Academy_Television_Award_for_Best_Actress) with same film.[4]

After the success of "Marie Curie", Goodchild continued his production and start production of *[Oppenheimer](/source/Oppenheimer_(TV_series))* (1980) with Barry Davis as director and [Peter Prince](/source/Peter_Prince) as screenwriter. This series became product of collaboration between BBC with [WGBH](/source/WGBH-TV).[5] The series won the award for [Best Drama Series and Serial](/source/British_Academy_Television_Award_for_Best_Drama_Series) and [Best Original Television Music](/source/BAFTA_Award_for_Best_Original_Music) which won by [Carl Davis](/source/Carl_Davis). This series also got [Sam Waterston](/source/Sam_Waterston) a nomination for [Best Actor](/source/British_Academy_Television_Award_for_Best_Actor).[6]

From 1980-84 he was BBC Television's Head of Science & Features; in this position he created *[QED](/source/Q.E.D._(BBC_TV_series))*. From 1984-89 he branched out, away from science, becoming BBC Television's Head of Plays; in this position, he created *[Screen One](/source/Screen_One)*, *[Screen Two](/source/Screen_Two)* and *[Screenplay](/source/Screenplay_(TV_series))*. From 1989-94 he was an executive producer in the BBC Film department.

### Playwright

Goodchild wrote several plays for [L.A. Theatre Works](/source/L.A._Theatre_Works).[7]

## Death

Goodchild died on 6 May 2025, at the age of 85.[8]

## References

1. ["Goodchild, Peter 1939-"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/goodchild-peter-1939). *[Encyclopedia.com](/source/Encyclopedia.com)*. Retrieved 11 September 2023.

1. ["Tv View"](https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/24/archives/tv-view-marie-curie-is-another-british-gem.html). *The New York Times*. 1978-12-24. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2020-01-01.

1. ["Horizon at 50 - Peter Goodchild"](http://bbc.com/historyofthebbc//research/horizon-at-50-interviews/peter-goodchild). *bbc.com*. Retrieved 2020-01-01.

1. ["Television in 1978 | BAFTA Awards"](http://awards.bafta.org/award/1978/television). *awards.bafta.org*. Retrieved 12 September 2023.

1. Ravindran, Manori (2023-07-22). ["The Original 'Oppenheimer': How the BBC Brought the Father of the Atom Bomb to Life Long Before Christopher Nolan (EXCLUSIVE)"](https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/oppenheimer-bbc-christopher-nolan-sam-waterston-1235677307/). *Variety*. Retrieved 2023-09-12.

1. ["Television in 1981"](http://awards.bafta.org/award/1981/television). *awards.bafta.org*. Retrieved 2023-09-12.

1. ["Peter Goodchild"](https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/person?docid=person_goodchildPeter)

1. Hayward, Anthony (29 May 2025). ["Peter Goodchild obituary"](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/may/29/peter-goodchild-obituary). The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2025.

## External links

- [Talking about his time at *Horizon*](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01y458c)
- [Peter Goodchild](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm328792/) at IMDb

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