David Maloney

David Maloney was a popular director of television drama who became closely associated with the BBC's science-fiction output, directing many episodes of Doctor Who (1963) as well as producing Blake's 7 (1978) and The Day of the Triffids (1981).

An evacuee during the Second World War, he was educated at Blue Coat school and King Edward VI grammar school. On leaving school he became a journalist on the Birmingham Evening Despatch. After National Service in the Royal Air Force, he decided to become an actor and trained at the Birmingham Theatre School. He joined the West of England Theatre Company and further repertory followed in Oldham, Sheffield and Chesterfield.

By the 1960s, television was replacing theatre as popular entertainment and Maloney was one of many who made the transition. Leaving acting behind him, he joined the BBC as a production assistant, gaining experience supporting directors such as Douglas Camfield, Christopher Barry, Michael Leeston-Smith and Michael Imison on the early series of Doctor Who (1963), then starring the first Doctor, William Hartnell. It was a series Maloney would be involved with for more than ten years.

After taking the BBC directors course, his first major assignment was something of a baptism of fire, The Mind Robber: Episode 1 (1968). The second serial of Patrick Troughton's final season, this was a very demanding project. Not only was it one of the most surreal stories the series had attempted, the first episode had no budget whatsoever. Producer Peter Bryant and script editor Derrick Sherwin were impressed by the skill with which the novice director handled the project and brought Maloney back to direct two more serials for that season, the four-part The Krotons: Episode One (1968) and the mammoth ten-parter that ended the Troughton era, The War Games: Episode One (1969).

Maloney only directed one Doctor Who (1963) serial for the next Doctor Who (1963) production team, Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks, which was the six-parter Planet of the Daleks: Episode One (1973), starring Jon Pertwee. During the early 1970s, he was occupied with directing classic serials for the BBC, including Ivanhoe (1970) and The Last of the Mohicans (1971).

In 1974, a new production team took over Doctor Who (1963), Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes. Holmes had worked with Maloney on The Krotons: Episode One (1968), while Maloney's previous experience of directing Daleks made him the perfect choice to return to the series to direct the forthcoming Genesis of the Daleks: Part One (1975). Hinchcliffe and Holmes were keen to make the Doctor Who (1963) series darker and more adult, with Genesis of the Daleks: Part One (1975) being an early example of their style. Hinchcliffe and Holmes were pleased with Maloney's work on the serial and he developed a good working relationship with the series' new star, Tom Baker, so he became an automatic choice to return for the next season's Planet of Evil: Part One (1975).

His next serial, The Deadly Assassin: Part One (1976), became one of the most controversial serials in the programme's history. Television watchdog Mary Whitehouse wrote a letter of complaint to the BBC about the violence depicted. She had already complained about Maloney's Genesis of the Daleks: Part One (1975) and it is true that Hinchcliffe and Holmes had injected more horror and drama into the series, but concerns about this serial went right to the top of the BBC, with the Director General, Charles Curran, issuing an apology. The freeze-frame ending to the third episode, which had been Maloney's idea, was edited as a result. Maloney's final assignment for Doctor Who (1963), The Talons of Weng-Chiang: Part One (1977), was also Philip Hinchcliffe's final serial as producer.

Maloney had directed four serials for the Hinchcliffe era, more than any other director. He had been a key figure in raising Doctor Who (1963) to a new golden age of popularity, with viewing figures often topping 10 million, the highest regular figures since William Hartnell's most popular serials. However, with this popularity came new levels of controversy that the series was no longer suitable for young children. The BBC's management decided that the content of the series needed to be toned down and they commissioned a new science-fiction series that would be aimed at an older audience. Maloney was promoted to become producer of this new series, Blake's 7 (1978).

Written by Doctor Who (1963) veteran Terry Nation, with whom Maloney had worked on Planet of the Daleks: Episode One (1973) and Genesis of the Daleks: Part One (1975), Blake's 7 (1978) was an immediate hit, despite some unfavourable comparisons with the expensive Hollywood blockbuster Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). As another BBC production, Blake's 7 (1978) inevitably had a number of similarities with Doctor Who (1963) and featured the work of many of the same people, including Dudley Simpson, Roger Murray-Leach, Chris Boucher, Michael E. Briant, Douglas Camfield and Pennant Roberts. However, Blake's 7 (1978) also had some darker tones and characterisations that Doctor Who (1963) would barely have hinted at.

After three successful series of Blake's 7 (1978), Maloney left the series, with the fourth and final series being put in the care of one of Maloney's regular directors, Vere Lorrimer. Maloney stayed with the BBC to produce the fourth and final series of When the Boat Comes In (1976) and then returned to science-fiction again, producing The Day of the Triffids (1981).

After several years as a staff producer for the BBC, Maloney returned to directing on series such as Juliet Bravo (1980) and Play for Today (1970). With Maelstrom (1985), Maloney reunited with Vere Lorrimer, only this time Maloney was directing while Lorrimer was producing. His final years in television found him leaving his long association with the BBC and directing documentaries for Central Television.

After retiring from television, Maloney kept himself busy in his later years. He remained in demand to give interviews and public appearances in connection with Doctor Who (1963) and Blake's 7 (1978), both series that retained large and loyal followings long after their runs on television had finished. He also provided commentaries for DVD releases of these series.

Following his death in 2006, tributes flooded in from his Blake's 7 (1978) colleagues, including Gareth Thomas, Sally Knyvette, Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Stephen Greif and Michael E. Briant. In addition to this, a section of the Doctor Who (1963) documentary A Darker Side (2007) was dedicated to him, in which Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Roger Murray-Leach and Prentis Hancock paid tribute to the man who earned the distinction of becoming the second most prolific director of Doctor Who (1963) episodes.