Biography

Peter Grimwade (8 June 1942 – 15 May 1990) was a British television director and screenwriter, known for his work as a director and writer of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who in the 1980s.

After joining the BBC in the late 1960s, Grimwade first worked on Doctor Who as a production assistant on Jon Pertwee's first serial, Spearhead from Space (1970). He occupied this position on a further five serials. He got his first chance to direct when he was asked to film some model shots for the serial The Robots of Death (1977).

George Gallaccio, producer of The Omega Factor (1979), gave Grimwade his full directorial debut on the episode "Out of Body, Out of Mind" in the series. Grimwade was also around this time a production assistant on the BBC's All Creatures Great and Small (1978) and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979). After directing the Doctor Who serial Full Circle (1980) from John Nathan-Turner's first season as producer, Grimwade was given the task of directing Tom Baker's final serial, Logopolis (1981). When Peter Davison became the Doctor, Grimwade first directed him in the serial Kinda (1982) and then directed Earthshock, featuring the return of the Cybermen after seven years and the death of the Doctor's companion Adric.

Grimwade had also written two serials, Time-Flight (1982) and Mawdryn Undead (1983), and had been asked to write Davison's penultimate story, which became Planet of Fire (1984). Because the story's requirements were in constant flux, mainly due to uncertainty over the filming location and cast changes, he eventually became frustrated and allowed script editor Eric Saward to finish the serial.