Barry Letts

Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre, films and television before retiring in his early forties and becoming a television director. He then became the producer of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who for five years, overseeing almost the entirety of Jon Pertwee's tenure as the Third Doctor and casting Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. He produced or directed many of the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials from 1976 to 1986, and returned to Doctor Who in 1980 to be the executive producer for its eighteenth season.