Fiona Cumming facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fiona Cumming
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Fiona Cumming (born October 9, 1937 – died January 1, 2015) was a talented Scottish television director. She was best known for her work on the popular BBC show Doctor Who. She directed episodes during the time of the Fifth Doctor.
Her directing credits include the 1982 episode Castrovalva. This episode was the first of Season 19. It also introduced Peter Davison as the new Doctor. Fiona Cumming also directed Snakedance and Enlightenment in 1983. These were part of season 20. She filmed much of the 1984 story Planet of Fire in Lanzarote, Canary Islands.
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Early Life and Career
Fiona Cumming grew up in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. She started her career as an actress at the Royal Scottish Academy. She appeared in both movies and TV shows. One of her early acting roles was in the BBC series Dr. Finlay's Casebook in 1963. She also worked as an announcer for Border Television.
Moving into TV Production
In 1964, Fiona changed her career from acting to television production. She had applied to the BBC earlier. She even taught school in Scotland before getting into TV production. In a 2014 interview, she shared how she started. She said she applied to the BBC in 1964 when they were preparing for BBC2. They accepted her, but then lost her file. Because she had a teaching degree, she went back to Glasgow to teach.
She remembered hearing kids talk about Doctor Who in 1963. They described it as a "brilliant TV show" set in a police box. Then, in 1964, she joined the BBC as an assistant floor manager. This job meant she worked on different shows. She worked on soaps like Compact and Swizzlewick. Her first time working on something different was Doctor Who.
Working on Doctor Who Behind the Scenes
In 1965, Fiona Cumming became an assistant floor manager for The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. She said, "I was put onto The Massacre in 1965." This meant she worked on Doctor Who for 48 years! She later became a production assistant for several Doctor Who episodes. This included The Highlanders, The Seeds of Death, and The Mutants.
Directing for BBC
In 1974, Fiona Cumming became a full-time television director for the BBC. She directed episodes for many popular BBC drama series in the 1970s. These included Angels, Play for Today, Z-Cars, and The Omega Factor. In 1980, she directed two episodes of Blake's 7: Sarcophagus and Rumours of Death. She also helped direct a children's TV series called God's Wonderful Railway.
Later Work with Doctor Who
Fiona Cumming was set to direct The Ultimate Evil for Doctor Whos 23rd season in 1986. However, the show took a break, and the production was cancelled. Even though she didn't direct more episodes, she stayed friends with Doctor Whos producer, John Nathan-Turner. They worked together at a company called Teynham Productions.
In 1988, Fiona Cumming made a small appearance in the Doctor Who episode Silver Nemesis. She played a tourist at Windsor Castle. She also helped re-edit her 1983 story Enlightenment for its DVD release in 2009. She did the same for her 1984 story Planet of Fire for its DVD release in 2010.
Fiona Cumming lived in Dumfries and Galloway. She passed away on January 1, 2015, at the age of 77.
See also
In Spanish: Fiona Cumming para niños
