Elliot Hegarty is an Emmy award-winning film and television director working in Britain and the United States. Career
Hegarty graduated in Politics from Nottingham University in 1993 before studying at NYU Film School and the London Film School. He began his career writing and directing short-form productions before moving into television comedy. His first feature film was County Kilburn (2000), which he directed and wrote. He subsequently established himself as a television director, working on programmes including Star Stories, The Kevin Bishop Show, Moving Wallpaper, FM and Bad Education. Star Stories won Best New Comedy at the British Comedy Awards, while Hegarty received further recognition for his work in British television comedy.
During the late 2000s and 2010s, Hegarty expanded his career into American television, directing 21 episodes of the ABC sitcom The Middle and episodes of Mr. Sunshine, Suburgatory, Family Tools, Trophy Wife, Super Fun Night, Mixology, Selfie, Black-ish and The Real O'Neals. His British television credits during this period included Great Night Out, Lovesick, Loaded and Bad Education, alongside television films such as Grandpa's Great Escape, The Midnight Gang and Cinderella: After Ever After. In 2015, he directed The Bad Education Movie, a feature-film adaptation of the television series Bad Education.
Hegarty later directed episodes of the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso, as well as Cheaters for the BBC and Trying for Apple TV+. He subsequently expanded into executive production. In 2024, he served as lead director and executive producer on the first series of Rivals, directing its first four episodes, and returned in both roles for the second series. He also served as lead director and executive producer on the first block of the Sky and Working Title Films series Charmer, directing three episodes.
Alongside his film and television work, Hegarty has directed commercials. His early advertising work included the Club 18–30 campaign, which received several industry awards, including a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He has subsequently directed campaigns for companies including Guinness, KFC, Toyota, Hyundai, Npower, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, MFI and The Daily Telegraph.
Filmography
Film
Year Title Notes 2000 County Kilburn Director and writer 2015 The Bad Education Movie Director
Television
Year Title Notes 2006–2007 Star Stories Director; pilot and series 1–2 2007 Roman's Empire Director; 6 episodes 2007 Notes from the Underbelly Director; 1 episode 2008 The Kevin Bishop Show Director; pilot and series 1 2008 Moving Wallpaper Director; series 2 2009 FM Director; pilot and series 1 2009 Pulling Director; pilot 2010 Lizzie & Sarah Director; television film 2010 Mr. Sunshine Director; 1 episode 2010–2017 The Middle Director; 21 episodes 2012–2013 Suburgatory Director; 5 episodes 2013 Bad Education Director; series 2 and Christmas special 2013 Family Tools Director; 1 episode 2013 Trophy Wife Director; 1 episode 2013 Super Fun Night Director; 1 episode 2013 Great Night Out Lead director 2014 Mixology Director; 1 episode 2014 Selfie Director 2014 Black-ish Director 2014–2016 Lovesick Director; 7 episodes 2016 The Real O'Neals Director; 2 episodes 2016 BBC Comedy Feeds Director; 1 episode 2017 Loaded Director; 3 episodes 2017 Grandpa's Great Escape Director; television film 2018 The Midnight Gang Director; television film 2018 Urban Myths Director; The Trial of Joan Collins 2019 Cinderella: After Ever After Director; television film 2020 Ted Lasso Director; 2 episodes 2022 Cheaters Director; short-form series 2022 Trying Director; 4 episodes 2024 Cheaters Lead director; series 2, all episodes 2024 Rivals Lead director and executive producer; directed episodes 1–4 2025–2026 Rivals Lead director and executive producer; series 2 2026 Charmer Lead director and executive producer; first block, 3 episodes
Other
Year Title Type Notes 1994 Archie and Stafford Short film Writer 2000 Club 18–30 Advertising campaign Director; directed the first three advertisements of the campaign 2000–present Various campaigns Commercials Director; clients have included Guinness, MFI, KFC, Toyota, Npower, Enterprise, Hyundai and the Daily Telegraph 2006 National Television Awards: Jack & Kelly Backstage Exclusive Television special Writer 2006 National Television Awards: Jack & Kelly on the Red Carpet Television special Writer References
External links