Michael Edwin Briant (born 14 February 1942) is a retired British television director and author, best known for his work as a director for BBC television drama in the 1970s and 1980s.
Career At the age of 21 Briant joined the BBC as an assistant floor manager in the drama department and a year later became a production assistant. In 1966, he took a Directors Course. Sometimes credited as just Michael Briant, he subsequently directed series such as Z-Cars and Doctor Who directing Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker in a total of six serials: Colony in Space (1971), The Sea Devils (1972), The Green Death (1973), Death to the Daleks (1974), Revenge of the Cybermen (1975) and The Robots of Death (1977). He went on to direct several episodes from the first season of Blake's 7 in 1978, and Secret Army between 1978 and 1979. He later directed four of the six episodes of its sequel, Kessler, and the thriller series Blood Money, in which he cast many of the actors from Secret Army.
Briant's other directing work included a BBC adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, the Emmy-award-winning BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens's story A Tale of Two Cities, the feature film Tangiers, the series Hideaway, One By One and EastEnders. Briant was also responsible for developing Howards' Way, and directed several episodes during its first series. He also spent time directing television in the Netherlands.
Briant discusses his move from acting to directing and his time spent working on Treasure Island in the 2021 YouTube video Director - Michael E Briant
Briant has been involved with DVD releases of his Doctor Who episodes, appearing on various documentaries and commentary tracks. He has also become a successful author. His autobiography Who is Michael Briant? was published by Classic Press and his books French Canal Routes to the Mediterranean, The Gentle Sailing Route to the Mediterranean, Strait Sailing to Gibraltar and Living Aboard Around the World were published by EdwinEditions.
Following his circumnavigation in a Moody 36 sailing boat he has written a number of books about boating including French Canal Routes to the Mediterranean and The Atlantic Crossing Guide all of which are for sale as downloads from http://www.gentlesailing.com/. His YouTube channel which is also entirely about sailing and @SailingGently now has almost 19,000 subscribers and over a million views. Currently his boat 'Golden Haze' is in Martinique and is the base for his video films and books. He lives in northern France and southern Spain
In 2021 Michael Briant contributed to the documentary tribute Alfred Burke is Frank Marker.
Selected filmography YearTitleNetwork Notes1969The NewcomersBBC2 episodes1970 – 1971The DoctorsBBC10 episodes1970 – 1974Z- CarsBBC5 episodes1971 – 1977Doctor WhoBBC Colony in Space - 6 episodes The Sea Devils - 6 episodes The Green Death - 6 episodes Death to the Daleks - 4 episodes Revenge of the Cybermen - 4 episodes The Robots of Death - 4 episodes1975Sutherland's LawBBC2 episodes1975 – 1976AngelsBBC2 episodesDixon of Dock GreenBBC4 episodes1976 – 1977WarshipBBC5 episodes1977Treasure IslandBBC4 episodes1978Blake's 7BBC5 episodesThe Onedin LineBBC1 episodeWithin These WallsLWT1 episode1978 – 1979Secret ArmyBBC7 episodes1979 – 1992EmmerdaleYorkshire Television25 episodes1980A Tale of Two CitiesBBC8 episodesBreakawayBBC6 episodes1981Blood MoneyBBC6 episodesKesslerBBC4 episodes1982TangierFilm1985One By OneBBC6 episodes1986HideawayBBC6 episodes1987Howards' WayBBC6 episodes1995EastEndersBBC3 episodes
References
External links
Michael Briant's official site