Kenneth Alan Grieve (17 March 1942 – 15 November 2016) was a Scottish television director. Originally a cameraman, he moved into directing and began his career with Coronation Street.

Ken Grieve
Born
Kenneth Alan Grieve

(1942-03-17)17 March 1942
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died15 November 2016(2016-11-15) (aged 74)
Edinburgh, Scotland
OccupationDirector
Spouse
Fiona Grieve
(died 2010)
PartnerJane
Children4

Early life and education

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Grieve was born and brought up in Edinburgh, the son of Henry Grieve, a plant manager at British Aluminium, and his wife, Lesley, a seamstress. He also had an older brother named Robin. He attended the Edinburgh Academy, where he excelled in geography and history, and won a scholarship to Bryanston School in Dorset.

Career

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His first job was as a trainee studio cameraman with Granada Television. He became one of its elite crew, strong and skilled enough to manoeuvre the huge cameras on live pop shows. He later further trained as a director of dramas and documentaries, working on Coronation Street and Crown Court in the mid-1970s.[1] He subsequently directed the 1979 Doctor Who serial Destiny of the Daleks for the BBC,[2] and episodes of The Bill and Peak Practice. In 1988, he shared the direction of Game, Set and Match with Patrick Lau.[3][4] In 2007, he directed the Casualty episode Stormy Weather.

Other work

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In 1975, he directed the location footage of Coronation Street that was used for the opening titles until 1990.[5] He recorded a commentary for the DVD of Destiny of the Daleks with actors Lalla Ward and David Gooderson, which was released in 2007.

Personal life

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Grieve had four children with his wife, Fiona. They remained together until her death in 2010.

Through working with Douglas Adams on Destiny of the Daleks, they struck up a friendship that would last Adams' lifetime.[6]

In the mid 1990s, Grieve returned to base himself in Edinburgh and lived in Marchmont.[7] In 2009 he was diagnosed with myeloma and had to withdraw from a film production with Hugh Laurie.[7] He mentored young aspiring film makers at the Edinburgh Filmhouse's youth film group Scottish Kids Are Making Movies (SKAMM).[8][9][10] He died in Edinburgh on 15 November 2016.[6]

Television

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Year Title Notes
1974 - 1983 Coronation Street (Various Episodes)
Crown Court
(?) The Bill (Various Episodes)
1976 The XYY Man[11]
Strangers
Bulman
1979 Doctor Who : Destiny of the Daleks
1979 The Omega Factor
1980 Buccaneer
1983 Chessgame Only one episode was made
1985 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes "The Norwood Builder"[12]
1988 Game, Set and Match
1990 Bergerac "Entente Cordiale" and "Diplomatic Incident"
1992 Moon and Son "Star of Fortune", "GI Joe Is Missing"
1993 Agatha Christie's Poirot "Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan", "The Chocolate Box"
1995 Bugs Five Episodes
1997 Peak Practice
1997 - 1998 Cadfael "The Raven in the Foregate", "The Holy Thief" and "The Pilgrim of Hate"
2005 The Royal "It's What's on the Inside that Counts", "Dutybound"
2007 Casualty "Stormy Weather"
2010 Law and Order:UK "Community Service"

References

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  1. ^ "Directors UK - News - Ken Grieve: an appreciation". www.directors.uk.com.
  2. ^ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - Destiny of the Daleks - Details". www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ Wilks, Carol (29 December 2016). "Ken Grieve obituary". the Guardian.
  4. ^ Howlett, John (24 February 2017). "Letter: Ken Grieve's encounter with the Stasi". the Guardian.
  5. ^ Mark (27 November 2016). "So It Goes...: RIP Ken Grieve".
  6. ^ a b "Obituary - Ken Grieve, Scots director who worked on Doctor Who and Coronation Street's opening titles". HeraldScotland.
  7. ^ a b "Transcript Ken Grieve - Southsiders". www.edinburghsouthsiders.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Final exam" (PDF). skammblog.files.wordpress.com. 2012.
  9. ^ "Annual report" (PDF). skammblog.files.wordpress.com. 2012.
  10. ^ "Ken Grieve". Archived from the original on March 12, 2017.
  11. ^ Dfordoom (3 August 2014). "Cult TV Lounge: The XYY Man, season one (1976)".
  12. ^ "The Norwood Builder" – via www.imdb.com.
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