Person
Sydney Newman
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sydney Cecil Newman, OC (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950…
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Sydney Cecil Newman, OC (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed Acting Director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State. During his time in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, he worked first with the Associated British Corporation (ABC, now Thames Television), before moving across to the BBC in 1962, holding the role of Head of Drama with both organisations. During this phase of his career, he was responsible for initiating two hugely popular television programmes, the spy-fi series The Avengers and the science-fiction series Doctor Who, as well as overseeing the production of groundbreaking social realist drama series such as Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play. The Museum of Broadcast Communications describes Newman as "the most significant agent in the development of British television drama." His obituary in The Guardian declared that "For ten brief but glorious years, Sydney Newman ... was the most important impresario in Britain ... His death marks not just the end of an era but the laying to rest of a whole philosophy of popular art." In Quebec, as commissioner of the NFB, he attracted controversy for his decision to suppress distribution of several politically sensitive films by French Canadian directors. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2025
Innes Lloyd: The Producer
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2023
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
Movie Original Series Creator
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2021
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
TV show Creator
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2015
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
Movie Creator
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2011
Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
Movie Creator
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2008
Verity Lambert: Drama Queen
Movie (Archive Footage)
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2006
Creation of the Daleks
Movie Himself (archive footage)
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2006
Doctor Who: Origins
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2005
Doctor Who
TV show Creator
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1998
The Avengers
Movie Creator
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1989
The Magical Eye
Movie Self
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1983
Utilities
Movie Associate Producer
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1973
Grierson
Movie Self
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1966
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
Movie Creator
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1966
Adam Adamant Lives!
TV show Creator
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1965
Dr. Who and the Daleks
Movie Creator
More credits
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1965
Tea Party
Movie Producer
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1964
The Wednesday Play
TV show Creator
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1964
The Trial of Dr. Fancy
Movie Producer
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1963
Doctor Who
TV show Creator
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1963
Festival
TV show Producer
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1962
Afternoon of a Nymph
Movie Producer
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1962
The Fishing Match
Movie Producer
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1962
The Hard Knock
Movie Producer
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1962
Out of This World
TV show Producer
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1962
Night Conspirators
Movie Producer
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1961
Tune On the Old Tax Fiddle
Movie Producer
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1961
The Rose Affair
Movie Producer
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1961
Plateau of Fear
TV show Creator
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1961
The Ship That Couldn't Stop
Movie Producer
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1961
Danger! Men Working
Movie Producer
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1961
Pathfinders to Venus
TV show Producer
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1961
Honeymoon Postponed
Movie Producer
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1961
The Avengers
TV show Creator
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1960
Pathfinders to Mars
TV show Producer
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1960
My Representative
Movie Producer
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1960
I'll Have You to Remember
Movie Producer
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1960
Pathfinders in Space
TV show Producer
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1960
Police Surgeon
TV show Creator
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1960
Target Luna
TV show Producer
