Julian Simpson

Born: 6th March 1972
Episodes Broadcast: 2011

Biography

London-born Julian Simpson was a regular viewer of Doctor Who during his childhood, when Tom Baker was playing the Fourth Doctor. In 1999, he launched his professional career with the movie thriller The Criminal, which he both wrote and directed. Simpson was soon being sought for television, initially as a director on a 2001 installment of the documentary series Cutting Edge and episodes of Murder Prevention in 2004. During the latter part of the decade, he would often work as both a writer and a director, including on The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Spooks, Superstorm and New Tricks.

In 2005, Simpson married actress Jana Carpenter, who had a small role as Di Maggio in the 2005 Doctor Who story Dalek. Simpson himself became interested in working on the programme after watching parts of the 2010 season, the first to feature Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. He was soon brought aboard for the 2011 serial The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People, which saw Smith tackle a second role as the Doctor's Ganger duplicate. Unfortunately, the shoot was plagued by severe winter weather, and Simpson injured his ankle at one point after slipping on ice. His subsequent work included second unit material for 24: Live Another Day. Simpson also wrote and directed a series of loosely-connected radio plays.

Credits
Director
The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People

Updated 20th August 2022