Timothy Combe
Born: 17th October 1936 (as Timothy Harvey Christian Combe)
Episodes Broadcast: 1967, 1970-1971
Timothy Combe was born in Guildford, Surrey. After his National Service,
he moved to the United States to work for the Pepperidge Farms bakery
company. They facilitated Combe's enrollment at a university in
Pennsylvania and, while there, he became involved with amateur
dramatics. Deciding that this was where his future lay, Combe abandoned
his studies to return to England, where he attended the Webber Douglas
Academy of Dramatic Arts. He intended to become an actor but, in 1962,
BBC production assistant Julia Smith (later a Doctor Who director
herself) encouraged him to apply for a temporary position with the
Corporation as an assistant floor manager. The position became
permanent and, in 1964, Combe was assigned to Doctor Who, working
on The Keys Of Marinus.
Later that year, Combe was promoted to production assistant and was
assigned to The Reign Of Terror.
When its director, Henric Hirsch, became overwhelmed and fell ill, Combe
assumed some of his duties. He married actress Angela Ellison in 1965;
they would have five children. In 1967, Combe had another opportunity to
acquire directorial experience on Doctor Who when he assisted
Derek Martinus on film sequences for The
Evil Of The Daleks.
Combe was held responsible for significant cost overruns
on The Mind Of Evil
Combe then completed the BBC's directors' training course in 1968; he
would be the last person appointed as a staff director with the
Corporation. He worked on The Newcomers and Z Cars before
returning to Doctor Who in this new capacity for The Silurians, Jon Pertwee's
second serial as the Third Doctor. Unfortunately, Combe's second
Doctor Who serial -- 1971's The
Mind Of Evil, during which he made an uncredited appearance as
a prisoner -- also proved to be his last. Combe was held responsible for
significant cost overruns, which producer Barry Letts felt would
preclude his further involvement with the programme.
Combe's other directorial work during the Seventies included episodes of
The Doctors, Ballet Shoes and The Brothers, as well
as a number of additional Z Cars installments. He also served as
a producer on behalf of the BBC for Golden Soak, one of the
Corporation's first co-productions with the Australian Broadcasting
Commission. Combe's last directing credit came on Angels in
1979. Combe then became a producer with BBC Videograms, an early creator
of direct-to-video content. One of his projects was to have chronicled
the history of Doctor Who. Combe worked on the video with
Terrance Dicks, who had been the programme's script editor during the
Pertwee era, but nothing came of it. In 1981, he left the BBC to become
an agent. Combe also taught at the Guildford School of Acting.
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