Richard Marson

Richard Marson joined the BBC straight from the University of Durham, from which he graduated in 1987 with a degree in English literature. Having started as a floor assistant, in 1993 Richard became a trainee director in the children's department, working on series like Hangar 17 (1992) and The Movie Game (1988), as well as directing a live special called An Afternoon on the Moon. He went freelance in 1994 and worked for companies including Disney (where he produced and directed The Disney Club (1989) ), Planet 24 (The Big Breakfast (1992) and The Weekend Show (1995) ) and LWT (Upstairs Downstairs Remembered: 25th Anniversary (1996) and The London Programme (1975) ). For the BBC he directed The 11th Hour, Record Breakers (1972) and Tomorrow's World (1965), before joining Blue Peter (1958) as a producer in December 1997. He worked on the programme for the next decade, becoming series producer in 2001 and Editor in June 2003. He edited over 500 programmes before his departure in July 2007, when he was awarded the programme's highest honour - a gold Blue Peter badge. He wrote six of the famous Blue Peter annuals, and in 2003, won a BAFTA award for his work on the show. He was nominated for another BAFTA in 2006, and also for an RTS Award. In September 2008, his official history of Blue Peter: 50 years was published by Hamlyn. His other books include Inside Updown: the Story of Upstairs, Downstairs (2010), JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner (2013) and Drama and Delight: The Life of Verity Lambert (2015). In 2009, he wrote the script for the BBC's Darwin anniversary Evolution prom, presented by Sir David Attenborough. He also worked in drama development for producer Sally Head. He continues to divide his time between producing and writing.