Roger Murray-Leach

Roger Murray-Leach trained as an architect before becoming a set designer for the BBC. His imagination and talent for making the most of a small budget resulted in regular designs for Doctor Who (1963) under producer Philip Hinchcliffe, who was keen to improve the design element of the series. Roger's first work for the show was the interior of a space station for "The Ark in Space", one of the most impressive futuristic sets the series had featured, which delighted Hinchcliffe and the cast of actors. Six more serials used Roger's designs and he proved his versatility by creating an atmospheric alien jungle in "Planet of Evil" and a gloriously detailed Victorian set in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", the latter giving the impression of an expensive and prestigious period drama. David Maloney, who had been a director of Doctor Who (1963), was so impressed by Roger's work on the series that he recruited him for the new series he was producing, Blake's 7 (1978). Roger designed not only the interior of the iconic Liberator spacecraft but also the model exterior, which would normally have been the responsibility of a visual effects model designer. After leaving the staff of the BBC, Roger became a very successful designer for British films.