David Andrews

David Andrews (born 22 October 1935) is a British television character actor, director and writer. From 1959, he has worked almost continuously in television for more than 50 years, 40 of which were spent directing television drama and other genres. Career David Andrews was originally an actor and had considerable success on television throughout the 1960s. He also appeared on the West End stage, on film and on radio. Offered a place on the BBC's television training course he became a full-time television director is the early 1970s. Born in England of Scottish and Irish descent he spent his early childhood in Scotland. He was educated at Kings College, Taunton and the Whitgift Middle School, Croydon (now the Trinity School of John Whitgift). In 1958, after National Service in the RAF, he graduated from the Central (now the Royal Central) School of Speech and Drama, winning the gold medal and Rawlings Cup. He was invited by George Devine to join the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre in London, taking part in an actors’ workshop to study Sandford Meisner's improvisation technique under Anthony Page. That led to his first West End part in the historic Willis Hall play, “The Long and the Short and the Tall”. There followed several more West End roles and the beginning of his television career. As an actor Andrews starred or featured in dozens of plays, drama series and serials both for BBC and ITV, most notably “Z-Cars”, “The Avengers”, “Armchair Theatre”, “Play of the Week”, “The Sunday Play” and “Play of the Month”. He was often heard in leading roles on BBC radio drama and appeared in several movies, starring in two: ‘Some People’ with Kenneth More and David Hemmings and “A Place to Go” with Mike Sarne, Rita Tushingham and Bernard Lee. His last starring television appearance was as Honore de St Just, in “Danton”, with Anthony Hopkins, directed by Stuart Burge for the BBC. Andrews worked with many distinguished directors and actors of his time, and several of his personal friends in the profession became knights and dames of the realm. David Andrews’ work with Anthony Page at the Royal Court inspired him to become a director and whenever appropriate he applied Page's teaching to his own work. Under the supervision of John Huntley and Michael Balcon, he wrote the screenplay and co-directed, with his then wife Tamara Hinchco, a film for the British Film Institute based on a John Arden one-act play.