Peter Cregeen
| Peter Cregeen | |
|---|---|
| Born |
28 January 1940 London, U.K. |
| Occupation | Television director and producer |
| Years active | 1960s－ |
| Children | Maria Cregeen |
Peter Cregeen (born 28 January 1940 in London, England) is a British television director, producer and executive. He is possibly best known for being the original director of ITV's successful police drama, The Bill, and his substantial contribution to the serial thereafter. Cregeen acted as “Head of Series” for the BBC between 1989 and 1993, and is well known for cancelling the BBC's science fiction programme Doctor Who after its 26th series and several years of poor viewing figures.
Cregeen began directing for television in the 1960s and producing in the 1970s. During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s he worked on numerous popular television series, including: The Troubleshooters (1965); King of the River (1966); Out of the Unknown (1969; 1970); The Onedin Line (19871; 1976); The Sandbaggers (1978); Colditz (1972; 1974) and Wings (1977-1978).
Cregeen has worked on various police dramas, including: The Gentle Touch (1980); The Expert (1969); Softly Softly (1969-1972); Z-Cars (1965); Juliet Bravo (1983), and the pilot to ITV’s successful long-running drama, The Bill, which was originally named Woodentop (1983). As original director, Cregeen was responsible for The Bill's "distinctive and atmospheric feel", which he created by adopting a “fly-on-the-wall documentary style” with a single handheld camera. The response to Woodentop was so positive that within a month Thames Television had commissioned a 12 part series, which was renamed The Bill. Cregeen remained with The Bill, directing and producing between 1984 and 1987, and rose to executive producer between 1988 and 1989. Cregeen worked on The Bill during “its most popular period” when it switched in 1988 from a series to a “soap-style” twice-weekly half-hour format. He left the series and ITV in 1989 to become "Head of Series" at the BBC, later poaching fellow producer of The Bill, Michael Ferguson, to become executive producer of the BBC’s flagship soap opera, EastEnders.
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