Jill Gascoine

[upbeat music] My special guest today is Nick Phillips, a prolific television director who, as well as 20 hard-hitting episodes of The Bill, his many directing credits include Brookside, Casualty, Coronation Street, EastEnders, and the sitcoms Barbara, Birds of a Feather, Desmond's, Goodnight Sweetheart, and My Family.

[upbeat music] Working in the screen trade since 1968, Nick got his drama directing debut on LWT's The Gentle Touch, the first police procedural with a leading female detective, DI Maggie Forbes, played by the late great Jill Gascoine.

I interviewed Nick last year to capture his memories of working on The Gentle Touch for Best of British Magazine.

Nick shared so much great material that I couldn't squeeze it all into the article, but he very kindly gave his blessing for this extended podcast in which he shares some astonishing stories from his television career as a whole and I hope gives you a real flavor of the role of the director, especially working in multi-camera television alongside some fellow Sun Hill luminaries.