Hettie Macdonald

Hettie Macdonald is an English film,^[1] theatre and television director.^[2] Macdonald is known as the director of the Hugo Award-winning 2007 episode of Doctor Who, "Blink".^[3][4] She has won numerous awards including one BAFTA Television Award for Best Single Drama,^[5] one Hugo Award,^[4] and a Grand Prix award. She has been nominated for numerous awards, including two BAFTA Television Awards.^[6][7][8]

Hettie Macdonald
Born	England, United Kingdom
Alma mater	Bristol University
Occupation(s)	Film director, theatre director, television director

"Blink" is frequently named as the best episode of Doctor Who since the series' 2005 revival. In 2009, SFX named the episode's climax as the scariest moment in Doctor Who's history, citing its "perfect direction".^[9] Macdonald would return to the series in 2015 to direct the year's opening story.

She has also directed for the stage. She studied English at Bristol University, before training as a director at the Royal Court Theatre, and was formerly associate director at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich.

Career

Macdonald made her feature-length film directorial debut on 1996's Beautiful Thing, which received mostly positive reviews and is considered by many to be an LGBTQ+ classic.^[10] She did not direct another film for cinemas until 2023's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which has also received positive reviews.

Selected credits

Film

Year	Title	Notes
1996	Beautiful Thing	[11]
2023	The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1997	Casualty	2 episodes
2001	In a Land of Plenty	Miniseries[12]
2003	Servants	3 episodes[13]
2005–13	Poirot	Episodes: "The Mystery of the Blue Train", "Curtain"
2006	Banglatown Banquet	TV movie
2007–15	Doctor Who	Episodes: "Blink",[3] "The Magician's Apprentice", "The Witch's Familiar"[14]
2008	White Girl	TV movie[15]
2008	The Fixer	2 episodes
2010	Wallander	Episode: "Faceless Killers"
2010	Law & Order: UK	Episode: "Masquerade"
2012	Hit & Miss	3 episodes
2013	The Tunnel	2 episodes
2015–17	Fortitude	6 episodes[15][16]
2017	Howards End	4 episodes[15][16][17]
2020	Normal People	6 episodes[17][18]

Theatre

Year	Title	Venue	Notes
1997	The Northern Fox	Ambassadors Theatre
1998	Hey Persephone!	Aldeburgh Festival / Almeida Theatre
1998	The Storm	Almeida Theatre
2002	She Stoops to Conquer	Theatre Royal, Margate
2002	Top Girls	Citizens Theatre
2004	M.A.D.	Bush Theatre
2006	On Insomnia and Midnight	Royal Court

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Notes
2008	Hugo Award	Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form	"Blink", Doctor Who	Won	[4]
2009	BAFTA Television Awards	Best Single Drama	White Girl	Won	[5]
2013	BAFTA Television Craft Awards	Best Director: Fiction	Hit & Miss	Nominated	[6]
2018	BAFTA Television Awards	Best Mini-Series	Howards End	Nominated	[7]

See also

• List of female film and television directors
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women

References

1. Holden, Stephen (9 October 1996). "Beautiful Thing (1996) Finally Finding a Mate, in Working-Class London". The New York Times.
2. Jaafar, Ali (7 June 2016). "Hettie Macdonald To Direct 'Howards End' Adaptation For BBC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
3. "Doctor Who - Fact File - Blink". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
4. admin (10 August 2008). "2008 Hugo Award Results Announced". The Hugo Awards. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
5. "2009 Television Single Drama | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
6. "2013 Television Craft Director - Fiction | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
7. "2018 Television Mini-Series | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
8. "BAFTA Awards Search | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
9. "21 Scariest Doctor Who Moments 7". SFX. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
10. Tensley, Brandon (22 June 2016). "Beautiful Thing Is a Masterpiece of Gay Storytelling". The Atlantic. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
11. Holden, Stephen (9 October 1996). "Finally Finding a Mate, in Working-Class London". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
12. "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 31 January 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
13. "BBC - Drama - Servants". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
14. "BBC One - Doctor Who, Series 9, The Magician's Apprentice - The Magician's Apprentice: The Fact File". BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
15. "Howards End". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
16. Kilkenny, Katie (15 April 2018). "'Howards End': How a 1910 Novel Became a Progressive Miniseries". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
17. "Normal People". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
18. Cain, Sian (17 December 2020). "The 50 best TV shows of 2020, No 4: Normal People". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2023.

External links

• Hettie Macdonald at IMDb