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Colin Cant is a British television director, producer and scenic designer, best known for his work for the children's department of BBC Television from the 1970s to the 1990s. After beginning his career as a designer, he moved to directing and worked on many BBC children's series. He was involved for several years as both a director and producer on the long-running school-based drama series Grange Hill. He remained active in television into the 21st century, directing for the ITV soap opera Coronation Street in 2005.[1]
Cant initially trained as an architect, but switched to working in television design after watching a documentary programme about it, and realising how much more quickly his work could be realised in that area as opposed to the longer construction time of architecture.[2] He began his career in television in the 1960s, earning his earliest credits as a scenic designer on programmes such as the BBC Scotland series This Man Craig.[3] He was encouraged by one of his colleagues there, future film director Ridley Scott, to make the move into directing.[2] His first directing work came on Coronation Street in 1971; he had written an on-spec letter to the soap opera's production team pitching for directing work, which happened to coincide with new directors being needed for the programme.[2]
Cant was the first ever director on Grange Hill in 1978, and was responsible for much of the original casting for the programme.[4] Cant's work on Grange Hill saw him awarded - jointly with Anna Home - a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) in 1979.[5] He also received two further BAFTA nominations for his work on the series, in 1981[6] and 1982.[7]
Cant also directed several stand-alone children's drama serials and literary adaptations, including Moonfleet (1984), Moondial (1988), Dark Season (1991) and Century Falls (1993).[8] The latter pair of serials were two of the earliest works from the writer Russell T Davies, who went on to have a distinguished career in British television drama.[8] Cant had specifically asked Davies for a new serial after having been impressed with his work on Dark Season, as he had been commissioned to direct a serial by another writer with whom he was not impressed, and asked if Davies could come up with something better instead.[9] In Dark Season, Cant had cast future Academy Award winner Kate Winslet in one of her first leading roles on screen.[8]
Cant also worked in adult television, including three stints as a director on Coronation Street; in 1971–72, 1995–96 and 2000–05.[1] He also directed episodes of the police drama Juliet Bravo,[10] legal drama Crown Court and another ITV soap opera, Emmerdale.[1]
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