Sydney Newman
Sydney Cecil Newman, OC (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed Acting Director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State.
During his time in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, he worked first with the Associated British Corporation (ABC, now Thames Television), before moving across to the BBC in 1962, holding the role of Head of Drama with both organisations. During this phase of his career, he was responsible for initiating two hugely popular television programmes, the spy-fi series The Avengers and the science-fiction series Doctor Who, as well as overseeing the production of groundbreaking social realist drama series such as Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications describes Newman as "the most significant agent in the development of British television drama." His obituary in The Guardian declared that "For ten brief but glorious years, Sydney Newman ... was the most important impresario in Britain ... His death marks not just the end of an era but the laying to rest of a whole philosophy of popular art."
In Quebec, as commissioner of the NFB, he attracted controversy for his decision to suppress distribution of several politically sensitive films by French Canadian directors.
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Photos
Movies (66)
Innes Lloyd: The Producer
2025 · Self (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
2023 · Original Series Creator
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
2015 · Creator
Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
2011 · Creator
Verity Lambert: Drama Queen
2008 · (Archive Footage)
Creation of the Daleks
2006 · Himself (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Origins
2006 · Self (archive footage)
The Avengers
1998 · Creator, Series Writer
The Magical Eye
1989 · Self
Utilities
1983 · Associate Producer
Grierson
1973 · Self
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
1966 · Creator
Dr. Who and the Daleks
1965 · Creator
Tea Party
1965 · Producer
The Trial of Dr. Fancy
1964 · Producer
Afternoon of a Nymph
1962 · Producer
The Fishing Match
1962 · Producer
The Hard Knock
1962 · Producer
Night Conspirators
1962 · Producer
Tune On the Old Tax Fiddle
1961 · Producer
The Rose Affair
1961 · Producer
The Ship That Couldn't Stop
1961 · Producer
Danger! Men Working
1961 · Producer
Honeymoon Postponed
1961 · Producer
My Representative
1960 · Producer
I'll Have You to Remember
1960 · Producer
A Night Out
1960 · Producer
After the Funeral
1960 · Producer
Where I Live
1960 · Producer
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime
1960 · Producer
Doctor Kabil
1959 · Producer
The Thought of Tomorrow
1959 · Producer
After the Show
1959 · Producer
The Scent of Fear
1959 · Producer
The Bird, the Bear and the Actress
1959 · Producer
Hot Summer Night
1959 · Producer
I Can Destroy the Sun
1958 · Producer
Flight Into Danger
1956 · Supervising Producer
Talent Showcase
1951 · Director, Producer
Screaming Jets
1951 · Producer
Inside Newfoundland
1951 · Director, Producer
Struggle for Oil
1951 · Producer
Red Runs the Fraser
1949 · Producer
Summer Is for Kids
1949 · Producer
Passport to Canada
1949 · Producer
A Capital Plan
1949 · Producer
Newfoundland: Atlantic Province
1949 · Director
Pay-Off In Pain
1948 · Producer
Inside The Atom
1948 · Producer
Choral Concert
1948 · Producer
It's Fun to Sing
1948 · Producer
Science in Bloom
1948 · Producer
Johnny at the Fair
1947 · Producer
Canada Dances
1947 · Producer
Careers and Cradles
1947 · Producer
Montreal by Night
1947 · Producer
Ski Skill
1946 · Writer, Producer
The New North
1946 · Producer
Suffer Little Children
1945 · Editor, Producer, Director
Flight 6
1944 · Director
Trans-Canada Express
1944 · Producer
Train Busters
1944 · Director
Fighting Sea-Fleas
1944 · Writer, Producer, Editor, Director
Banshees Over Canada
1943 · Producer
Fighting Norway
1943 · Director
Penitentiary
· Producer
TV shows (18)
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
2021 · Creator
Adam Adamant Lives!
1966 · Creator
The Wednesday Play
1964 · Creator
Doctor Who
1963 · Creator
Festival
1963 · Producer
Out of This World
1962 · Producer
Plateau of Fear
1961 · Creator
Pathfinders to Venus
1961 · Producer, Creator
The Avengers
1961 · Creator
Pathfinders to Mars
1960 · Producer, Creator
Pathfinders in Space
1960 · Producer, Creator
Police Surgeon
1960 · Creator
Target Luna
1960 · Producer, Creator
Counter-Attack
1960 · Producer
Armchair Theatre
1956 · Creator
The Canadian Howdy Doody Show
1954 · Producer
Space Command
1953 · Supervising Producer
Doctor Who
· Creator