Graham Williams joined the BBC in 1966 and worked as a script editor
for several years on series such as
The View from Daniel Pike (1971),
Sutherland's Law (1973),
Freie Hand für Barlow (1971) and
Freie Hand für Barlow (1962).
In 1977 he was made producer of
Doctor Who (1963). On taking over
the series, Williams was ordered by BBC bosses to lighten the tone and
reduce the violence and horror content following
Philip Hinchcliffe's highly
successful but controversial period producing the series. Williams duly
did this, introducing more humour to take the place of the more violent
and horrific material.
During his three seasons producing the series, Williams had to face
budget cuts and regular industrial action. It was the late 1970s, a
time of economic turmoil, and this had unfortunate consequences on the
production of many
Doctor Who (1963) serials. He also
found the series' star, Tom Baker,
increasingly difficult to work with.
Tom Baker had been working on the
series since 1974 and was well established as one of the biggest stars
on BBC television. When Williams arrived, Baker's relationship with his
co-star, Louise Jameson, was not good and
this occasionally led to tensions. She left at the end of Williams'
first season.
During Williams' second season, tensions arose between Baker and
Williams regarding the direction of the series. Baker made it known
that he wanted more input into the series, which would include the
right to approve scripts, casting of actors and directors. Williams
resisted this, leading to a dispute that eventually involved the BBC
One Controller, Bill Cotton, the Head of
Drama, Shaun Sutton, and the Head of BBC
Serials, Graeme MacDonald.
Fortunately, this dispute was settled amicably, with both men agreeing
to continue the status quo. The second season also saw the introduction
of a replacement for Louise Jameson,
Mary Tamm, although she only lasted for this
season.
Williams' third and final season was notable for the involvement of
Douglas Adams, a young Cambridge
University graduate whom Williams appointed as script editor on the
series following his script for the previous season,
The Pirate Planet: Part One (1978).
Adams had already gained acclaim for his radio series, The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, which had been broadcast the previous year, and
this season of Doctor Who (1963)
was notable for containing much of Adams' trademark humour. The series
also saw the introduction of Lalla Ward as
Mary Tamm's replacement.
Williams left Doctor Who (1963)
after producing three seasons in 1979. Despite the troubles, he had
made his mark. His era saw the introduction of K-9, the robot dog,
which became a popular hit, as well as the Black and White Guardians
(characters that re-appeared several years later) and his second season
in charge was based around an ambitious story arc called The Key to
Time, something quite unprecedented in the history of the series.
His involvement with the series was not over, however. In 1984 he was
commissioned to write a story for
Doctor Who (1963) called "The
Nightmare Fair". This was never made, but Williams was able to write a
novel based on his story for the Target
Doctor Who (1963) book range.
After producing Doctor Who (1963),
Williams left the BBC but stayed in television to produce Supergran: Die Oma aus dem 21. Jahrhundert (1985).
By the end of the 1980s, Graham Williams had left television and ran a
hotel in Devon. He died in 1990 from a shooting accident.
