Michael E. Briant

Director & actor · born 14 February 1942

Michael Edwin Briant (born 14 February 1942) is a retired English television director and author, best known for his work as a director for BBC television drama in the 1970s and 1980s.

At the age of 21 Briant joined the BBC as an assistant floor manager in the drama department and a year later became a production assistant. In 1966, he took a Directors Course. Sometimes credited as just Michael Briant, he subsequently directed series such as Z-Cars and Doctor Who, directing Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker in a total of six serials: Colony in Space (1971), The Sea Devils (1972), The Green Death (1973), Death to the Daleks (1974), Revenge of the Cybermen (1975) and The Robots of Death (1977). He went on to direct several episodes from the first season of Blake's 7 in 1978, and Secret Army between 1978 and 1979. He later directed four of the six episodes of its sequel, Kessler, and the thriller series Blood Money, in which he cast many of the actors from Secret Army.

Where to start: Blake's 7: Duel (1986).