Donald Wilson (born September 1, 1910, Dunblane, Scotland; died March 6, 2002, Gloucestershire, England) was a British television writer and producer, best known for his work on the BBC's adaptation of The Forsyte Saga in 1967. September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Dunblane is a small town north of Stirling in the Stirling council area in Scotland. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ... It has been suggested that Soames Forsyte be merged into this article or section. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

His initial career was in the film industry, working for MGM at Elstree Studios, where he was Assistant Director of such films as Jericho (1937) and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939). During the war he worked on documentary films, and then in 1955 was recruited to BBC Television by the then Head of Drama, Michael Barry. As the Head of the Script Department, Wilson was ultimately responsible for overseeing the commissioning and development of all the original scripts and adaptations transmitted by BBC Television. MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... Historically, the name Elstree Studios refers to any of several film studios that were based in the town of Elstree and Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, England. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Goodbye, Mr. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ... Michael Barry (born May 15, 1910; died 1988) was a British television producer and executive, who was an important early influence on BBC television drama. ...

When the Script Department was rendered redundant by Sydney Newman’s radical shake-up of the BBC Drama Department after his arrival as its head in 1962, the highly respected Wilson was given one of the most senior positions under Newman as Head of Serials. In this position, Wilson was responsible for overseeing the creation and development of a series that Newman himself had originally conceived; an educational science-fiction adventure serial for children entitled Doctor Who. It was Wilson, together with Newman and staff writer C. E. Webber, who co-wrote the first format document for the programme. Sydney Cecil Newman OC (April 1, 1917—October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, best remembered for the pioneering work he undertook in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. ... Cathy Come Home, a 1966 entry into The Wednesday Play anthology series, voted the best drama and second highest programme overall in the British Film Institutes 2000 survey of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th century. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... This article is becoming very long. ... Cecil Edwin Webber (known as C. E. Webber and nicknamed Bunny by his colleagues) was a British television writer. ...

Wilson was responsible for much of the early development work on the show, although he did strongly attempt to dissuade producer Verity Lambert from using writer Terry Nation’s script featuring a race of aliens named Daleks. To his credit, once the script had been made and transmitted to phenomenal success, he called Lambert into his office to admit that she clearly knew the show better than he did and told her that he would no longer interfere with her decisions. Verity Lambert (born November 27, 1935 in London, England, UK) is a British television and film producer, best known for producing the science-fiction series Doctor Who for the BBC for its first two years, from 1963 to 1965. ... Terry Nation (August 8, 1930 – March 9, 1997) was a British television screenwriter and is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks for the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Daleks (pronounced DAH-lecks; IPA: ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

In 1965, Wilson gave up his position as Head of Serials to concentrate on realising a long-held ambition of bringing The Forsyte Saga to the screen. Acting as both adapter and producer, Wilson created one of the BBC’s most popular and successful drama serials of all time, which was a huge hit on its eventual screening on BBC Two in 1967, and was quickly repeated on BBC One. Later, he acted as adapter and producer again on such prestigious costume dramas as The First Churchills (1969) and Anna Karenina (1977). 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... It has been suggested that Soames Forsyte be merged into this article or section. ... BBC Two (or BBC2 as it was formerly styled) was the second UK television station to be aired by the BBC and Europes first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour (from 1967), envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the primary channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

He went on to work for Anglia Television before retiring to his home in Gloucestershire, where he died at the age of 91 in March 2002. Current ITV Anglia logo Anglia Television is the ITV station for East Anglia. ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ...

References

• Purser, Philip. Obituary: Donald Wilson. "The Guardian". Tuesday March 12 2002.

The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in leap years). ...

External links

• Donald Wilson at the Internet Movie Database