CATWEAZLE - THE CREW

Richard Carpenter - Creator / Writer

Born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, Richard Carpenter spent seventeen years as an actor, learning his trade at the Old Vic Theatre School and in repertory theatre. He appearing in hundreds of TV productions, including Z-Cars, Hancock’s Half Hour and Dixon of Dock Green for the BBC and the ITC series Gideon’s Way, The Baron and Strange Report.

Catweazle provided Carpenter’s break into a hugely successful writing career. After Catweazle he wrote over a dozen episodes of The Adventures of Black Beauty, and created the long-running children’s fantasy series The Ghosts of Motley Hall, (starring Sheila Staefel, Freddie Jones and Arthur English), twice voted the favourite programme by readers of Look In. He also created the family series Dick Turpin, which starred Richard O’Sullivan, and two popular adventure series starring Oliver Tobias, Adventurer and Smuggler.

In 1983 Carpenter created the enormous hit Robin of Sherwood for HTV, originally starring Michael Praed, and then Jason Connery as Robin. Carpenter also wrote most of the episodes.

Carpenter has novelized many of his series for Penguin, Methuen, Collins and Corgi. The two Catweazle books, Catweazle and Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, were in print for over twenty-five years.

Carpenter has more recently written several new children’s’ series, including Central’s Stanley’s Dragon, which was nominated for BAFTA and Royal Television Society awards. He also wrote adaptations of  Mary Norton’s The Borrowers books for two BBC series, winning Best Children’s Drama awards from BAFTA, PACT and the Royal Television Society, and receiving an International Emmy nomination. He also wrote the 2001 children's series I Was A Rat, a critically acclaimed UK / Canadian co-production made by the BBC.

In 1999 he contributed episodes of the BBC adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, which starred Richard E. Grant. 

Quentin Lawrence - Director

Quentin Lawrence entered the television industry in 1946 as an engineer. In 1954 he joined Independent Television, and began directing. A versatile director whose range encompassed drama and comedy shows, Lawrence soon became one of the most respected directors in the industry. His credits include hundreds of popular television shows, including cult hits The Saint , The Avengers and Danger Man. As well as directing all thirteen episodes of the first season of Catweazle he also worked on Coronation Street, Crown Court and Richard Carpenter’s The Ghosts of Motley Hall. He also directed several well-loved films, including Cash on Demand for Hammer and The Trollenberg Terror (a.k.a. The Crawling Eye) before his death in 1979.