Roy Battersby

Biography

Roy Battersby (1936-2024) was a British director. He started his career making documentary features for the BBC, including work on their groundbreaking science series Tomorrow's World. In 1970 he directed the innovative scientific documentary film The Body, before moving into drama and directing TV plays, often working with writer Colin Welland. He made with several films for the Play for Today series but his role as an organiser with the Workers Revolutionary Party and his Trotskyist politics led to him being blacklisted by the BBC at the behest of Special Branch and the security services, a fact which Battersby was unaware of at the time. Once his association ended in the 1980s, Battersby was allowed to direct at the BBC once more. Serials such as 1986's King of the Ghetto led to regul...