Born: 13th September 1915 (as Alan James Bromly)
Died: September 1995
Episodes Broadcast: 1973-1974, 1979

Alan Bromly was born in Godalming, Surrey. He became an actor during the Thirties and, by the Forties, had begun appearing in television and on radio. He was in The Queen's Husband in 1946, and serials such as Little Women and The Railway Children during the Fifties. In 1948, he married actress June Ellis. In the early Fifties, Bromly began to establish himself as a producer-director, with credits including Portrait Of Alison, A Time Of Day, The Scarf and At Your Service, Ltd.

During the Sixties, he worked on programmes such as The World Of Tim Frazer, The Desperate People, A Man Called Harry Brent and The Big M. As producer-directors became less common, he increasingly separated his two roles; for example, he directed episodes of Z Cars and produced Compact. He spent the latter part of the decade producing Paul Temple and Out Of The Unknown. In the Seventies, Bromly resumed making occasional acting appearances, including several episodes of Crown Court, for which he also directed. Other directorial credits included Emmerdale Farm and Crossroads, while he was both a director and associate producer on The Swiss Family Robinson. Bromly's first work on Doctor Who came in 1973, on The Time Warrior, which introduced Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith.

By that time, Bromly was amongst the elder statesmen of the television industry, with working methods that some viewed as inflexible and antiquated. This would prove to be a toxic combination when he returned to Doctor Who for 1979's Nightmare Of Eden. Bromly clashed repeatedly with his cast -- and especially with Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor. The situation deteriorated to such an extent that Bromly quit the production before recording was completed. He would go on to direct episodes of Coronation Street before retiring. Bromly passed away in September 1995.