Born: 15th May 1937
Episodes Broadcast: 1978

Hailing from Hayes, Hillingdon, Darrol Blake became involved in a school production of Treasure Island when he was ten years old, and immediately knew he wanted to become a director. As he related to interviewer Toby Hadoke for the Who's Round podcast in 2016, Blake's first opportunity to work in the industry was by painting scenery for local repertory theatre companies while on school holidays. Then, in 1953, he secured a job with the BBC as a page at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush, London. He soon joined the Design Department; he initially worked in the print shop, but also began to secure opportunities as a design assistant. Blake contributed to the classic thriller serial Quatermass II in 1955, shortly before his National Service saw him join the Royal Air Force.

Returning to the BBC after demobilisation, Blake began to split time between working as an assistant -- including on 1964's Marco Polo for the first season of Doctor Who, under Barry Newbery -- and as a full designer on shows like Peridot Flight, Crackerjack!, Not So Much A Programme, More A Way Of Life and Adam Adamant Lives!. In 1965, he married actress Anne Cunningham; they would have three children. During the mid-Sixties, Blake began to direct, often on live broadcasts such as the satirical BBC 3 or a variety of factual programmes. He served as both producer and director on the documentaries Release and Review towards the end of the decade.

In 1972, Blake worked with future Doctor Who producer Graham Williams on The Regiment

Eager to move into drama, Blake went freelance in 1970, and soon found himself employed on the final season of Doomwatch. However, this proved to be a troubled engagement, as the BBC refused to broadcast one of his episodes, and cancelled another outright. Blake subsequently directed episodes of programmes such as Paul Temple, The Tomorrow People and Crossroads. In 1972, he worked with Graham Williams on The Regiment. When Williams became the producer of Doctor Who, he recruited Blake to direct the 1978 serial The Stones Of Blood, featuring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor.

By this time, Blake had already made installments of both Crossroads and Coronation Street, and he became increasingly associated with soap operas over the remainder of his career. During the Eighties and Nineties, many of his credits came on shows like Triangle, EastEnders, Emmerdale Farm and Brookside. But there were notable exceptions: he wrote and directed a 1979 edition of BBC Playhouse, and he produced the Grange Hill spin-off Tucker's Luck in the mid-Eighties. Blake retired from television in 2002. He remained involved in amateur dramatics in Barnes, Richmond upon Thames, where he resides.