Episodes Broadcast: 2005-2006

Although James Hawes was born in Wimbledon, London, his father's work in mining meant that he spent some of his early years in South America. Hawes studied law at the University of Warwick, where he also became involved with the student drama society as a director and an actor. Following his graduation, he formed the Young Shakespeare Company, while also working in factual programming for the BBC, including episodes of Crimewatch UK. In 1990, Hawes directed Prince Charles in the documentary The Earth In Balance. Later in the decade, he began to move into drama, initially with several episodes of The Bill and then Holby City.

During the early years of the twenty-first century, Hawes directed for shows like The Mrs Bradley Mysteries, Always And Everyone and Sea Of Souls for producer Phil Collinson. When Collinson moved to Doctor Who, Hawes was high on the list of directors to recruit. He initially made 2005's The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances, which starred Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and introduced John Barrowman's perennially-popular Captain Jack Harkness. Over the next year, Hawes directed three of David Tennant's first four adventures as the Tenth Doctor, including his debut in the first-ever Doctor Who holiday special, The Christmas Invasion.

It was then planned that Hawes would both produce and direct the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, with Barrowman starring as Captain Jack. However, when the start of production was delayed by four months, he decided to step away from the project in order to focus on directing, including episodes of Fanny Hill and Merlin. He was replaced on Torchwood by Richard Stokes. Amongst Hawes' credits during the 2010s were Mad Dogs, The Mill, Penny Dreadful and Black Mirror. During the Twenties, he was the executive producer of Snowpiercer and Slow Horses, and directed for both.