
Production
Barry Letts
Born — Died
1925-03-26 — 2009-10-09
Known for
Production
Credits
77 titles
Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of Doctor Who from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre, films and television before retiring in his early forties and becoming a television director. He then became the producer of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who for five years, overseeing almost the entirety of Jon Pertwee's tenure as the Third Doctor and casting Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. He produced or directed many of the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials from 1976 to 1986, and returned to Doctor Who in 1980 to be the executive producer for it…
Known for
7.8A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners. Jonathan Steed - an urbane, proper gentleman spy - teams with various assistants throughout the series' run, including Dr. David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King, to repeatedly save the world from diabolical schemes plotted by equally diabolical evil-doers (among them robots and man-eating monsters).
The Avengers
1961
7.3Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.
Z-Cars
1962
4.8No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.
No Hiding Place
1959
7.1BBC series based on the novels by Georges Simenon which starred Rupert Davies as Inspector Maigret, a French police detective who preferred to watch and listen in order to solve crimes. The series ran from 1960-63 on British television.
Maigret
1960
6.9At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer.
The Cruel Sea
1953
6.0Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.
Armchair Theatre
1956
Film credits
2020s · 2 titles
4.7Behind-the-scenes stories from the long-running sci-fi drama. There are tales of stunts that went dangerously wrong and secrets of how the crew brought monsters to life, as well as revelations about how some storylines proved to be so scary the BBC were forced to re-edit episodes.
Doctor Who: 60 Years of Secrets & Scandals
2023
NRA look at the making of the Doctor Who story, The Time Monster.
Time and Atlantis: Chronicling The Time Monster
2023
2010s · 7 titles
NRA special retrospective of Peter Davison's tenure as the Fifth Doctor.
Come in Number Five
2011
NRThe making of Revenge of the Cybermen, with director Michael E Briant, incoming producer Philip Hinchcliffe and outgoing producer Barry Letts.
The Tin Men and the Witch
2010
NRAn overview of the Third Doctor era, with new interviews and archival contributions.
Doctor Who and the Third Man
2019
NRA brief history of the Ice Warriors in Doctor Who by the people who designed and brought them to life.
Warriors of Mars
2010
NRWith the introduction of the Master, the Doctor now had his very own Moriarty, who would be the dark figure behind every story in Season 8, and many more beyond that. This documentary discusses the enduring appeal of the character.
The Doctor's Moriarty
2011
NRCast and crew look back at the making of Colony in Space.
IMC Needs You!
2011
NRA documentary about the making of Terror of the Autons. Actors Katy Manning and Richard Franklin, both of whom made their debuts in this story, recount the production with the help of Jon Pertwee (through an archive interview), Script Editor Terrance Dicks and Producer Barry Letts who, along with new series Producer Phil Collinson, discuss how the series' production regimes differed between the new series and the old.
Life on Earth
2011
2000s · 14 titles
8.0Documentary to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of this popular cult sci-fi television series.
The Story of Doctor Who
2003
8.0With a writing career spanning 6 decades, this special documentary looks at Terrance Dicks' work for books and television, with contributions from many of his friends and colleagues. Featuring contributions from Terrance Dicks, Barry Letts, Christopher Barry, Louis Marks, Eric Saward, Paul Cornell, Peter Darvill-Evans and Brenda Gardner.
Terrance Dicks: Fact & Fiction
2005
NRCast and crew discuss the making of The Sea Devils, from the television series Doctor Who.
Hello Sailor!
2008
NRA biography of actor Roger Delgado, featuring previously unseen photographs, rare excerpts from his many BBC TV appearances and interviews with those who knew and loved him.
Roger Delgado: The Master
2009
7.0The genesis and development of the Sontaran race through the history of the series, as told by some of the actors and production team involved. This specially produced documentary includes contributions from Terrance Dicks, Elisabeth Sladen, Anthony Read, Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Bob Baker, Eric Saward and Stuart Fell.
Built for War: The Sontaran Story
2006
NRIn the far future, the remaining population of an oxygen-depleted planet Earth lies in enforced stasis in The Field of Dreams. Looking for ideas to help him re-connect to his captive audience, Zed, a young scenariosmith, turns to the world of Doctor Who for inspiration...
The Perfect Scenario: Lost Frontiers
2009
NRA documentary about the writer Terry Nation, creator of the Daleks.
Terror Nation: Terry Nation and Doctor Who
2007
6.5Drama documentary exploring Captain Scott's 1912 Antarctic expedition, which saw him and two colleagues conducting scientific experiments in harsh conditions for two years.
The Worst Journey in the World
2007
NRContinuing his search for inspiration, Zed resumes his studies of twentieth-century television's Doctor Who. What he finds will have a profound effect...
The Perfect Scenario: The End of Dreams
2009
5.8The story of Exodus is relocated to the seaside town Margate. Moses lives in the Promised Lands with his adoptive parents, until he finds his mother in the shanty town, Dreamland, where she’s been ghettoised with other ‘undesirables’. He takes on his father, Pharaoh, and leads a radical campaign to liberate the people of Dreamland.
Exodus
2007
NRA look at an extraordinary era of musical experimentation within Doctor Who, with special emphasis on the musical scores for Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Sea Devils. Featuring producer Barry Letts, composer Mark Ayres and directors Timothy Combe, Christopher Barry and Michael Briant, with an archive appearance from Radiophonic composer Malcolm Clarke.
Musical Scales: An Era of Experimentation
2008
NRThis documentary examines Tom Baker's introduction as the Doctor and the making of his first story, Robot.
Are Friends Electric?
2007
8.0A special 50-minute documentary that looks at the making of The Hand of Fear, and also examines the special relationship between the Doctor and his companion, Sarah Jane Smith.
Changing Time: Living and Leaving Doctor Who
2006
7.0What exactly is Doctor Who's 'Frighten Factor'? A diverse panel of experts try to answer the question.
The Frighten Factor
2009
1990s · 2 titles
7.9A documentary celebrating the 30th anniversary of Doctor Who, featuring new interviews, rare archive footage and recently discovered material.
30 Years in the TARDIS
1993
8.5By her own admission, Katy Manning is ‘as blind as a bat’ and never knows where she’ll end up. When she suddenly arrived in the UK, Katy was probably as surprised as the rest of us! Determined to thank the legion of Doctor Who fans who had written and supported her during her years abroad, Katy embarked on a whirlwind tour of British conventions and shops before leaving (yet again) for Australia… Along the way bump into Nicholas Courtney, Richard Franklin, John Leeson, Sophie Aldred, Sylvester McCoy, Michael Sheard and other surprise guest stars!
Where on Earth Is Katy Manning?
1998
1950s · 2 titles
6.9At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer.
The Cruel Sea
1953
6.9The true story of airman Douglas Bader who overcame the loss of both legs in a 1931 flying accident to become a successful fighter pilot and wing leader during World War II.
Reach for the Sky
1956
1940s · 5 titles
7.2The true story of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition to try to be the first man to discover the South Pole - only to find that the murderously cold weather and a rival team of Norwegian explorers conspire against him
Scott of the Antarctic
1948
4.9The lives of the members of a West Yorkshire cycling club are complicated by romantic entanglements and a series of bike thefts.
A Boy, a Girl and a Bike
1949
6.2Four people with very different backgrounds meet by chance at an English pub and gradually become carried away in a bout of thrill-seeking. When their spree gets out of hand, each person faces a moral choice with lasting consequences.
To the Public Danger
1948
7.2Based on the true story of the 1940 rescue of the tanker MV San Demetrio by parts of her own crew after she had been set afire in the middle of the Atlantic by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then had been abandoned. When one of the lifeboats drifted back to the burning tanker the day after, and found that she still hadn't exploded, they decided to board her and put out the fires. Eventually, they managed to start the engine again and decided to try to reach Britain against all odds.
San Demetrio London
1943
5.6An RAF pilot who was shot down during WWII returns home to his English village with his new bride. The trouble is that she is the German lady who helped him escape.
Frieda
1947
Series credits
7.8A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners. Jonathan Steed - an urbane, proper gentleman spy - teams with various assistants throughout the series' run, including Dr. David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King, to repeatedly save the world from diabolical schemes plotted by equally diabolical evil-doers (among them robots and man-eating monsters).
The Avengers
1961
7.3Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.
Z-Cars
1962
4.8No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.
No Hiding Place
1959
7.1BBC series based on the novels by Georges Simenon which starred Rupert Davies as Inspector Maigret, a French police detective who preferred to watch and listen in order to solve crimes. The series ran from 1960-63 on British television.
Maigret
1960
6.0Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.
Armchair Theatre
1956
6.0Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.
Armchair Theatre
1956
6.0No synopsis available yet.
City Beneath the Sea
1962
No synopsis available yet.
The Silver Sword
1957
Dramatisation of Trollope's fifth novel set in the fictional county of Barsetshire.
The Small House at Allington
1960
Behind the camera
7.6On the eve of May Day, dark elemental forces begin to disturb the village of Devil's End as the Master summons the demon Azal: unexplained murders, a stone gargoyle come to life, and a nigh-impenetrable infernal energy dome. With the Master fully prepared to destroy the Earth, the Doctor and UNIT - aided by a benevolent practitioner of witchcraft - battle the wicked rites of a secret science wielded by an alien from another world.
Doctor Who: The Dæmons
1971
7.6On the eve of May Day, dark elemental forces begin to disturb the village of Devil's End as the Master summons the demon Azal: unexplained murders, a stone gargoyle come to life, and a nigh-impenetrable infernal energy dome. With the Master fully prepared to destroy the Earth, the Doctor and UNIT - aided by a benevolent practitioner of witchcraft - battle the wicked rites of a secret science wielded by an alien from another world.
Doctor Who: The Dæmons
1971
7.5Professor Emil Keller has created a machine that can pacify even the most dangerous of criminals. But when the Doctor and Jo arrive at Stangmoor Prison for a demonstration, things start to go horribly wrong - especially when they discover that the Doctor's old enemy the Master is responsible for the machine.
Doctor Who: The Mind of Evil
1971
7.3Investigating mysterious power failures and a death at an underground research centre, The Doctor discovers a colony of Silurians - prehistoric, intelligent reptiles who went into hibernation before man evolved. But now they have woken up, and they are prepared to wipe out mankind with a killer plague to get their planet back.
Doctor Who and the Silurians
1970
7.2The Time Lords send the Doctor and Jo on a mission to deliver a sealed message pod to an unknown party aboard a Skybase orbiting the planet Solos in the 30th century. They are caught quickly in a power struggle between the cruel Marshal of Solos and the young Solonian Ky over the future of Solos - a future that hinges on the contents of the message.
Doctor Who: The Mutants
1972
7.1The newly-regenerated Doctor helps UNIT battle a sentient robot being manipulated by a corrupt scientific organization.
Doctor Who: Robot
1975
7.9On Earth in 2018, the Doctor and his companions are enmeshed in a deadly web of intrigue thanks to his uncanny resemblance to the scientist/politician Salamander. He is hailed as the "shopkeeper of the world" for his efforts to relieve global famine, but why do his rivals keep disappearing? How can he predict so many natural disasters? The Doctor must expose Salamander's schemes before he takes over the world.
Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World
1968
7.8The Master, an old adversary of the Doctor, has arrived on Earth to destroy humanity with the aid of the Nestene Consciousness and their army of Autons and killer plastic daffodils - unless the Doctor, joined by new assistant Jo Grant, can stop them.
Doctor Who: Terror of the Autons
1971
7.8The Master, an old adversary of the Doctor, has arrived on Earth to destroy humanity with the aid of the Nestene Consciousness and their army of Autons and killer plastic daffodils - unless the Doctor, joined by new assistant Jo Grant, can stop them.
Doctor Who: Terror of the Autons
1971
7.3The Doctor and Sarah return to Earth in the present day to find a strangely deserted village and woods stalked by white-clad figures.
Doctor Who: The Android Invasion
1975
7.4The blue crystal that the Doctor took from Metebelis III in a previous adventure is desperately sought by the Eight Legs, a race of mutated spiders, as the final element in their plan for universal domination. With help from an old mentor, the Doctor realises the only way to foil the plot is to make the ultimate sacrifice. The Doctor must risk death to return to the cave of the Great One and save the universe.
Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders
1974
7.4The blue crystal that the Doctor took from Metebelis III in a previous adventure is desperately sought by the Eight Legs, a race of mutated spiders, as the final element in their plan for universal domination. With help from an old mentor, the Doctor realises the only way to foil the plot is to make the ultimate sacrifice. The Doctor must risk death to return to the cave of the Great One and save the universe.
Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders
1974
7.4The blue crystal that the Doctor took from Metebelis III in a previous adventure is desperately sought by the Eight Legs, a race of mutated spiders, as the final element in their plan for universal domination. With help from an old mentor, the Doctor realises the only way to foil the plot is to make the ultimate sacrifice. The Doctor must risk death to return to the cave of the Great One and save the universe.
Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders
1974
7.0On the jungle planet Spiridon, the Doctor, Jo and a Thal group find a slumbering army of Daleks ready to awaken.
Doctor Who: Planet of the Daleks
1973
6.8The Third Doctor and Sarah arrive in 1970s London to find it has been evacuated because dinosaurs have appeared mysteriously. It turns out the dinosaurs are being brought to London via a time machine to further a plan to revert London to a pre-technological level.
Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs
1974
6.6When the Master steals the Time Lords' secret file on the Doomsday Weapon, they grant the Doctor a temporary reprieve from his exile on Earth to deal with the crisis. He and Jo arrive on the planet Uxarieus and become enmeshed in a struggle between an agrarian colony and a powerful mining corporation.
Doctor Who: Colony in Space
1971
8.4The Doctor and UNIT investigate a deadly infection lurking underneath the Welsh mining town of Llanfairfach. It's an adventure that will change Jo Grant's life forever...
Doctor Who: The Green Death
1973
7.4Time itself is in peril! The Time Lords and UNIT find themselves besieged by a mythic figure from the Time Lords' past hell-bent on destruction. The only way to defeat him is to break the First Law of Time and let the Doctor help himself — literally...
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
1973
6.8A group of gold-skinned aliens known as the Axons land on Earth and offer wondrous technology in exchange for fuel. The Doctor, however, isn't fooled, uncovering the Axons' true nature and once again facing his archenemy the Master...
Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos
1971
7.9Guerillas time-jump back from the 22nd century to assassinate Sir Reginald Styles - a diplomat working for World Peace, The Doctor discovers they are from a future where the Daleks have invaded the Earth (Following wars precipitated by Styles's destruction at the peace conference). With the Daleks desperate to maintain their version of history, The Doctor and Jo find themselves in a totalitarian future, where they must discover who really happened and prevent it.
Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
1972
7.5The planet Peladon has applied to join the Galactic Federation, and The Doctor is mistaken for the chairman of the committee sent to assess its application, while Jo is taken for an Earth princess, with the mythical curse of Aggedor apparently striking chancellor Torbis dead, The Doctor must discover who is desperate to stop Peladon joining, but soon he is sentenced to death and his only Allies seem to be Jo and the Ice Warrior Delegates.
Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon
1972
7.2Astronauts rescued from a mission to mars are kidnapped when they arrive back on earth. They seem to have been irradiated, and can now kill people merely by touching them. But the Doctor discovers the astronauts have been replaced with Alien ambassadors who are being forced to behave in a hostile manner. With The Doctor traveling to the alien mother ship, and Liz kidnapped, The Brigadier is left wondering who to trust.
Doctor Who: The Ambassadors of Death
1970
8.6UNIT is providing security cover at an experimental drilling project at Eastchester, designed to penetrate the Earth's crust and release a previously untapped source of energy. Soon, however, the drill head starts to leak an oily green liquid that transforms those who touch it into vicious primeval creatures with a craving for heat. The Doctor is accidentally transported "sideways in time" by the partially repaired TARDIS control console into a parallel universe where the drilling project is at a more advanced stage. Thwarted by his friends' ruthless alter egos, he works to save both universes.
Doctor Who: Inferno
1970
7.5In the 26th century, the Doctor and Jo uncover a plot by the Master to provoke an interplanetary war between Earth and Draconia.
Doctor Who: Frontier in Space
1973
7.8The Doctor and Jo find themselves trapped inside an alien peepshow machine which showman Vorg and his assistant Shirna have brought to amuse the populace of the planet Inter Minor. Can they escape Vorg and the ferocious Drashigs?
Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters
1973
7.8The Doctor and Jo find themselves trapped inside an alien peepshow machine which showman Vorg and his assistant Shirna have brought to amuse the populace of the planet Inter Minor. Can they escape Vorg and the ferocious Drashigs?
Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters
1973
5.9The Master, in the guise of Professor Thascalos, has constructed at the Newton Institute in Wootton a device known as TOMTIT - Transmission Of Matter Through Interstitial Time - to gain control over Kronos, a creature from outside time. The creature is summoned but proves to be uncontrollable.
Doctor Who: The Time Monster
1972
5.9The Master, in the guise of Professor Thascalos, has constructed at the Newton Institute in Wootton a device known as TOMTIT - Transmission Of Matter Through Interstitial Time - to gain control over Kronos, a creature from outside time. The creature is summoned but proves to be uncontrollable.
Doctor Who: The Time Monster
1972
7.4When scientists start to go missing in the 20th century, the Doctor is called in by the Brigadier to investigate. His investigations lead him to deduce that they are being kidnapped through time and he sets off in pursuit, unknowingly kidnapping journalist Sarah Jane Smith in the process. Arriving in the middle ages, the Doctor and Sarah find themselves caught up in the machinations of the robber baron Irongron and his man from the stars. The alien, a Sontaran named Linx, is arming him with modern weapons in return for helping him repair his damaged ship, and it's up to the Doctor and Sarah to stop him from ruining the Earth's timeline.
Doctor Who: The Time Warrior
1974
6.2An energy drain traps the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith on the planet Exxilon with its hostile natives, causing the travellers to make an uneasy alliance with a Marine Space Corps expedition and a squadron of Daleks. The key to escape for all of them lies at the heart of a powerful and mysterious lost city, but only after a series of deadly traps.
Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks
1974
7.6The Doctor and Jo visit the Master in his high-security prison on an island off the south coast of England. The governor, Colonel Trenchard, says ships have been disappearing mysteriously at sea. The Doctor discovers that Trenchard and the Master are in league to contact the Sea Devils, a race of reptiles in hibernation in a base beneath the sea, who have been awoken by recent work on a nearby sea fort. The Master intends to use his new allies to help him conquer the world!
Doctor Who: The Sea Devils
1972
5.5The Doctor returns to Peladon fifty years after his last visit, to find Queen Thalira, daughter of the late King Peladon, on the throne. A tense labour dispute between Pel nobility and miners is worsened when apparitions of their deity Aggedor attack and kill several miners. The Galactic Federation desperately needs trisilicate for its war against Galaxy 5 and sends in brutal Ice Warrior troopers to ensure production. The Doctor discovers a devious plot at the heart of Aggedor's appearances.
Doctor Who: The Monster of Peladon
1974
In this BBC 1978 adaptation, a wooden puppet comes to life and embarks on a whimsical journey to become a real boy.
Pinocchio
1978
NRJim Hawkins discovers a treasure map and embarks on a journey to find the treasure, but pirates led by Long John Silver have plans to take the treasure for themselves by way of mutiny.
Treasure Island
1977
