Christopher H. Bidmead
Christopher Hamilton Bidmead was an English screenwriter, script editor and journalist.
Early life
Bidmead went to Sizewell Hall school, then to Highgate School, then trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, later playing several roles on stage, television and radio.Career
By the early 1970s, Bidmead was writing scripts for Thames Television, providing material for Harriet's Back in Town and Rooms. Until 1979, he was a journalist and contributed some articles to New Scientist.''Doctor Who''
In 1979, Robert Banks Stewart recommended Bidmead for the post of script editor on Doctor Who. He was primarily responsible for a "back to basics" approach for his year-long tenure on Doctor Who, attempting to curb the more playful and fantasy oriented approach of his predecessor, Douglas Adams, in favour of a more naturalistic and scientific style of presentation. Most noticeable in the more serious portrayal of Tom Baker's Doctor, this approach proved controversial and ratings were lower, although this has been attributed to Bidmead's season competing against Buck Rogers in the [25th Century (TV series)|Buck Rogers in the 25th Century] on ITV. Bidmead's writing for Doctor Who demonstrates an increasing awareness of computer technology, typified by his complex serial Logopolis which served to write out the Fourth Doctor. After a year as script editor he returned to freelance work. This included writing two more Doctor Who serials for Peter Davison's Doctor as well as writing novelisations of all three of these stories.In August 2006, Doctor Who Magazine announced that Bidmead would be writing an audio play, Renaissance of the Daleks, for release through Big Finish Productions in March 2007. An audio play with that title was subsequently released, with a "From a Story By" credit for Bidmead. He contributed voiceover commentaries and interviews for numerous DVD and Blu-ray releases of Doctor Who serials with which he was involved.