Peter Morley - A Life Rewound

In 2008, BAFTA presented its first full-length online publication: by the pioneering TV producer/director Peter Morley OBE.

The book has now been published by Bank House Books and an abridged version has been made available online (see below).

With over 200 credits to his name, Peter Morley’s illustrated memoirs span a remarkable career and offers a unique insight into the changing face of television.

His television career took off aged 16 as a rewind-boy in London’s Dominion cinema before moving into into editing, then writing and directing before a four year hiatus to serve in the second world war.

Responsible for an eclectic mix of award-winning programmes, Morley’s two BAFTA wins include the current affairs programme This Week (1963) and the outside broadcast of Sir Winston Churchill’s state funeral in 1965. He directed ITV’s first Opera The Turn of the Screw in 1959. His nominations for documentaries include the 1969 TV series The Life and Times of Lord Mountbatten and the memorable Kitty - Return to Auschwitz (1979).

In 1972, together with Richard Attenborough, Lord Brabourne and Richard Cawston he was a founder Trustee of the Society of Film and Television Arts, now BAFTA, creating the fund which grew out of the original Premises Committee, known as the David Lean BAFTA Foundation. This established a permanent headquarters for the Academy at 195 Piccadilly.

Peter Morley was appointed OBE in 1969.