Moira Armstrong Biog No. 556

Moira Armstrong was born in Crieff, Perth & Kinross, in Scotland and raised in North East Scotland and had a radio and television career which expanded over 50 years. However, her working life got off to a rocky start as her acceptance letter for a BBC job got lost in the post. It was only due the intervention of her mother, who complained to the BBC at Portland Place, that her misplaced letter was found. Her first BBC role was in radio where she trained as a BBC Radio Continuity Announcer. She then moved onto Thames Television as a Directorial Assistant but returned to the BBC for a directing course where she became one of the first female directors.

Her early shows were Dr Finlay’s Casebook (1962), Z-Cars (1962). Other prolific credits were on episodes of Armchair Theatre, The Onedin Line, Dunroamin’ Rising (1988), Lark Rise to Candleford (2008), Where the Heart Is, The Bill, Midsomer Murders, the Wednesday Play, Adam Adamant Lives!, Beryl’s Lot and the TV film The Countess of Alice (1992).

For a full list of her filmography see: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9ef8e6f5

Sunset Song (1971) was an adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s novel and provided the Scottish director an opportunity to return to Scotland to film and was considered to be one of her favourites. It was also the first series to be recorded in colour by BBC Scotland, together with their first nude scene.

Her TV series of Muriel Spark’s novel, The Girls of Slender Means (1975), was unusual in that it had a cast of strong female characters, played by Miriam Margolyes, Patricia Hodge and Mary Tamm, who were fighting for survival in war-torn London.

In 1980 she won, with Jonathan Powell, a BAFTA for the Best Drama Series/Serial for another book adaption, Testament of Youth (1979), a biography of Vera Brittain’s account of being a nurse in the First World War.

For Further Information see:

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-press-release-moira-armstrong-2014-06-23.pdf

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