Women’s Work in British Film and Television

Susan Belbin
Producer, Director and Executive Producer, BBC Comedy.

Susie (Susan) Belbin (Floor Manager, Producer, Director and Executive Producer)

Susan Belbin was born in Glasgow in 1948. She studied drama part-time from aged nine at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Having originally wanted to act, her interest in theatre soon diversified in to stage management where she secured a place on a one-year stage management course at Glasgow Citizens Theatre in 1965. After working in stage management in the theatre, Susie worked as an assistant floor manager at BBC Scotland for three years between 1969 and 1972. From here she moved to BBC London where she produced and directed situation comedies before becoming the first female Executive Producer of BBC Comedy. She is most well known for her award winning work as a producer and director on some of Britain’s most well known sitcoms including Only Fools and Horses (BBC 1981-2003), One Foot in the Grave (BBC 1990-2001) and Jonathan Creek (BBC 1997-2016). She retired from television in 1997.

In this interview Susie discusses training as a Stage Manager and making the transition from theatre to television. She discusses how her employment at BBC Scotland initiated the change in job title, from Call Boy to Floor Assistant. She discusses work on several variety programmes including One Over the Eight (BBC 1969) and Moira Anderson Sings (BBC 1969) and her initiation by male members of Scottish Radio Orchestra before her move to Television Centre in London. She recalls her first job as assistant floor manager on The Morecambe and Wise Show (BBC 1968-1976) and her subsequent desire to work in narrative comedy. She details the nature of the role of production manager as well as her working relationship with writers of television comedy, including David Croft, John Sullivan, David Renwick and Carla Lane. She discusses her preference for being a programme maker rather than manager and the experience of undertaking both roles simultaneously. She discusses her career as a producer and director, her collaborative approach to work and the innovations of filming ‘in the round’ in One Foot in the Grave. She discusses moving closer to drama production in Jonathan Creek, her professional reputation as well as her experience of receiving awards for her creative contributions to BBC Comedy before her retirement from television in 1997.

Interview

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How to cite this page

Women’s Work Oral Histories/Oral Histories/Vicky Ball, Women’s Work in British Film and Television, https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/bectu/Oral Histories,Friday 29th March 2024.
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