Hettie Macdonald is an English film, theatre and television director. Macdonald is known as the director of the Hugo Award-winning 2007 episode of Doctor Who, "Blink". She has won numerous awards including one BAFTA Television Award for Best Single Drama, one Hugo Award, and a Grand Prix award. She has been nominated for numerous awards, including two BAFTA Television Awards.
"Blink" is frequently named as the best episode of Doctor Who since the series' 2005 revival. In 2009, SFX named the episode's climax as the scariest moment in Doctor Who history, citing its "perfect direction". Macdonald would return to the series in 2015 to direct the year's opening story.
She has also directed for the stage. She studied English at Bristol University, before training as a director at the Royal Court Theatre, and was formerly associate director at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich.
Career
Macdonald made her feature-length film directorial debut on 1996's Beautiful Thing, which received mostly positive reviews and is considered by many to be an LGBTQ+ classic. She did not direct another film for cinemas until 2023's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which has also received positive reviews.
Selected credits Film YearTitleNotes1996Beautiful Thing2023The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Television YearTitleNotes1997Casualty2 episodes2001In a Land of PlentyMiniseries2003Servants3 episodes2005–13PoirotEpisodes: "The Mystery of the Blue Train", "Curtain"2006Banglatown BanquetTV movie2007–15Doctor WhoEpisodes: "Blink", "The Magician's Apprentice", "The Witch's Familiar"2008White GirlTV movie2008The Fixer2 episodes2010WallanderEpisode: "Faceless Killers"2010Law & Order: UKEpisode: "Masquerade"2012Hit & Miss3 episodes2013The Tunnel 2 episodes2015–17Fortitude6 episodes2017Howards End4 episodes2020Normal People6 episodes 2026Steal 3 episodes
Theatre YearTitleVenueNotes1997The Northern FoxAmbassadors Theatre1998Hey Persephone! Aldeburgh Festival / Almeida Theatre1998The StormAlmeida Theatre2002She Stoops to ConquerTheatre Royal, Margate2002Top Girls Citizens Theatre2004M.A.D.Bush Theatre2006On Insomnia and Midnight Royal Court2025Hedda https://orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/hedda/Orange Tree Theatre
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResultNotes2008Hugo AwardBest Dramatic Presentation, Short Form"Blink", Doctor Who2009BAFTA Television AwardsBest Single DramaWhite Girl2013BAFTA Television Craft AwardsBest Director: FictionHit & Miss2018BAFTA Television AwardsBest Mini-SeriesHowards End
See also List of female film and television directors List of LGBT-related films directed by women
References
External links