Editing Colin Cant

{{short description|British television director and producer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Colin Cant'''  is a British [[television director]], [[television producer|producer]] and [[scenic design]]er, best known for his work for the children's department of [[BBC Television]] from the 1970s to the 1990s. After beginning his career as a designer, he moved to directing and worked on many BBC children's series. He was involved for several years as both a director and producer on the long-running school-based drama series ''[[Grange Hill]]''. He remained active in television into the 21st century, directing for the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] soap opera ''[[Coronation Street]]'' in 2005.<ref name=bfi>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f037e81|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031050721/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f037e81|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 October 2017|title=Colin Cant|website=[[British Film Institute]]|accessdate=9 January 2017}}</ref>

==Career==

Cant initially trained as an architect, but switched to working in television design after watching a documentary programme about it, and realising how much more quickly his work could be realised in that area as opposed to the longer construction time of architecture.<ref name="bulletin">{{cite web|url=https://scifibulletin.com/uk-tv/moondial-interview-colin-cant/|title=Moondial Interview: Colin Cant|first=Paul|last=Simpson|website=Sci-Fi Bulletin|accessdate=9 January 2017}}</ref> He began his career in television in the 1960s, earning his earliest credits as a [[scenic design]]er on programmes such as the [[BBC Scotland]] series ''[[This Man Craig]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/418c668386cd4dc0a65ad1cf288e6b58|title=THIS MAN CRAIG - BBC Two England, 6 May 1966|website=[[BBC Genome Project]]|accessdate=9 January 2017}}</ref> He was encouraged by one of his colleagues there, future film director [[Ridley Scott]], to make the move into directing.<ref name="bulletin"/> His first directing work came on ''Coronation Street'' in 1971; he had written an on-spec letter to the soap opera's production team pitching for directing work, which happened to coincide with new directors being needed for the programme.<ref name="bulletin"/>

Cant was the first ever director on ''Grange Hill'' in 1978, and was responsible for much of the original casting for the programme.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://grangehillgold.wordpress.com/features/how-it-all-began/|title=How It All Began|website=Grange Hill Gold|accessdate=8 January 2017}}</ref> Cant's work on ''Grange Hill'' saw him awarded - jointly with [[Anna Home]] - a [[British Academy Television Award]] (BAFTA) in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1979/television/rediffusion-star-awards-harlequin-drama-light-entertainment|title=Television: Rediffusion Star Awards: Harlequin - Drama/Light Entertainment in 1979|website=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]|accessdate=8 January 2017}}</ref> He also received two further BAFTA nominations for his work on the series, in 1981<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1981/television/rediffusion-star-awards-harlequin-drama-light-entertainment|title=Television: Rediffusion Star Awards: Harlequin - Drama/Light Entertainment in 1981|website=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]|accessdate=8 January 2017}}</ref> and 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1982/television/rediffusion-star-awards-harlequin-drama-light-entertainment|title=Television: Rediffusion Star Awards: Harlequin - Drama/Light Entertainment in 1982|website=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]|accessdate=8 January 2017}}</ref>

Cant also directed several stand-alone children's drama serials and literary adaptations, including ''[[Moonfleet (1984 TV series)|Moonfleet]]'' (1984), ''[[Moondial (TV serial)|Moondial]]'' (1988), ''[[Dark Season]]'' (1991) and ''[[Century Falls]]'' (1993).<ref name="starburst">{{cite web|url=http://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/interviews/11884-colin-cant-interview|title=Colin Cant - Moondial|first=Paul|last=Mount|website=[[Starburst (magazine)|Starburst]]|accessdate=8 January 2017}}</ref> The latter pair of serials were two of the earliest works from the writer [[Russell T Davies]], who went on to have a distinguished career in British television drama.<ref name="starburst"/> Cant had specifically asked Davies for a new serial after having been impressed with his work on ''Dark Season'', as he had been commissioned to direct a serial by another writer with whom he was not impressed, and asked if Davies could come up with something better instead.<ref>{{cite book|title=T is for Television: The Small Screen Adventures of Russell T Davies|first1=Mark|last1=Aldridge|first2=Andy|last2=Murray|date=2008|publisher=Reynolds & Hearn|pages=52–53|isbn=978-1-905287-84-0}}</ref> In ''Dark Season'', Cant had cast future [[Academy Award]] winner [[Kate Winslet]] in one of her first leading roles on screen.<ref name="starburst"/>

Cant also worked in adult television, including three stints as a director on ''Coronation Street''; in 1971–72, 1995–96 and 2000–05.<ref name="bfi"/> He also directed episodes of the police drama ''[[Juliet Bravo]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/567e139abfaa4b55bfbd8973b90238fb|title=Juliet Bravo - BBC One London, 12 August 1986|website=[[BBC Genome Project]]|accessdate=9 January 2017}}</ref> legal drama ''[[Crown Court (TV series)|Crown Court]]'' and another ITV soap opera, ''[[Emmerdale]]''.<ref name="bfi"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0134456}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cant, Colin}}
[[Category:BBC television producers]]
[[Category:British television directors]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]