Alan Watkins RIP
I’ve just received the following email from Michael Watkins, Alan’s son:-
I’m very sorry to report the death of my father, Alan Watkins on Sunday 27th July 2014 after a short illness. My sister and I were at his bedside as he passed away peacefully.
I wonder if you would be happy to post a notice on your site and invite comments/memories from anyone who remembers working with him in the late 50’s/early 60s? I will try to include as many recollections as possible at the service.
Dad was a TV fan through and through, working for the BBC for 25 years until 1980, when he moved to help set up and run the National Film Archive’s brand new television recording unit, which I’m delighted to say has now recorded around 900,000 programmes for the nation.
He and I spoke numerous times about his work editing programmes for the BBC and he would often remark that this period, – especially after the move into the newly opened TV Centre – was the most fun of his career. He told me he edited Kiss Me Kate, the very first programme to be broadcast on BBC2 in 1964, along with numerous episodes of classics such as Dr Who, Play School and others.
Dad was a lover of television through and through. He had a lifelong passion for the craft, the production process and had within him a natural gift for what looked right – and wrong – on screen, along with a flair for precision, timing and the creation of the seamless edits nobody is supposed to consciously notice.
He was much loved and will be sorely missed
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