Ken Grieve
- Publication: The Guardian
- Date: 2017-01-05
- Author: Carol Wilks
- Page:
- Language: English
My friend and colleague Ken Grieve, who has died aged 74, was a film and television director who worked on a range of drama series and plays including Doctor Who, Strangers, Peak Practice, Casualty and The Bill, his career perhaps hitting a peak in 1988 with an adaptation of Len Deighton's Game, Set and Match, starring Ian Holm.
Ken was born in Edinburgh, the son of Henry Grieve, a plant manager at British Aluminium, and his wife, Lesley, a seamstress. He attended the Edinburgh Academy, where he excelled in geography and history, and won a scholarship to Bryanston school in Dorset.
His first job was as a trainee studio cameraman with Granada Television. He became one of its elite crew, strong and skilled enough to manoeuvre the huge cameras on live pop shows. He later trained as a director of dramas and documentaries, cutting his teeth on Coronation Street and the daytime TV series Crown Court in the mid-70s.
Actors and crew loved working with him as he was always appreciative of their efforts. He relished the magic actors could create - and also made them look good. I worked alongside him as a fellow director on The XYY Man and Strangers, and as a producer on Heartbeat, The Royal and The Bill.
Ken was a loyal, mildly eccentric and generous friend, and a highly talented colleague. He was politically impassioned, an instinctive socialist.
After receiving a diagnosis of myeloma eight years ago, he determined to carry on working until he was no longer able. When told he could drive no more, he took his pushbike up and down the hills of Edinburgh. When told that too was off-limits, he went walking every day with sticks.
Ken is survived by his partner, Jane, his children, Simon, Ben, Charlotte and Dee, from his marriage to Fiona, who died in 2010, and his brother, Robin.
Caption: Ken Grieve directed many TV drama series, from Doctor Who and The Bill to Len Deighton's Game, Set and Match, starring Ian Holm
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- APA 6th ed.: Wilks, Carol (2017-01-05). Ken Grieve. The Guardian .
- MLA 7th ed.: Wilks, Carol. "Ken Grieve." The Guardian [add city] 2017-01-05. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Wilks, Carol. "Ken Grieve." The Guardian, edition, sec., 2017-01-05
- Turabian: Wilks, Carol. "Ken Grieve." The Guardian, 2017-01-05, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Ken Grieve | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Ken_Grieve | work=The Guardian | pages= | date=2017-01-05 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=14 June 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Ken Grieve | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Ken_Grieve | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=14 June 2025}}</ref>
