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Brian Mills (25th October, 1933 - 3rd June, 2006) held the distinction of being the only person to have directed episodes of Coronation Street in all of the first five decades of the programme's existence. He directed a total of 528 episodes including three episode co-directed with Charles Lauder and Howard Baker, three with Mervyn Cumming, eight with Noreen Kershaw and eight with David Penn. He also directed the 1997 VHS spin-off Coronation Street: Viva Las Vegas!.

He is remembered for choosing to direct his episodes with unusual camera angles or shots, for instance, frequently choosing to show the fourth wall. On occasion he used unusual framing devices for his end credits, such as on Episode 941 (31st December 1969) and Episode 963 (18th March 1970) where he insisted that the rolling end-credits were left-justified while the action continued on screen behind them. William Roache and Anne Kirkbride particularly remember an incident during the filming of Episode 2284 (21st February 1983) where he and Roache agreed that the latter would grab Kirkbride round the throat during a scene featuring a tense argument but they agreed not to tell Ms Kirkbride and then film what happened. Her resulting tears were captured on camera and made the final cut of a well-remembered episode with her full approval.

He joined Granada Television after a spell in the army and as a trainee accountant. He joined as an assistant in the sound department and was rapidly promoted to run the same. He then joined the lighting department which, again, he later took charge of. He then moved to direction and his other credits include ITV Playhouse, Crown Court, The Cuckoo Waltz, The Mallens, The Spoils of War, Bulman and The Hound Of The Baskervilles in Granada's Sherlock Holmes series.

He married the actress Brigit Forsyth in 1972 after directing her in the series Adam Smith.

Episodes directed by Brian Mills[]

1960s[]

1968 (15 episodes)

1969 (6 episodes)

1970s[]

1970 (14 episodes)

1974 (6 episodes)

1975 (8 episodes)

1976 (2 episodes)

1978 (2 episodes)

1979 (2 episodes)

1980s[]

1980 (4 episodes)

1981 (2 episodes)

1982 (9 episodes)

1983 (11 episodes)

1984 (22 episodes)

1985 (10 episodes)

1986 (2 episodes)

1987 (6 episodes)

1989 (14 episodes)

1990s[]

1990 (37 episodes)

1991 (38 episodes)

1992 (37 episodes)

1993 (36 episodes)

1994 (34 episodes)

1995 (37 episodes)

1996 (34 episodes)

1997 (35 episodes)

1998 (39 episodes)

1999 (41 episodes)

2000s[]

2000 (25 episodes)

Other Coronation Street related works[]

External links[]

Independent Online Obituary

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