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Chris Chapman (Born June 15, 1981) is a television Producer-Director and Writer. Chapman is best known for his BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary 'Stammer School' as well as producing and directing 40 Doctor Who documentaries for the classic BBC DVD range. He is the writer of 'The Memory Bank' for the Big Finish Doctor Who release 'The Memory Bank & Other Stories', starring Peter Davison and Mark Strickson.
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Education
Chapman attended Sketchley Hill Primary School and Hastings High School in Burbage, Leicestershire, then John Cleveland College in Hinckley. He attained a BA (Hons) in English Literature at Bangor University, graduating in 2002. Whilst studying in Bangor, Chapman worked as Film Editor on the student newspaper, Seren, and wrote and directed for the theatre group, Rostra - serving as the society's Chairman in 2002. He wrote sketches for Rostra's Edinburgh Fringe show 'The Midnight Lemur' in 2001, and co-wrote their Fringe play 'Greenlit' in 2002. Chapman was made a lifetime member of Bangor Students' Union in 2003.
In 2003, Chapman began a Film Studies MA at Newcastle University, where again he served as Film Editor for the student magazine, Pulp. He was a member of the University theatre group, NUTS, where he wrote the play 'Seb Lime', which was performed locally and then taken to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2005, where it received positive reviews.
Granada Factual North
In 2005, whilst still studying at Newcastle University, Chapman was hired as a Junior Researcher at Granada Factual North. His first project was Channel 4's 'The 100 Greatest Family Films', followed by ITV1's 'The Best Ever Ads 2'. Promoted to Researcher, Chapman worked on Film4's launch show '50 Films to See Before You Die' and ITV1's 'Raiders of the Lost Archive'.
Dene Films
In 2007, with the closure of Granada's Newcastle base, Chapman took up the role of Assistant Producer with Dene Films. Here, his script work on short film 'The Conkerers' earned him a Royal Television Society Award. Chapman was promoted to Producer-Director in 2008, and directed various films for non-broadcast clients, including the RTS-award winning 'Meningitis Matters' for Newcastle University. Chapman was awarded 'Best Newcomer' by the RTS, and went on to write and produce the award-winning films 'Ghost Street', 'Help Yourself' and 'Edge of Empire: The Eagle's Eye' working alongside director, Steven Boyle. Chapman started pitching television ideas in 2009, and (working with producer, Claire Storey) this led to the commission of the CBBC film 'Stammer School' in 2010. Chapman directed the film, featuring Michael Palin, which went on to earn a Children's BAFTA nomination for Best Factual. He followed this with the award-winning 'The Last Cast' for BBC1 and 'I Am Ethan' for CBBC. Chapman won the RTS production craft award in 2013.
Doctor Who
During his time at Dene Films, Chapman - a lifelong Doctor Who fan - started making documentaries for the classic Doctor Who DVD range. Between 2009 and 2014, 40 of Chapman's productions were released, including the Doctor Who Magazine readers poll-winning 'Looking for Peter', presented by Toby Hadoke - as well as the follow-up films 'Living with Levene' and 'Hadoke Vs HAVOC'. Chapman produced the animated reconstructions of 'The Ice Warriors' episodes 2 and 3 for their DVD release, and appears on the making-of documentary that accompanies them. In November 2013, Chapman produced many of the VT films seen in BBC3's 'Doctor Who: The Afterparty'.
Freelance
Chapman left Dene Films and turned freelance in Spring 2013. His first project was 'One Way Ticket' for CBBC, followed by mini-series 'The Duke & I' for ITV1. Chapman then worked as a producer-director for the 15-part CBBC series 'Our School', which he returned to for a second season in 2015, and then in the role of Series Director for its third run in 2016. Chapman's other work during this time included the BBC1 series 'Paul O'Grady: The Sally Army & Me', Sky Living's 'Who'd Be a Billionaire' and ITV1's 'What Would Be Your Miracle?'
Big Finish
In February 2016, Chapman was commissioned by Big Finish to write the Doctor Who story 'The Memory Bank' for their release 'The Memory Bank & Other Stories', starring Peter Davison and Mark Strickson. The story was recorded on Wednesday 27 April 2016, and was released in October 2016 to positive reviews.
Personal life
Chapman married Nottingham-born Julia Filsell on Saturday 31 March 2014 at Kelmarsh Hall, Northampton. The pair met in 2004, when Filsell became one of Chapman's film reviewers for Newcastle University magazine, Pulp. They live together in Bristol, where Filsell works as a digital content strategist.