Birkinshaw, Alan

Alan Birkinshaw, FRGS (born 15 June 1944) is a British film director, writer, and television and film producer. The son of two physicians, Birkinshaw always wanted to be an actor, but at 17, having failed his audition at LAMDA, he decided that if he couldn't act it, he'd do it for real. He travelled to Australia, and after a few months working as a jackaroo in the Australian outback, he became a horse breaker and rodeo rider. Returning to England, he joined the camera department of Lew Grade's Associated TeleVision on his 20th birthday. He worked his way up to directing, firstly in television and then via the world of commercials, into television movies and feature films.