# Clive Syddall

Clive Syddall is a British filmmaker and television journalist noted for several campaigning documentaries. He also served as a Trustee of Marie Curie Cancer Care and Communications Advisor to the British Red Cross.

## Life and career

Syddall was born in Forfar, Scotland. He was educated at St Egbert's College London, followed by the University of Leicester and Wadham College, Oxford.
Syddall's television career began in 1968. First as a graduate trainee with Southern Television, then moving to the BBC as a producer and director on 24 Hours, Midweek and later BBC's flagship Panorama where he produced films from the front line in Northern Ireland, the Arab-Israeli 'Yom Kippur' war, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the civil war in Rhodesia.
He was the BBC’s resident producer in Washington covering the Watergate Hearings securing the first interview with Nixon White House aide, John D. Erlichman, later gaoled for his role in the scandal. Clive also persuaded President Nixon's daughter Julie and her husband David Eisenhower, grandson of the former President, to appear live on the BBC to take questions from the ordinary British public. Reported at the time as ‘unprecedented’ and ‘an astonishing coup by the BBC’.
He went on to cover the Reagan campaign in his first bid for the republican nomination and the 1976 presidential campaign between President Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
In 1978 he was appointed Deputy Editor of the BBC's The Money Programme and later Story Editor on Newsnight.
In 1982 he moved to New York as an independent producer, directing and producing documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4 and PBS. Films included the now cult film Gang City – the story of the ongoing gang warfare in the Olympic City of Los Angeles BBC2, A Bitter Harvest - The Killing Fields of Mindanao, an investigation into major human rights violations taking place on a plantation funded by the British taxpayer in the Philippines (Channel 4) and Eater of Men - the first rafting expedition attempting the descent of the treacherous Waghi River in New-Guinea 'the-most-dangerous white-water river run ever filmed' reported The Royal Geographic Society at the time; produced for British Academy award-winning award-winning series River Journeys (BBC / PBS). He was also involved in the development of several feature films including the Oscar winning movie The Mission (Warner Brothers).
In 1988 he was invited to become managing director of Antelope Films. Productions included Global Rivals - The History of US Soviet Rivalry, for PBS, Pasternak - for an extended South Bank Show - a dramatised documentary on Boris Pasternak, the creator of Dr Zhivago, the first co-production between the British film Industry and Soviet State Film Company Video-Film. Other productions included The Margot Fonteyn Story (Channel 4) and the Cinema Short 1867 The Execution of Maximilian winner of the New York Film Festival Gold Medal Award for best Cinematography.
In 1992 he founded Paladin Pictures Ltd, specialising in current affairs, history and music & arts programming. Productions included Dance Ballerina Dance a BBC Christmas special and Travels With My Tutu which attracted record audiences, both presented by the Royal Ballet's principal ballerina Deborah Bull, The People's Duchess - the dramatised documentary of Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire the ill-fated ancestor of Diana Princess of Wales, reviewed at the time as 'The Benchmark for all Future History Documentaries (Channel 4). Several campaign documentaries included The Last Flight of Zulu Delta 576 - an investigation into the Chinook helicopter crash over the Mull of Kintyre killing 29 of Britain's top secret service personnel (Channel 4). The film led to a Parliamentary Inquiry and a decision in 2008 by the Secretary of State for Defence to review the case finally clearing the names of the two helicopter pilots.
In 2000 he formed a joint venture with Emmy-award-winning director Bill Cran and formed Paladin Invision. Productions for international distribution included Sinatra Dark Star - a 90-minute investigation into Sinatra's connection to the Mafia, Harem – TV mini-series telling the story of three of the most powerful women in the Ottoman Empire for Channel 4 and Jihad - The Men and Ideas Behind Al-Qaeda (15) a 2-hour documentary that launched the PBS series ‘America at a Crossroads’, awarded the du Pont Columbia University Award for ‘Excellence in Journalism’ in 2008.
He was Council member of the Royal Television Society, Trustee of Marie Curie Cancer Care 1991-1994 and served as Communications advisor to the British Red Cross (1991-1994). He has also served on the judging panel of the Royal Television Society Television Journalism Awards and the US News & Documentary Emmy Awards.

## Documentary Filmography

Documentary - Single Productions :
| Year | Title | Format | Description | Distribution | Awards |
| 2008 | JIHAD - The Men and Ideas behind Al-Qaeda | 1 x 2 hrs | Launched the PBS series America At A Crossroads | PBS | Awarded the du Pont Columbia University Award for ‘Excellence in Journalism’ and an Emmy Nomination – ‘Outstanding Historical Programme’ (2008) |
| 2008 | Sinatra - Dark Star | 1 x 90 mins | Sinatra's connections to Mafia leaders | BBC / ZDF / A&E | Grierson nomination for Best Arts Documentary |
| 2008 | An Islamic Conscience – The Aga Khan and the Ismailis | 1 x 60 mins | Profile of and exclusive interview with HH The Aga Khan, leader of 15m Ismaili Muslims who traces his ancestry back to the Prophet Muhammed. For broadcast, DVD &; theatrical release to coincide with the Aga Khan's Golden Jubilee | | |
| | The Demonised Duchess | 1 x 75 mins | Wallis Simpson Duchess of Windsor. Variously labelled a spy, a Nazi, a prostitute, a dominatrix, even a man. But was she really? | Channel 4 | |
| 2002 | Nelson's Trafalgar | 1 x 90 mins | Broadcast to coincide with the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. | Channel 4 | |
| 1999 | The People's Duchess | | Dramatised documentary of the Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire the ill-fated ancestor of Diana Princess of Wales. | Channel 4 | |
| 1998 | Purple Secret - In Search of Royal Madness | 1 x 60 mins | 60’ investigation into Porphyria and the madness of King George III and his descendants | Channel 4 | |
| 1997 | The Last Flight of Zulu 567 | 1 x 75 mins | Investigation into the Chinook helicopter crash over the Mull of Kintyre killing 29 of Britain's top secret service personnel. | Channel 4 | |
| | The Assassin | 1 x 50 mins | Film tracking down the American born Chilean Secret Agent hired to assassinate the foes of General Pinochet | BBC 1 (Inside Story) | |
| | Julia's Baby | 1 x 60 mins | Julia is deaf, blind, single and pregnant, who will care for Julia's Baby? | Channel 4 | |
| 1995 | Lost in Africa | 1 x 60 mins | Documentary on the fight by the International Red Cross to save 100,000 children separated from their parents by the civil war in Rwanda, | Channel 4 | |
| 1993 | An Ordinary Boy | | Colin and Wendy Parry, whose son Tim was killed in the Warrington IRA bombing, travel to Northern Ireland to find out the reason for Tim's murder. | BBC (Panorama) | New York International Film & TV Festival award 1993 |
| 1987 | Command and Control – How nuclear weapons are controlled | | Documentary report about "Command and Control", the collection of telephones, code books, keys and triggers that is supposed to stop a nuclear war. With 50,000 nuclear weapons in the world, how is security ensured, and who decides what is to be fired - and when? | Channel 4 | |
| 1987 | A Bitter Harvest - The killing fields of Mindanao | | Investigation into major human rights violations carried out on a Palm Oil Plantation in the Philippines part funded by British Taxpayers. | Channel 4 | |
| 1979 | Ambassador Jay | | Profile of the Prime Minister Jim Callaghan's son-in-law as British Ambassador in Washington and the workings of the embassy. With reporter Michael Cockerell | BBC (Panorama) | |
| 1977 | Allahabad Speaks | | Investigation of how the citizens of the City of Indira Gandhi's birthplace fared under her 'state of emergency' during which civil liberties were suspended, the press censored and widespread atrocities were carried out. With presenter David Dimbleby. | BBC (Panorama) | |
| 1976 | Who'll Help Letcher County? | | 1976 Presidential Election as seen through the eyes of the BBC citizens of one of the poorest counties in America. With presenter David Dimbleby. | BBC (Panorama) | |
Documentary - Single Production (Music & Arts) :
| Year | Title | Format | Description | Distribution | Awards |
| 2002 | P G Woodhouse The Long Exile | 1 x 75 mins | TV documentary. The story of lyricist and writer P.G. Wodehouse, from his days on Broadway through to his wartime years in an internment camp in Germany which led to accusations of treachery. Including contributions from biographers Robert McCrum and David Jasen, writer John Mortimer; lyricist Tim Rice; Sir Edward Cazalet (Wodehouse's grandson); Barrie Pitt and Bob Whitby, both wartime internees with Wodehouse; Hal Cazalet (great-grandson of Wodehouse, who sings some of Wodehouse's songs) and archival interview footage of Wodehouse from 1958 and 1971. | Channel 4 | |
| 2001 | The Real Tommy Cooper | 1 x 60 mins | Workaholic comic Tommy Cooper is remembered by friends and colleagues. With contributions from Barry Cryer, Michael Winner, Russ Abbot, Zena Cooper (sister-in-law), biographer Jeremy Novick, Mary Kay, his 'personal assistant' for 17 years, and colleagues from his army entertainment days. | Channel 4 | |
| 1997 | A Death in Venice | | An investigation in to who or what caused the fire at Venice's much loved Fenice Opera House, completely destroyed by fire. La Fenice, with contributions from notable venetians Francesco da Mosto and Mayor Cacciari. | BBC 2 (The Works) | |
| | Dance Ballerina Dance | | 100 years of the choreography of women, presented by the Royal Ballet's Principal Ballerina Deborah Bull for BBC2’ Dance Night | BBC 2 (Dance Night) | |
| 1994 | The Shearing Touch – with Melvyn Bragg | 1 x 60 mins | Profile of the congenitally blind pianist George Shearing, including interviews with various musicians and recordings of performances including Johnny Dankworth, Cleo Lane and Mel Tormé. | LWT / RM Arts | New York International Film & TV Festival Award. |
| 1992 | The Vanishing Rembrandts | 1 x 50 mins | Film following the Dutch Investigation into the authenticity of several Rembrandt paintings | BBC & A&E | |
| 1991 | 1867 – The Execution of Maximilian | | 11’ cinema short re-enacting Edouard Manet painting a series of pictures of the execution of the Emperor Maximilian, filmed in a single take | Metropolitan Museum Art on Film Project / Channel 4 (Without Walls) | New York International Film & TV Festival 'Gold Medal' Award for Best Cinematography |
| 1990 | Pasternak | 1 x 90 mins | Marking the centenary of Pasternak's birth and the first co-production between the British film industry and the Soviet state film company Video-film | LWT South Bank Show / Granada International / Video-Film | |
| 1989 | The Margot Fonteyn Story | 1 x 90 mins | Feature-length documentary presented by Dame Margot Fonteyn with amongst others, Robert Helpman and Sir Frederick Ashton. | Channel 4 / RM Arts | |
Documentary Series :
| Year | Title | Format | Description | Distribution | Awards |
| 2004 | The Curse of Oil - The Pipeline | 3 x 1 hour | The world needs more oil but just how far are we willing to go to get it? | BBC2 / PBS | Cine Golden Eagle Award (2004) |
| 2003 | Harem | | TV drama documentary mini series . The story of the century long “Sultinate of Women” and the secret inner workings of the Harem. | Channel 4 | |
| 2000 | Travels With My Tutu | | 4 part series where Principal Ballerina Deborah Bull tries her hand at Tango, Belly dancing, Hip-Hop and Breakdancing. | BBC | |
| 1998 | Plague Wars | | TV mini series presented by Tom Mangold | BBC / Worldwide | Winner Best Investigative Reporting / New Documentary Award, Chicago International Television Competition 1998 |
| 1990 | 1421 – The Year China Discovered America | | 1421 – The Year China Discovered America 120’. (1990) | PBS / Pearson TV | |
BBC Documentary Series :
| Year | Title | Format | Description | Distribution | Awards |
| 1984 | Gang City | 1 x 50 mins | Documentary on the ongoing gang warfare in the Olympic City of Los Angeles launching the new BBC1 series Real Lives | BBC (Real Lives) | |
| 1984 | 'Eater of Men' | 1 x 50 mins | documentary on the first navigation of the Waghi river, Papua New Guinea's most treacherous white water river with explorer Christina Dodwell. For the BBC series River Journeys | BBC / PBS / ABC Australia | BAFTA Award for ‘Best Factual Series’ |
| 1973 | Jimmy Hoffa Comes Back | | One of the last interviews with the notorious leader of America's largest trade union before he went mysteriously missing, presumed murdered. His body was never found | BBC (Midweek) | |
| 1973 | Bad Blood - The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment | | Documentary tracking down the survivors of a clinical study in the American South to examine the long term effects of Syphilis who were falsely told by the US Public Health Service that they were being treated for the disease | BBC (Midweek) | |
| | Regine - Queen of Clubs | 1 x 40 mins | Documentary on the legendary singer and international night club entrepreneur | BBC (Larger than life) | |
| 1975 | John Bloom Goes West | | Documentary tracking down the controversial washing machine millionaire starting a new life in Lost Angeles | BBC Midweek / BBC 1 Special | |
| 1972 | Ulster Veterans – Forgotten Men | | ‘Harrowing documentary’ of the lives of some of the 1,000 men badly wounded fighting in Northern Ireland. | BBC (Midweek) | |