Philippa Lowthorpe

Philippa Lowthorpe is an English film and television director. She was awarded the Deluxe Director Award at the WFTV Film and Television Awards for the miniseries Three Girls.^[1] She recently directed episodes of the second season of The Crown and the 2020 film Misbehaviour.

Early life and education

Philippa Lowthorpe was born in a village near Doncaster, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England,^[2][3] and grew up in Nettleham, Lincolnshire.^[4]

She attended De Aston School in Market Rasen and then went to St Hilda's College, Oxford to study classics.^[4]

Career

Lowthorpe moved to Bristol to make documentaries for BBC Bristol, including Three Salons at the Seaside and A Skirt Through History, about women's untold stories.^{[citation needed]}

Her award-winning documentaries led her to be invited to write and direct her first drama, Eight Hours from Paris (1997) for George Faber, a film for Screen Two in which real people played themselves, alongside professional actors.^[4] This was followed by The Other Boleyn Girl (2003), adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name by Philippa Gregory, for BBC films, shown on BBC 2.^{[citation needed]} In 2006 she directed Beau Brummell: This Charming Man (2006).^{[citation needed]}

She was lead director on the very first series of Call the Midwife.^{[citation needed]} She also directed the first Call the Midwife Christmas Special (2013), for which she won a British Academy Television Craft Award in 2013.^[5] A 2013 interview with her appears on the BAFTA website.^[6] She also received a British Film Institute award in 2013.^[7] She directed Jamaica Inn in 2014.^{[citation needed]}

Her first feature film, Swallows and Amazons (2016), won Grand Prize Feature at New York International Children's Film Festival, and the Youth Jury Award for Best Films4Families Feature at Seattle International Film Festival in 2017.^[8][9][10]

The BBC mini-series Three Girls (2017), about the Rochdale young child exploitation, reunited her with executive producer Susan Hogg and producer Simon Lewis, with whom she had previously worked on Five Daughters.^{[citation needed]} The series was awarded by BAFTA for best directing in fiction, with writer Nicole Taylor recognised for best writing in a drama series, and Úna Ní Dhonghaíle for best editing in fiction, in 2018. In May 2018 Three Girls was voted Best Mini Series at the BAFTA TV Awards (shared with Nicole Taylor, Susan Hogg, and Simon Lewis).^{[citation needed]} In October 2018 Three Girls a won the Prix Italia (again shared with Nicole Taylor, Susan Hogg and Simon Lewis).^{[citation needed]}

In 2025 Lowthorpe directed the factual drama miniseries based on the imprisonment of a British national in Iran, Prisoner 951.^[11]

Filmography

Television

Documentary series

TV movies

Miniseries

TV series

Film

Documentary film

• Three Salons at the Seaside^[16] (1994) (Also producer)

Short film

• The Spy Who Caught A Cold (1994)
• The Gorals Do Bristol (1999)

Feature film

• Swallows and Amazons (2016)
• Misbehaviour (2020)
• H Is for Hawk (2025) (Also writer)

Awards and nominations

Notes

1. Call the Midwife — with Heidi Thomas (writer), Hugh Warren (producer), and Pippa Harris (executive producer)

... — with Heidi Thomas (writer) and Pippa Harris (executive producer)

2. Three Girls — with Nicole Taylor (writer), Simon Lewis (producer), and Susan Hogg (executive producer)

3. Swallows and Amazons — with Andrea Gibb

4. Five Daughters — with Stephen Butchard and Simon Lewis

Honours

• Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts in recognition of Lowthorpe's contribution to film and television, UWE Bristol.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners". WFTV (Women in Film & TV, UK). Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
2. ^ "UWE Bristol awards honorary degree to Philippa Lowthorpe: News Releases". UWE Bristol. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
3. ^ "Interview: Acting for Crewe and camera". The Independent. 1997-11-13. Archived 26 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
4. ^ "UWE Bristol awards honorary degree to Philippa Lowthorpe". UWE Bristol. November 23, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
5. ^ "Lowthorpe becomes BAFTA's first female drama director winner". Directors UK. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
6. ^ "Philippa Lowthorpe: Big Questions". BAFTA. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
7. ^ "BFI announces support for Philippa Lowthorpe, Andrew Steggall and Jane Lightfoot in latest round of First Feature Awards". BFI. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
8. ^ "New York International Children's Film Festival - Announces 2017 Award Winners". MYICFF. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
9. ^ "SIFF 2017 Award Winners". SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival). Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
10. ^ Barraclough, Leo (June 29, 2015). "'Sherlock's' Moriarty, Andrew Scott, Joins Cast of 'Swallows and Amazons' (Exclusive)". variety.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
11. ^ Sayce, Rebecca (2 October 2025). "BBC unveils first look at "powerful" new drama and it's based on an "extraordinary true story"". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
12. ^ "40 Minutes". BBC Genome. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
13. ^ "A Skirt Through History". BBC Active's Video for Learning. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
14. ^ "BBC Two - Sex, the City and Me". BBC. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
15. ^ "BBC Two - Cider with Rosie". BBC. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
16. ^ "Three Salons at the Seaside (1994)". BFI. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
17. ^ "Royal Television Society, UK - 1995 Awards". IMDb
18. ^ "West of England Award Winners and Nominees 2010". UK RTS. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
19. ^ "RTS Programme Awards 2011". UK RTS. 16 March 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
20. ^ "BBC leads the pack at TRIC Awards". BBC. March 13, 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
21. ^ Rossi, Tony (April 9, 2013). "The 2013 Christopher Award Winners for TV, Film and Books Are…". Patheos. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
22. ^ "RTS West of England Awards 2013". UK RTS. 8 April 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
23. ^ "RTS Programme Awards Awards 2013". UK RTS. 19 March 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
24. ^ "SIFF 2017 Award Winners". SIFF. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
25. ^ "RTS West of England Awards 2017". UK RTS. 29 March 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
26. ^ Jennifer Wolfe (January 20, 2017). "New York Int'l Children's Film Festival Announces Complete 2017 Slate". AWN. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
27. ^ "Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners". WFTV. December 2, 2017. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
28. ^ "BPG Awards 2018". Broadcasting Press Guild Association. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
29. ^ "Winners 2018". The Broadcast Awards. February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
30. ^ Bristol (March 18, 2018). "RTS West of England Awards - winners announced!". UK RTS. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
31. ^ "RTS Programme Awards 2018, In Partnership with Audio Network". UK RTS. Retrieved May 16, 2018.

External links

• Philippa Lowthorpe at IMDb
• Philippa Lowthorpe — BFI
• Philippa Lowthorpe on Twitter