David Ellery is a documentary film-maker, director and writer, author and ship historian based in Hampshire.[1] He has written and produced/ directed a variety of stand-alone documentaries and five series' for television and is credited with more than 150 published magazine articles and several books. A new edition of RMS Queen Mary 101 Questions & Answers was launched by Bloomsbury in 2022. He also appears as part of the on-screen team for The Great British Home Movie Roadshow, first broadcast in August and September 2010. In 2011 he received his second Royal Television Society Award. Recent work includes the documentary: P&O Cruises - Celebrating 175 Years of Heritage, which he wrote, edited and directed, a short film with actors Sarah Parish and husband James Murray about the Murray Parish Trust [2015], The Ultimate Challenge - a 6-part travel/ roadshow series for television [2016] and Wattisham Both Sides of the Fence, the story of an airfield with a unique place in British aviation history [2017], which Ellery wrote, narrated, filmed and edited, and for which he received his third RTS Award [2018]. In 2019 David Ellery wrote, narrated and directed Britain's Last Paddle Steamers, followed by Cold War East Anglia - the front line, a broadcast quality documentary [2020]. Ellery's background is in writing. As a freelance feature writer he produced articles for a variety of regional and national magazines and papers, including Women's Realm, Woman & Home, Homes & Gardens and the Express newspaper group. They include celebrity interviews with stars like Stefanie Powers, Heather Lockyear, Peter Davison and Sir Norman Wisdom, and articles on travel, art, and motoring. In September 1992 he became the Motoring Correspondent for regional radio station Spire FM in Salisbury, reporting on motoring matters from events like the London Motorshow and presenting a weekly slot. He then moved into television production, scripting and voice-over work. David Ellery has also been commissioned by EMTAS (Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service) to produce several educational films, including programmes to introduce and support the award-winning Young Interpreters Scheme and New Arrivals Ambassadors, for schools across the UK.
The Ultimate Challenge (2016). A 6-part travel/ roadshow documentary series: written, narrated and edited by David Ellery.
The Great British Home Movie Roadshow (since 2010). Broadcast on BBC2, this 5-part series featuring amateur cine footage spans 100 years of the nation's history. David Ellery is one of the programme's presenters and on-screen 'experts'.
Beechings Tracks (2008) part of the BBC's recent Railway Season. This programme explores the impact of Dr Richard Beeching's infamous railway cuts of the 1960s on the south of England, known as the Beeching Axe. Shown on BBC1 in October 2008.
Regal & Retired (2006) a documentary for Viewpoint Productions.[2] Made for the BBC, this programme marked the 70th anniversary of RMSQueen Mary, the last 1930s 'superliner'. Shown on BBC1 in May 2006 and BBC Scotland July 2006. Narrated by Julie Peasgood.
In The Past (Series 1): written, produced, directed and narrated by David Ellery, the series features archive film footage from the 1920s-1960s. First broadcast in 2000 on ITV1.
In the Past (Series 2): Further programmes in a similar vein to the first series. First broadcast in 2001 on ITV1.
In The Past (Series 3): A 15-part series featuring archive film sequences from as early as 1896 to approximately 1969, covering a wide range of themes from the development of air travel and family motoring to life during World War II and employment. First broadcast in 2003 on ITV1.
Classic Liners: A six-part series depicting classic ocean liners and liner travel using archive film from the 1960s and 70s and contemporary footage. First broadcast 2002.
On Demand & DVDs
Programmes for TV that David Ellery is associated with have in a number of cases become available On Demand and/ or on DVD. The In The Past series' were re-edited so programmes focus on geographical regions rather than theme and Classic Liners has also been released via three individual disks[3] More recently, P&O Cruises - Celebrating 175 Years of Heritage [2012] was released, along with Kingswear Castle - A Voyage through her Life (the history of Britain's last coal-fired paddle steamer in operation - released by CPA Ltd) [2015] The Ultimate Challenge - 6-part roadtrip series [2016] and Wattisham, Both Sides of the Fence - the story of an airfield with a unique place in British aviation history [2017]. Britain's Last Paddle Steamers [2019] and Cold War East Anglia - the frontline, [2020].
Books
RMS Queen Mary, 101 Questions & Answers New Edition (Bloomsbury, Adlard Coles ISBN978-1-4729-9311-3, November 2021)
RMS Queen Mary - The World's Favourite Liner (Waterfront Publications, 1994)
QE2 - The Last Great Liner (Waterfront Publications, September 1993)
Real Howard's Way (Ellery was responsible for photo illustrations only) (Milestone, September 1988)
Radio
In September 1992 Ellery became the Motoring Correspondent for regional radio station Spire FM in Salisbury, when the station first went on air. In this role he reported on a wide range of motoring topics from events like the London Motorshow and presented a weekly slot, which included test-drives, reviews and motoring advice.
The Cunard Line is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is incorrectly assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by Cunard Line. In tandem with Queen Mary both ships provided a weekly luxury liner service between Southampton in the United Kingdom and New York City in the United States, via Cherbourg in France.
RMS Queen Mary is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line and was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. Queen Mary, along with RMS Queen Elizabeth, was built as part of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service between Southampton, Cherbourg and New York. The two ships were a British response to the express superliners built by German, Italian and French companies in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes. The Queen Mary 2 is the only ocean liner still in service to this day.
Michael Terence Aspel is a retired English television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as Crackerjack, Ask Aspel, Aspel & Company, Give Us a Clue, This is Your Life, Strange but True? and Antiques Roadshow.
Antiques Roadshow is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979, based on a 1977 documentary programme.
Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an English actress and presenter whose career is primarily in British television. Her feature film debut was in Roman Polanski's film The Pianist (2002). Her other motion pictures include the Italian–French–British romance-drama The Soul Keeper (2002), for which she won the Flaiano Film Award for Best Actress; the drama The Republic of Love (2003); the comedy-drama Things to Do Before You're 30 (2005); the black comedy Keeping Mum (2005); the romantic comedy-drama Cashback (2006); the drama Flashbacks of a Fool (2008); the drama Ways to Live Forever (2010); the drama-thriller A Thousand Kisses Deep (2011); and the fantasy-horror drama Dorian Gray (2009).
Planet Earth is a 2006 British television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC and also the first to be filmed in high definition. The series received multiple awards, including four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and an award from the Royal Television Society.
It'll be Alright on the Night is a British television bloopers programme broadcast on ITV and produced by ITV Studios. It was one of the first series created with the specific purpose of showing behind the scenes bloopers from film and TV.
Titanic: The Complete Story is a 1994 American two-part documentary chronicling the story of the ocean liner RMS Titanic which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. It is a compilation of a four-hour documentary special produced by A&E Television Networks in 1994. A&E Home Video originally sold the entire documentary in a 4-tape VHS set and later a DVD release. It is considered by many critics and historians to be the definitive documentary regarding the Titanic. It is most famous for being one of the few Titanic documentaries to feature survivors.
Life is a British nature documentary series created and produced by the BBC in association with The Open University. It was first broadcast as part of the BBC's Darwin Season on BBC One and BBC HD from October to December 2009. The series takes a global view of the specialised strategies and extreme behaviour that living things have developed in order to survive; what Charles Darwin termed "the struggle for existence". Four years in the making, the series was shot entirely in high definition.
Death or Canada is a two-part Canadian–Irish docudrama which was broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One in November/December 2008. In the UK on The History Channel UK in January and February 2009 as Fleeing The Famine. The film was also featured as part of the celebrations for Toronto's 175th anniversary.
Virginia Louise Buckley is a British journalist, radio and television presenter.
Paul Rowley Atterbury, FRSA is a British antiques expert, known for his many appearances since 1979 on the BBC TV programme Antiques Roadshow. He specialises in the art, architecture, design and decorative arts of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Madagascar is a British nature documentary series, first broadcast on BBC Two and BBC HD in February 2011. Produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and Animal Planet and narrated by David Attenborough, the three-part series focuses on the landscape and wildlife of the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Attenborough also appears briefly on camera at the beginning and end of the series. Each episode is followed by a ten-minute Madagascar Diaries segment, illustrating the techniques used to film a particular subject.
Captain John Treasure Jones was a British naval officer who became a well-known media figure in the mid-1960s following his appointment as the last master of the Cunard liner, RMS Queen Mary. He has been described as one of the 20th century's most distinguished mariners, in war and in peacetime. His forebears were men of the sea, who had captained sailing ships, and he elected to follow in their tradition.
The second series of the British historical drama television series Downton Abbey broadcast from 18 September 2011 to 6 November 2011, comprising a total of eight episodes and one Christmas Special episode broadcast on 25 December 2011. The series was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom and on PBS in the United States, which supported the production as part of its Masterpiece Classic anthology. Series two explores the lives of the Crawley family and servants during and after the First World War.
Planet Earth is a television and film documentary franchise produced and broadcast by the BBC. The franchise began in 2001 with the success of The Blue Planet. As of 2017, The Blue Planet has spawned 5 series and one feature film.
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