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Alan Coleman
Alan Coleman
Alan Coleman
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Alan James Coleman (28 December 1936 – 10 December 2013) was an England-born Australian television series producer, screenwriter, director and former actor, active in his native United Kingdom as well as in Australia and New Zealand.[1]

Key Information

Biography

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Coleman was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, he worked at Associated Television, in the United Kingdom where he served as the head of children's programming, before becoming the first director of the British drama series Crossroads, after which he emigrated to Australia in 1974, where he worked on numerous soap operas including medical drama The Young Doctors which he also created, as well as Prisoner (known also internationally as Prisoner: Cell Block H) and Neighbours, he also worked in New Zealand on drama Shortland Street.[1]

In 1997, he directed several episodes of the British soap opera, Family Affairs as a part of a working holiday in the UK. At one point, he also temporarily parted company with the Reg Grundy Organisation production stable to establish his own company, which provided television coverage of major sporting events. Before going behind the camera, he originally worked as an actor and is on record as saying that "you cannot be a good director unless you have acted yourself".

Coleman's autobiography, One Door Shuts, was self-published through Trafford Publishing in 2009.

Personal life

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Coleman was married to Barbara (deceased). He had three children; Nick, Chris (deceased) and Jacqui.[1]

Coleman died on 10 December 2013 on the Central Coast in New South Wales.[1][2] His agent, Darren Gray, stated "Alan was a very special man. He launched so many careers both in front of and behind the camera, was behind so many hit shows and gave pleasure through his work to audiences around the world. He pioneered the art form viewers refer to as the soap opera but to him the shows were always five nights a week, fast turn-around drama serials."[1]

Honour

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In 2008, Coleman was presented with the inaugural "Lifetime Achievement Award" for his outstanding contribution to the 'soap opera' industry at The Soap Shows- Aussie Soap Awards.[3]

References

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Alan Coleman

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Alan Coleman was a British-born Australian television producer, director, and screenwriter known for pioneering the five-days-a-week soap opera format in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Born in Birmingham, England, in 1936, he began his career in British television at ATV, where he directed Crossroads from its 1964 launch as the UK's first daily soap opera produced "as live." In 1974, he emigrated to Australia after being recruited by Reg Grundy to establish a drama department, where he created and produced The Young Doctors, an influential serial that became one of the first Australian soaps to gain international sales. Coleman went on to serve as executive producer on Neighbours during its early 1990s period and on New Zealand's Shortland Street, helping to solidify the genre's presence in the Asia-Pacific region. His work extended to other Grundy productions such as Prisoner and Class of '74, and he provided early writing opportunities to notable talents including Lynda La Plante and Phil Redmond. He also directed episodes of series including Home and Away and Family Affairs upon brief returns to the UK. Coleman died in 2013 at his home on the New South Wales Central Coast at the age of 76. In his later years, he ran a television drama school and was recognized for his lasting contributions to the soap opera industry.

Early life

Childhood and early interests

Alan James Coleman was born on 28 December 1936 in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. He was the son of Arthur Coleman, an electrician, and Doris Coleman, an amateur dramatics performer whose involvement in local theatre influenced his early exposure to performance. Coleman attended Sparkhill College, where he cultivated interests in photography and acting through participation in school plays that allowed him to explore dramatic expression. His childhood also featured early involvement in amateur dramatics and appearances in local theatre productions, laying the foundation for his future career in performance and directing. These formative experiences in Birmingham's amateur theatre scene sparked a lasting enthusiasm for storytelling and the arts.

Pre-television career and military service

Alan Coleman began his adult working life as a trainee reporter on a local newspaper in Birmingham, while simultaneously appearing in plays at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. This experience in repertory theatre sparked his interest in drama direction. He subsequently joined the Royal Air Force as a photographer and was posted to Malta. During his service, Coleman contracted tuberculosis and was invalided out of the RAF as a result. Following his discharge from the military, he worked as a radiographer at New Cross General Hospital in London. In 1958, he married Barbara Malins, with whom he had three children: Nick, Jacqui, and Chris.

Career in the United Kingdom

Entry into television at ATV

Alan Coleman entered television at Associated Television (ATV) in 1960 after writing directly to Lew Grade to seek employment, highlighting his prior acting experience and interest in photography as qualifications for a behind-the-camera role. He began as a trainee camera operator at ATV's Birmingham studios. Within two years, Coleman was promoted to director, taking on a range of programmes in the Midlands region. He directed episodes of the anthology series Armchair Theatre, news programmes, music shows, and the popular lunchtime chat programme Lunchbox, hosted by Noele Gordon. A former actor himself, Coleman later reflected that this background proved essential for good directing, as it helped him understand performers' needs on set. These early experiences at ATV provided the foundation for his subsequent directing roles, including his involvement with Crossroads.

Directing Crossroads

Alan Coleman served as the first director of the British soap opera Crossroads, taking on the role in 1964 after producer Reg Watson directed the inaugural week. He directed episodes in rotation with Tim Jones during the series' early years, when it became Britain's first five-days-a-week serial, broadcast every weekday. The program was recorded "as live" to tape, with scenes filmed in chronological order and virtually no opportunity for retakes or post-production editing due to limited budgets and facilities. This demanding fast-turnaround style required exact timing to the second, as episodes went to air immediately after recording, with end credits rolling live and adjustments made on the fly if running over or under schedule. The production method created a high-pressure environment akin to live stage performance. Coleman later reflected on the groundbreaking nature of the work, recalling that "we all knew, cast and crew alike, that we were breaking new ground. We knew we were setting the style for a brand new type of television drama." His experience directing Crossroads in this pioneering daily format informed his later success in producing Australian soap operas.

Head of Children's Programmes and other productions

In 1972, Alan Coleman was appointed Head of Children's Programmes at ATV. In this role, he oversaw the production of several children's drama series and played a key part in nurturing new talent in British television writing. Coleman produced and directed The Kids from 47A (1973–1974), one of ATV's successful children's series, which ran for 47 episodes. He also served as producer on The Jensen Code in 1973 (7 episodes) and Escape Into Night in 1972 (6 episodes). During this period, Coleman gave early career opportunities to emerging writers Phil Redmond and Lynda La Plante by commissioning their scripts for ATV productions, including contributions to The Kids from 47A. Coleman remained in the position until 1974, when he emigrated to Australia.

Emigration to Australia

Move to Reg Grundy Organisation

In 1974, Alan Coleman emigrated to Australia after being headhunted by Reg Grundy to help establish the Reg Grundy Organisation's drama department alongside Reg Watson, who had returned to his homeland from Britain. Coleman drew on his prior experience directing the fast-turnaround, five-nights-a-week serial Crossroads to shape the department's output, pioneering this high-volume production style in Australian television drama. He focused on developing serials that adhered to this efficient, rapid-production model characteristic of Grundy's operations. In 1982, Coleman temporarily parted from the organisation to establish his own venture, Wyee Productions, which specialised in making commercials and filming live concerts, though he remained associated with some Grundy projects during this period. This integration into the Reg Grundy Organisation laid the groundwork for his subsequent contributions to Australian serial drama.

Creation and production of The Young Doctors

Alan Coleman created and produced The Young Doctors, an Australian medical soap opera that aired from 1976 to 1983. He also served as director and writer on numerous episodes, applying his prior experience directing the fast-turnaround British serial Crossroads to manage the demanding daily production schedule. As producer, Coleman oversaw approximately 1200 episodes from 1976 to 1982, contributing significantly to the series' high-volume output of character-driven stories centered on young medical professionals, their personal lives, and hospital cases. The Young Doctors achieved notable success as the first Australian soap opera sold internationally, gaining viewers in markets such as the United Kingdom and beyond. The series ultimately ran for 1397 episodes before concluding in 1983. In 2008, Coleman provided audio commentary for a selected episode featured on the series' DVD release.

Major soap opera contributions

Prisoner and early Australian serials

In 1978, Alan Coleman served as producer and director on three episodes of the Australian courtroom drama series Case for the Defence. The following year, he directed two episodes of the groundbreaking women's prison serial Prisoner (1979), which became widely known internationally as Prisoner: Cell Block H and developed a significant cult following, particularly in the United Kingdom. From 1981 to 1982, Coleman acted as producer on the prison drama Punishment, overseeing production of the series' full run of 26 episodes. These early contributions to Australian serials strengthened his expertise in long-form television drama and supported his later advancement to executive producing positions.

Executive producer on Neighbours

Alan Coleman served as executive producer on Neighbours from 1992 to 1994, overseeing production of 147 episodes during this period. This tenure coincided with the programme's status as the Grundy Organisation's biggest international hit, as Neighbours had established substantial audiences overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, amid the broader expansion of Australian soap operas into global markets. Coleman took charge at a transitional moment following the departures of several key long-standing characters, addressing concerns that the series risked becoming stale through over-reliance on dialogue-heavy, static scenes. He deliberately increased the pace of episodes by changing shots more frequently, incorporating greater physical action and camera movement, and introducing fresh characters to reflect the natural ebb and flow of neighbourhood life. Among the notable dramatic arcs he oversaw was the destruction of the original Waterhole pub by fire, a storyline designed as a strong ratings cliffhanger that refreshed a familiar location and provided a visible facelift for the show. These production decisions contributed to a ratings renaissance for Neighbours in the United Kingdom, helping sustain its popularity and commercial success as an international export during a key phase of growth for the format.

Shortland Street and international adaptations

Alan Coleman served as executive producer on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street from 1992 to 1996, overseeing 672 episodes during his tenure. The series, produced in association with Grundy Television from its inception in 1992, represented a key extension of the Reg Grundy Organisation's soap opera model beyond Australia and into the New Zealand market. This role built on the success of Neighbours, helping to disseminate the high-volume, daily serial drama format internationally. As part of Grundy's broader global expansion strategy, Coleman directed episodes on European adaptations of the fast-turnaround soap opera style pioneered in Australia, including 10 episodes of the Dutch series Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden in 1991 and 5 episodes of the German series Unter Uns in 1994. These productions contributed to the establishment of long-running daily serials in European television markets and underscored Grundy's role in exporting the genre worldwide.

Later career

Directing across multiple series

In his later career, Alan Coleman directed episodes of various international soap operas and serial dramas during the 1990s and early 2000s, maintaining a fast-turnaround style for high-frequency formats. He directed episodes of ''Home and Away'' in 1996. He returned briefly to the UK to direct early episodes of ''Family Affairs'' in 1997–1998. Other directing work included episodes of the New Zealand series ''Breakers'' (1998–1999), ''TwentyfourSeven'' (2002), and projects for McElroy Television such as ''Above the Law'' and ''Going Home''. Coleman was also executive producer on several international serials, including the Dutch soap ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'', the German series ''Unter uns'', and New Zealand's ''Shortland Street'' (1992–1994). These credits reflect his continued involvement in the soap opera genre across multiple countries.

Own production ventures

Alan Coleman founded Wyee Productions in 1982 to produce television commercials and film live concerts. This occurred during a break from the Reg Grundy Organisation after his work on ''Prisoner''. He also produced educational programs and corporate videos through the company. In his later years, Coleman ran his own television drama school on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

Recognition and legacy

Personal life and death

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