Owen Tooth became the first disabled director for the BBC One soap opera, EastEnders, in May.
He had the opportunity to fully realize his creative ideas across an entire week of episodes, and the last one was particularly special. It focused on Nigel Bates (played by Paul Bradley) and the increasing effects of his dementia, set against the backdrop of the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
He firmly believed it was 1995 and began having vivid visions of his former wife, Debbie, and her daughter, Clare, reliving moments from thirty years in the past.
The story reached its peak with the grand reopening of The Queen Vic after a terrible fire, and Nige joined his neighbors to celebrate.
Tooth, a rising star selected for this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough program, has had an interesting path leading to their role on the popular soap opera, Albert Square.
“I really set my sights on EastEnders. I was messaging them all the time, if anything remotely positive happened in my career I’d message them straight away,” he explains, having worked on Channel 4’s Big Boys and the latest series of Horrible Histories.
I watched the show closely, thinking like a director. I mentally deconstructed each scene, figuring out how I would have filmed it within the same time constraints. I wanted to demonstrate to them that I was prepared to direct it myself.
He also thanks Kate Oates, Head of Drama, and Kris Green, a Training Executive, for supporting his advancement.
Before working on EastEnders, Tooth had experience on the show Hollyoaks, but the two productions were quite different from each other.
Hollyoaks is filmed using a single camera setup now, while EastEnders still uses three or four cameras simultaneously. This makes the production of Hollyoaks quite technically challenging.
One of the best parts of working on EastEnders was having an office space, but also being able to observe the directors on set. Jamie Annett, in particular, was very open and let me watch him work, which helped me understand how things moved and the speed of the production.
I learned a valuable lesson through that experience. The more I presented ideas to Chris Clenshaw, who was an Executive Producer at the time, the more he encouraged me to push my boundaries and experiment with even bolder concepts.
I used to think being a director meant just following instructions and sticking to the established style, but working on that episode completely changed my mind. I discovered they genuinely want you to bring your own creativity and ideas to the table! It was such a revelation – directing that episode showed me how much freedom and fun there really is in the role. It really opened my eyes to a more playful approach.
The team really appreciates it when new people are enthusiastic and positive. My goal was to create a really joyful and welcoming atmosphere on set.
With Oates and Green giving him this opportunity to write for the show, he’s optimistic his work will pave the way for more crew members with disabilities to get similar chances.
It seems like people are starting to pay attention, and we’re finally seeing real change. Some fantastic organizations are leading the way and making this progress possible.
I’m focused on advancing my own career, but equally important to me is creating opportunities for others to succeed as well.
Tooth fondly remembered working with Paul Bradley, calling him “so fun.” He was particularly thrilled to direct Bradley, as he’d been a fan of his work in shows like Red Dwarf and The Young Ones since childhood.
Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell, has been absolutely outstanding this year. His performance was truly captivating. I didn’t share many scenes with him, but I was thrilled to finally meet him and let him know how much I admired his work.
“I was pleasantly surprised how lovely everyone was.”
BAFTA Breakthrough UK, supported by Netflix, is a program designed to highlight and boost the careers of promising new talent in film, games, and television.
The full list of this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough UK cohort is as follows:
- Akinola Davies Jr – director/co-writer (My Father’s Shadow)
- Alderney Middleton – series producer (Maddie + Triggs)
- Cara Ellison – writer/ narrative designer (Ghost Town)
- Ellis Howard – performer (What It Feels Like for a Girl)
- Jodie-Simone Howe – costume designer (Mr Loverman)
- Kyle Banks -director (Farewell North)
- Laura Carreira – director/writer (On Falling)
- Marie-Elena Dyche – producer (Harvest)
- Mark Choi – composer (Empire of the Ants)
- Matthew Gurney – performer (Reunion)
- Megumi Inman – co-director/producer (Atomic People)
- Nathalie Pitters – director of photography (Brian and Maggie)
- Nathaniel Price – writer/associate producer (Mr Loverman)
- Olaide Sadiq – director (Grenfell: Uncovered)
- Owen Tooth – director (EastEnders)
- Pinny Grylls – director/writer/editor (Grand Theft Hamlet)
- Sally Beaumont – lead voice actor/script consultant (Old Skies)
- Stanley Baxton – solo developer (Latex, Leather, Lipstick, Love, Lust)
- Stephanie Taylor – composer (The Search For Nicola Bulley)
- Vivian Eguridu – series casting producer (Love Is Blind UK series 1)
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2025-11-26 13:39