Cregeen began directing for television in the 1960s and producing in the 1970s. During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s he worked on numerous popular television series, including:
The Troubleshooters (1965);
King of the River (1966);
Out of the Unknown (1969; 1971);
The Onedin Line (1971; 1976);
The Sandbaggers (1978);
Colditz (1972; 1974) and
Wings (1977–1978). Cregeen has worked on various police dramas, including:
The Gentle Touch (1980);
The Expert (1969);
Softly Softly (1969–1972);
Z-Cars (1965);
Juliet Bravo (1983), and the pilot to ITV's successful long-running drama,
The Bill, which was originally named
Woodentop (1983). As original director, Cregeen was responsible for
The Bill's "distinctive and atmospheric feel", which he created by adopting a "
fly-on-the-wall documentary style" with a single handheld camera. The response to
Woodentop was so positive that within a month
Thames Television had commissioned a 12 part series, which was renamed
The Bill. Cregeen remained with
The Bill, directing and producing between 1984 and 1987, and rose to executive producer between 1988 and 1989. Cregeen worked on
The Bill during "its most popular period" when it switched in 1988 from a series to a year-round, twice-weekly half-hour format. At the time, Cregeen told fans to expect a longer than usual wait for series 27, though he promised it would return. However
Doctor Who did not return as an ongoing series on the BBC until 2005, without Cregeen's involvement, 16 years later. In 2007, Cregeen and various other BBC staff gave the reasons for the cancellation of
Doctor Who on a documentary entitled "End Game", which is featured on 26th series DVD
Survival. Reasons given included a general feeling at the BBC that the series needed a "rest", plummeting ratings—partly a result of being broadcast in direct competition to ITV's highest rated programme,
Coronation Street—and a general disdain for science fiction among BBC staff at the time. In 2013, during an interview to mark the 50th anniversary of the series,
Doctor Who executive producer
Steven Moffat described the decision to abandon
Doctor Who in 1989 as a decision of "outright stupidity and unforgivable blindness." Cregeen continued to produce various programmes for the BBC, having previously been the executive producer for
BBC TV's
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less in 1990—a two-part miniseries based on
Jeffrey Archer's best-selling book—and he also produced for
A Question of Guilt in 1993. In 1993 a
Doctor Who feature length film to mark the series' 30th anniversary was planned, with Cregeen taking on the role as producer; however production of the film,
The Dark Dimension, was terminated by the BBC for "financial and logistical reasons." Cregeen remained "Head of Series" at the BBC until May 1993, when he was replaced by
Michael Wearing. He has worked on numerous projects for ITV and the BBC since, and was responsible for commissioning
Carlton Television's successful drama
Peak Practice in 1993. Cregeen has also been involved in theatre, working alongside multimillionairess,
Janet Holmes à Court, to encourage TV writers to contribute to her stage productions. He resumed producing and directing of
The Bill throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, and produced
The Choir, a five-part adaptation of the novel by
Joanna Trollope, for the BBC (1994–1995). From 1999 to 2000 he produced for ITV's
Midsomer Murders, and in 2001 he was appointed series executive producer of ITV's new soap opera
Night and Day, which revolved around the lives of six very different families. He commented "We're making a soap that's modern, romantic and aspirational – a programme from a different perspective and in some ways a more realistic perspective. It's modern, sexy and fun with a very dark undercurrent." The soap was relatively unsuccessful, and was axed in 2003. Cregeen's latest directorial TV credit was for a 2003 episode of the popular BBC medical drama
Casualty. ==References==