Philippa Lowthorpe

Philippa started out as a director in documentaries. Her award winning films led her to be invited to write and direct her first drama “Eight Hours from Paris”, a crazy film for Screen Two in which real people played themselves, alongside professional actors. This was followed by “The Other Boleyn Girl “ which she adapted and directed for BBC films.

She was lead director on the very first series of Call the Midwife, dubbed ‘game changing’, ‘worth the licence fee alone’ and 'the most subversive feminist drama on television’ by critics for its unflinching portrayal of women’s lives. Her opening episode gained the highest audience for any debut of a drama in the past decade. She also directed the first Call the Midwife Christmas Special.

In 2013 she was awarded the BAFTA for Best Director Fiction at Bafta TV Craft Awards. She is the only female director ever to have won this award.