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Michael Leeston-Smith (born John Michael Bazalgette Leeston-Smith in Torquay, Devon[1] on 12 December 1916[2]-5 December 2001[3]) was a British director who directed the Doctor Who television story The Myth Makers.
Career[[edit] | [edit source]]
He first worked for the BBC in 1932 at Ealing Studios. He worked at Ealing as a photographer and assistant sound engineer. In 1938, he was sent by the BBC to their studios in Daventry.[4]
In World War II he was a member of the Royal Horse Artillery. In 1953, he became sound engineer on the ground-breaking series The Quatermass Experiment. Two years later, he worked as production assistant on the sequel Quatermass II.
In the 1960s, Leeston-Smith started work as a director. He directed episodes of Z-Cars and R3, as well as what would be his sole contribution to Doctor Who, The Myth Makers. In 1973, he moved to South Africa to work for the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
As The Myth Makers is missing all of its episodes, Leeston-Smith is one of three directors (along with Hugh David and John Davies) to not have a single surviving Doctor Who episode in the BBC Archives.