British producer Patrick Dromgoole died at the age of 96.
Patrick Shirley Brookes Fleming Dromgoole was born in Iquique, Chile, in 1930, one of four sons of Nicholas, a telegraphist working there for Cable & Wireless, and his wife, Violet (née Brookes). One of his brothers, Nicholas, became a leading ballet critic.
He attended Dulwich College before entering Oxford as a mature student in 1951. Dromgoole dedicated himself to drama, acting and directing.
Dromgoole moved to Bristol in the late 1950s to work in radio at the BBC. By 1965, he was directing a series of television plays and cementing his reputation as a West End director.
In 1976, Dromgoole made his first trip to the U.S. to produce a series. It proved pivotal, as he shifted from being a dedicated European to a committed Atlanticist who loved “the deal”.
Back home, he climbed the executive ladder through the 1980s, becoming first managing director and then chief executive of Harlech, the principal provider of commercial television to the West Country and Wales.
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