TAYLOR DOWNING is Managing Director and Head of History at Flashback Television. He co-founded Flashback in 1982.
He has made well over 200 documentaries on a wide range of subjects over the last twenty years ranging from landmark history series to social affairs drama-docs. He is author of several books and regularly writes and lectures on television and history.
PRODUCTIONS
In the last year he has produced or executive produced more than 20 hours of history programming for British and American broadcasters. These include INSIDE THE BODY OF HENRY VIII (for History), ANDY McNAB’s TOUR OF DUTY (6 x 1 hrs for ITV4), 50 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BRITISH HISTORY (7 x 1 hrs for The History Channel and the Daily Telegraph), UNEXPLAINED WITH TONY ROBINSON (3 x 1 hrs for Channel 4), NAZI UFO CONSPIRACY (for Discovery US) and TWO SCHOOLS IN NABLUS (a co-production between Al-Jazeera International and Teachers TV).
His recent credits include 1983 – THE BRINK OF APOCALYPSE (Winner of the Grierson Award for Best Historical Documentary in 2008; a co-production for Channel 4 and Discovery in the US), WEAPONOLOGY (26 x 1 hrs for Discovery Military), BEAU BRUMMELL – THIS CHARMING MAN (a drama for the BBC), THE LOST EVIDENCE (24 x 1 hrs of a new perspective on World War Two for The History Channel US), and programmes for Teachers’ TV inc HUMAN RIGHTS WITH CHERIE BOOTH. Other recent credits include MARRIED TO THE PRIME MINISTER (a unique view on life in Downing Street presented by Cherie Blair for Channel 4),
AUSCHWITZ: THE FORGOTTEN EVIDENCE (Channel 4 & The History Channel UK), D-DAY: THE LOST EVIDENCE (1 x 2 hrs Special for The History Channel in the US), REGENCY BANQUET (Channel 4), THE BADNESS OF KING GEORGE (Channel 4), HEAVY METAL (a series of 40 x 1 hrs for The History Channel in the US and for Channel 4), SPEED MACHINES (8 x 1 hrs for Channel 4 and Discovery), BATTLE STATIONS IN IRAQ (C4), BEHIND IRAQI LINES (A&E and Five), THE McCRUM INTERVIEW for Artsworld on Sky, HITLER’S BRIDES for Channel 4, WAR OF THE CENTURY with ZDF (Consultant), RACE AND WOMEN IN THE 20TH CENTURY a six part series for Channel 4 Schools, and I WITNESS: FROM THE BOMB TO THE BEATLES, an oral history of the 1950’s for The History Channel.
He also produced two episodes of COLD WAR for Turner Broadcasting in the United States by Jeremy Isaacs Productions.
BOOKS
Taylor co-authored the best selling book Cold War with Jeremy Isaacs. The book was republished in paperback in August 2008 and was History Book of the Month in Borders.
He has written and co-written four other books including Battle Stations with Andrew Johnston, Civil War with Maggie Millman and Olympia on Leni Riefenstahl’s epic film of the 1936 Berlin Olympics for the British Film Institute.
Taylor also writes book reviews for The Observer and History Today magazine.
He is currently writing a book about Churchill’s war leadership style in World War Two for publishers Little, Brown.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
For three years Taylor was a Board member of the World Congress of History Producers which met in Rome in 2005 and in London in 2006.
For the last two years he has been a Juror on the Longman-History Today Book Prize.
In 2002 Taylor worked with Professor David Cannadine to organise a conference on 'History and the Media' at the Institute of Historical Research. Among those presenting papers were Simon Schama, Melvyn Bragg, Jeremy Isaacs, David Puttnam, Professor Richard Overy, Christopher Andrews and Max Hastings. Taylor's keynote address to the conference is published in History and the Media ed. David Cannadine, (Palgrave MacMillan, 2004).
He was Consultant on the TWI/Carlton series for ITV THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN COLOUR and used to be Consultant to The History Channel, UK.
Taylor is currently on the Advisory Board of Lincoln University’s Television and History 1995-2010 Project. He regularly writes and lectures on the subject of History on Television.