Don Houghton

Don Houghton
Born	Donald Herbert Houghton (1930-02-02)2 February 1930 Paris, France
Died	2 July 1991(1991-07-02) (aged 61) Collier County, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Television screenwriter, producer.
Period	1951–1985
Genre	Drama, adventure, science fiction
Spouse	Pik-Sen Lim ​ (m. 1968)​
Children	1

Donald Herbert Houghton (2 February 1930 – 2 July 1991) was a British television screenwriter and producer.

Career

Born in Paris to Scottish parents, Houghton started writing for radio in 1951 before moving into film and television in 1958. In the 1970s, he was a primary writer for Hammer Films including for Dracula AD 1972, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires and Shatter.

Houghton lived and worked in Australia for a number of years where his credits included The Astronauts (1960).^[1]

His television work includes Doctor Who for which he wrote the serials Inferno (1970) and The Mind of Evil (1971),^[2] the fifth Sapphire & Steel television story (known informally as Dr McDee Must Die) co-written with Anthony Read, Emergency – Ward 10, Crossroads, Ace of Wands, New Scotland Yard, The Professionals and at least one episode of C.A.T.S. Eyes (1985).

Houghton created and wrote for the soap opera Take the High Road (1980).^[3] He also wrote three novels: Column of Thieves and Blood Brigade and Take the High Road: Summer's Gloaming.

Personal life

Houghton was married to actress Pik-Sen Lim. Their daughter Sara Houghton is also an actress.

Writing credits

Production	Notes	Broadcaster
Emergency – Ward 10	24 episodes (1965–1966)	ITV
Ace of Wands	"Now You See It, Now You Don't" (1970)	ITV
The Flaxton Boys	13 episodes (1969–1970)	ITV
Doctor Who	"Inferno" (1970) "The Mind of Evil" (1971)	BBC1
New Scotland Yard	6 episodes (1972–1973)	ITV
Dracula A.D. 1972	Feature film (1972)	N/A
The Satanic Rites of Dracula	Feature film (1973)	N/A
Shatter	Feature film (1974)	N/A
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires	Feature film (1974)	N/A
The Doombolt Chase	6 episodes (1978)	HTV
The Professionals	"A Stirring of Dust" (1978) "Backtrack" (1979)	ITV
Take the High Road	"Episode #1.1" (1980) "Episode #1.4" (1980)	ITV Scottish Television
Sapphire & Steel	"Doctor McDee Must Die" (co-written with Anthony Read, 1981)	ITV
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense	"Black Carrion" (1984)	ITV
C.A.T.S. Eyes	"Frightmare" (1985)	ITV

References

1. Vagg, Stephen (2021). "Forgotten Australian TV plays: The Astronauts". Filmink. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
2. Howe, Stammer, Walker (1994), Doctor Who The Seventies, Doctor Who Books
3. Elder, pp. 12–22.

Bibliography

• Elder, Michael (1990). Ten Years of Take the High Road. London: Boxtree. ISBN 978-1-85283-109-7.
• Houghton, Don (1982). Take the High Road. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 978-0-906391-34-1.

External links

• Don Houghton at IMDb