---
name: "John McKay"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-mckay"
fi1m_id: "john-mckay"
imdb_id: "nm0563814"
tmdb_id: 110169
wikidata_id: "Q6247958"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "15 January 1965"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 73
average_as: "director"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-07T12:49:18.106453+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John McKay

## Identity

John McKay

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-mckay
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-mckay
- **IMDb ID:** nm0563814
- **TMDB ID:** 110169
- **Wikidata ID:** Q6247958
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McKay_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6247958, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563814/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/110169

Director. Born 15 January 1965 in Scotland, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 15 January 1965, Scotland, UK
- **Active:** 1999–2013
- **Frequently works with:** [Douglas Henshall](https://film.one/person/douglas-henshall.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as director, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 84 (1), 2010s 62 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McKay_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6247958, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563814/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/110169

## Streaming the US now

- **BritBox:** [*Life on Mars*](https://film.one/tv/life-on-mars.md) (84)
- **Apple TV:** [*Shetland*](https://film.one/tv/shetland.md) (62)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

John McKay is a Scottish film and television director. Born in 1965, he began his career as a playwright before directing short films including *Doom and Gloom* (1996) and *Wet and Dry* (1997).

He directed episodes of the BBC series *Life on Mars* (2006), as well as work on *Shetland*, *Hustle* and *Robin Hood*. His feature films as director include *Crush* (2001), which he also wrote, *Piccadilly Jim* (2004) and *Not Another Happy Ending* (2013).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Shetland* (2013), Fi1m 62, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/shetland.md)
- *Life on Mars* (2006), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/life-on-mars.md)

## Complete filmography (26)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Primrose Railway Children* (2024), Producer
- *Falling into Place* (2023), Co-Producer
- *The Beaker Girls* (2021), series, Director
- *My Mum Tracy Beaker* (2021), series, Producer, Director
- *The Demon Headmaster* (2019), series, Director
- *Katy* (2018), series, Director
- *1745* (2017), Producer
- *The Good Karma Hospital* (2017), series, Director
- *Tina & Bobby* (2017), series, Director
- *Ordinary Lies* (2015), series, Director
- *Not Another Happy Ending* (2013), Director
- *Shetland* (2013), series, Director — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/tv/shetland.md)
- *We'll Take Manhattan* (2012), Director, Writer, Executive Producer
- *Lip Service* (2010), series, Director
- *The Whistleblowers* (2007), series, Director
- *Reichenbach Falls* (2007), Director
- *Robin Hood* (2006), series, Director
- *Life on Mars* (2006), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/life-on-mars.md)
- *A Waste of Shame: The Mystery of Shakespeare and His Sonnets* (2005), Director
- *Piccadilly Jim* (2004), Director
- *Hustle* (2004), series, Director
- *Canterbury Tales* (2003), series, Director
- *Crush* (2002), Director, Writer
- *Psychos* (1999), series, Director
- *Doom and Gloom* (1997), Director, Writer
- *Wet and Dry* (1997), Director

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-mckay