Liddy Oldroyd’s strength was keeping a comedy ensemble together without flattening its differences. We recommend her work on Drop the Dead Donkey for the company, with the warning that its topical jokes ask rather more of the memory.
Fi1m perspective
In Drop the Dead Donkey (1990), the newsroom ensemble works because its characters remain separate, recognisable people. Oldroyd keeps the performances compatible without making everybody behave alike. We warmed to the programme because spending time with that company was a pleasure even when the news behind a joke needed remembering. That is a substantial achievement in a comedy with so much topical material to accommodate. The direction deserves credit for giving us reasons to stay beyond the subject of any particular episode.
Her sitcom work included episodes of Desmond's (1989) before she took on all 65 episodes of Drop the Dead Donkey, which ran from 1990 to 1998. It is worth remembering that continuity when giving credit for how well the cast works together. Later credits include the six-part Underworld (1997) and 13 episodes of Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999), starring Kathy Burke. Those titles offer routes into her wider work, though the newsroom remains the basis of our recommendation.
Oldroyd brought an inventive, dynamic shooting style to sitcoms and could keep control while working with writers and actors on fast-changing scripts. Her collaborators included the writer-producers Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. That kind of comedy needs a director who can accommodate revisions without allowing the latest joke to become the only thing that matters. We give Oldroyd credit for keeping the ensemble worth watching, rather than treating the performers as a convenient means of delivering the topical material.
The caveat is the topical material itself, which can ask for more interest in old news than an evening’s comedy ought to require. Direction cannot make every dated reference worth revisiting, and we would not recommend the programme on the strength of those references alone. Its 24-minute episodes at least make getting acquainted with the ensemble a modest commitment. Try one before signing up for six series.
Biography
Liddy Oldroyd was an English television director. Born Elizabeth Mary Oldroyd on 16 June 1955 in Guildford, Surrey, she was educated at Guildford County School for Girls and York University. She began her career in 1979 as a production assistant at London Weekend Television, later becoming a trainee director.
Oldroyd directed all 65 episodes of the Channel 4 sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998). She was the first woman to direct an episode of Spitting Image and also directed episodes of Desmond's (1989), After Henry, Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999–2000) and the serial Underworld (1997). Her work on Drop the Dead Donkey earned her a BAFTA Television Award for Best Comedy and other accolades.
She died of cancer on 27 June 2002 in London, aged 47. Oldroyd was married to Peter Gwilliam from 1983 and they had three children.
