Photo: Tarina Peterson / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What grabs me about Waris Hussein is the quiet audacity of his story. An Indian-born, Cambridge-educated young man becomes the BBC's youngest drama director and then, almost by chance, directs the very first Doctor Who serial in 1963, before anyone knew it would become a cultural institution. He worked behind the camera rather than in front of it, which is exactly why I admire him. The pioneers who shape a medium often go uncelebrated, yet his fingerprints are on something millions still love. An Emmy and a landmark like Edward & Mrs. Simpson only confirm what I suspect: this is a craftsman who built worlds instead of chasing fame.
Overview
Waris Hussein (né Habibullah; born 9 December 1938) is an Indian-born British television and film director. At the beginning of his career he was employed by the BBC as its youngest drama director. He directed early episodes of Doctor Who, including the first serial, An Unearthly Child (1963), and later directed the multiple-award-winning Thames Television serial Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978).
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Waris Hussein
- Name (Japanese)
- ワリス・フセイン
- Reading
- わりす・ふせいん
- Born
- December 9, 1938 (age 87)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Tiger
- Origin
- Lucknow, Lucknow district, India
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film director / television director / screenwriter / film actor / director
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Queens' College
Awards & achievements
- 1986 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Film director — see all → · Television director — see all → · More people from India →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.