Coky Giedroyc

Mary Rose Helen Giedroyc, Lady Bowyer-Smyth, known as Coky Giedroyc (/ˈkoʊki ˈɡɛdrɔɪtʃ/; born 6 February 1963), is an English director known for her work on Women Talking Dirty, The Virgin Queen, The Nativity and Penny Dreadful. She is the elder sister of actress and presenter Mel Giedroyc.

Coky Giedroyc
Born
Mary Rose Helen Giedroyc

(1963-02-06) 6 February 1963[1]
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Occupation
  • Film director
  • television director
Years active1988–present
Spouse(s)
Children3
RelativesMel Giedroyc (sister)
Philip Parham (brother-in-law)

Early life

Giedroyc grew up in Leatherhead, Surrey. Her father was Michal Giedroyc, a historian of Polish-Lithuanian descent from the princely Giedroyć family, who came to England in 1947; he died in December 2017.[2] Her mother, Rosy, is of English descent.[3] She attended Bristol University, where she first began to make films.[4]

Career

Giedroyc has directed several films, including Women Talking Dirty and Stella Does Tricks; she is best known for her work directing television dramas, which have included Wuthering Heights, The Virgin Queen, Oliver Twist, Fear of Fanny, Carrie's War, and three episodes of Blackpool.

In 2007 she was nominated, with Paula Milne and Paul Rutman, for a Best Drama Serial BAFTA Award for The Virgin Queen. In 2010, her directing work for the BBC television series The Nativity was praised by critics, although the story portrayed some controversial elements that caused debate between Christians due to its modern dramatisations of the birth of Christ.

Giedroyc directed A Study in Pink, originally filmed as a 60-minute pilot for the television series Sherlock, which was written by Steven Moffat. The BBC decided not to broadcast the episode because they wished to change the broadcast length to 90 minutes. However, the pilot was released on the DVD of the first series, and it proved to be slightly different from the final version. She has also directed BBC's The Hour and What Remains.[5] Giedroyc directed two episodes of the 2014 Showtime horror television series Penny Dreadful.[6][7]

On 20 December 2015, Giedroyc directed the live television production of The Sound of Music, starring Kara Tointon as Maria, and her sister Mel Giedroyc as Frau Schmidt. The two-and-a-half-hour ITV transmission was the first musical to be broadcast live on national television in the UK, and had a cast and crew of more than 400 and 177 costumes.[8]

In 2018, it was announced Giedroyc would direct How to Build a Girl, based upon the novel of the same name by Caitlin Moran, who also wrote the film's screenplay alongside John Niven. Beanie Feldstein, Alfie Allen, Paddy Considine, Sarah Solemani, Joanna Scanlan, Arinze Kene and Frank Dillane will star in the film.[9][10]

Personal life

Giedroyc married her first husband at 21, and had a son before divorcing. She remarried in 1998 to Sir Thomas Weyland Bowyer-Smyth, 15th Baronet, a BAFTA-winning production designer, with whom she has two children.[11]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Notes
1996 Stella Does Tricks
1999 Women Talking Dirty
2019 How to Build a Girl

Television
Year Title Notes
1990 The Media Show Episode: "DIY Media"
1992 TV Hell TV special
1992 Rock Bottom TV film
1995 Aristophanes: The Gods Are Laughing TV film
1996–99 Murder Most Horrid 3 episodes
2000–02 Silent Witness 3 episodes
2001–03 Murder in Mind 2 episodes
2002 Helen West Episode: "Shadow Play"
2004 Carrie's War TV film
2004 William and Mary 2 episodes
2004 Blackpool 3 episodes
2006 The Virgin Queen 2 episodes
2006 Fear of Fanny TV film
2007 Oliver Twist 5 episodes
2009 Wuthering Heights 2 episodes
2010 Sherlock Episode: "Unaired Pilot"
2010 The Nativity 4 episodes
2011 The Hour 2 episodes
2013 Spies of Warsaw 4 episodes
2013 What Remains 4 episodes
2014 Penny Dreadful 2 episodes
2014 The Killing Episode: "Truth Asunder"
2014 Reckless Episode: "Fifty-One Percent"
2017 Harlots 3 episodes
2017 Gypsy 2 episodes
2018 Seven Seconds 1 episode

References
  1. Murphy, Robert. Directors in British and Irish Cinema: A Reference Companion. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 587. ISBN 978-1-83871-532-8. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  2. "Michal Giedroyc". The Times. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018. (subscription required)
  3. Stanford, Peter (25 March 2010). "My father's Siberian prison hell". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  4. Downs, Jacqueline (2001). "Coky Giedroyc". In Allon, Yoram; Cullen, Del; Patterson, Hannah (eds.). Contemporary British & Irish Directors. London: Wallflower Press. p. 111. ISBN 9781903364215.
  5. "A new thrilling four-part whodunit written by Tony Basgallop for BBC One". BBC. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  6. "PJ Dillon, Director of Photography" (PDF). Casarotto. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2014-09-08.
  7. "PJ Dillon: Latest News". PJDillon.com.
  8. "As ITV prepares for The Sound of Music Live, are we watching TV's future?". The Guardian. 15 December 2015.
  9. Wiseman, Andreas; Tartaglione, Nancy (May 8, 2018). "'Lady Bird's Beanie Feldstein To Lead 'How To Build A Girl' – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  10. Wiseman, Andreas (July 16, 2018). "Beanie Feldstein Comedy 'How To Build A Girl' Adds Cast, Lionsgate With Shoot Under Way". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  11. Stanford, Peter. "Problems like Maria's". The Tablet.
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