Stephen Butcher
- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Stephen Butcher is one of the most experienced network television directors based in Northern Ireland, He started his career as a staff director at Granada Television working on a very wide range of programmes, including live news, documentary and light entertainment, but specialising in drama. Before going freelance he had directed three single dramas, various drama series and, not least, Coronation Street to which he returned regularly for many years.
Work with the major ITV companies, independent producers and the BBC followed, but in the 1980s he became committed to developing drama production at Ulster Television where he was appointed Drama Producer and which lead to his moving to Northern Ireland where he still lives. For UTV he produced and directed the single dramas The Hidden Curriculum, Last of a Dyin' Race and Undertow of the Armada. Following his commitment to UTV he was appointed executive producer for the first two years of the Northern Lights short film scheme run jointly by BBC Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Film Council (now Northern Ireland Screen). One of the films for which he was responsible was the Oscar-nominated Dance, Lexie, Dance. In subsequent years he has worked mainly in the Republic of Ireland, on Fair City for RTÉ and Ros na Rún for TG4.
Work with the major ITV companies, independent producers and the BBC followed, but in the 1980s he became committed to developing drama production at Ulster Television where he was appointed Drama Producer and which lead to his moving to Northern Ireland where he still lives. For UTV he produced and directed the single dramas The Hidden Curriculum, Last of a Dyin' Race and Undertow of the Armada. Following his commitment to UTV he was appointed executive producer for the first two years of the Northern Lights short film scheme run jointly by BBC Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Film Council (now Northern Ireland Screen). One of the films for which he was responsible was the Oscar-nominated Dance, Lexie, Dance. In subsequent years he has worked mainly in the Republic of Ireland, on Fair City for RTÉ and Ros na Rún for TG4.
