Waris Hussein

Waris Hussein (born 9 December 1938 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India) is a British-Indian television director and film director best known for his many productions for British television.

He is particularly remembered for having directed the first ever Doctor Who serial, An Unearthly Child, in 1963. In 1964 he returned to the series to direct most of the fourth serial, Marco Polo. He went on to direct many productions such as a 1965 BBC television version of A Passage to India; the BBC serial Notorious Woman (1974); suffragette movement drama Shoulder to Shoulder (BBC, 1974); and the Thames Television serial Edward and Mrs Simpson (1978). The latter two productions saw him working once more with former Doctor Who producer Verity Lambert. He also directed for Thames the first story (a 4-parter) in the "Armchair Thriller" series.

His 1969 film A Touch of Love was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1970 he directed Jack Wild and Mark Lester in the fondly remembered film "Melody". He also directed the theatrical motion picture version of Henry VIII and his Six Wives (1972) starring Keith Michell, Charlotte Rampling and Donald Pleasence.

In the 1990s he directed several television movies in the United States.

In 1997 he directed Sixth Happiness, a film whose screenplay was written by Firdaus Kanga, the author of the semi-autobiographical novel Trying to Grow. Kanga also starred in the film.