Bob Spiers

Robert Alexander "Bob" Spiers (27 September 1945 – 8 December 2008) was a director. He is particularly noted as the director of the early series of Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2001), the musical comedy Spiceworld, and of the second series of Fawlty Towers (1979). He also worked with Steven Moffat on Press Gang and Joking Apart. Spiers won a BAFTA Award twice for his work as a television comedy director.

Biography

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he attended Southgate College in the 1960s. "Jock" as he was affectionately known at the time also organised several student trips from the college to mainland Europe, Including Brussels and Cologne, during this time. Spiers joined the staff of the BBC in 1970, working as an assistant floor manager and later a production assistant, before eventually working his way up to become a director and producer. In this capacity he worked on several high-profile programmes, such as Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? and It Ain't Half Hot Mum, all sitcoms, a genre with which he became particularly associated. During the 1970s he met his wife, Annie Spiers.