Ian McCulloch

Liverpool, England

Biography

Ian McCulloch (born 18 November 1939) is a Scottish actor of stage, film, and television. McCulloch is perhaps best known for his role as Greg Preston in the post-apocalyptic 1975–77 TV series Survivors and for his work in European genre cinema. McCulloch debuted in the second episode, "Genesis", of Survivors and went on to appear regularly throughout the series. He also starred in the Italian horror films Zombie Flesh Eaters also known as Zombi II (1979) by Lucio Fulci, Zombi Holocaust (1980) by Marino Girolami, and Contamination (1980) by Luigi Cozzi. Zombie Flesh Eaters was originally banned in the United Kingdom as part of the 1980s campaign against "video nasties". McCulloch stated that he did not see the film in its entirety, or on a big screen, until years later. Over the years, McCulloch has had supporting roles in studio films like Where Eagles Dare (1968) with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, and Cromwell (1970) with Alec Guinness and Richard Harris. In addition, he has appeared in successful independent films, most notably The Ghoul (1975) with Peter Cushing and John Hurt. He has also guest starred in many TV series, including: Manhunt (1969); Colditz (1974), as the mysterious Larry Page in "Odd Man In"; Secret Army (1977); Return of the Saint (1978); Hammer House of Horror (1980); The Professionals (1980), episode "Mixed Doubles", in which he played the physical fitness and close quarters combat instructor of Bodie and Doyle; and the Doctor Who serial Warriors of the Deep (1984).

Movies

Children's Ward is a British children's television drama series produced by Granada Television and broadcast on the ITV network as part of its Children's ITV strand on weekday afternoons. The programme was set – as the title suggests – in Ward B1, the children's ward of the fictitious South Park Hospital, and told the stories of the young patients and the staff present there. Aimed at older children and teenagers, Children's Ward was a long-lived series for a children's drama, starting life in 1988 as a contribution to the Dramarama anthology strand, "Blackbird Singing In The Dead of Night", then first broadcast as a series 1989 and running from then until 2000. The series was conceived by Granada staff writers Paul Abbott and Kay Mellor, both of whom went on to enjoy successful careers as award-winning writers of adult television drama. At the time, they were both working on the soap opera Coronation Street, and had recently collaborated on a script for Dramarama. Abbott, who had been through a troubled childhood himself, had initially wanted to set the series in a children's care home rather than a hospital, but this was vetoed by Granada executives. During the course of its run, however, Children's Ward won many plaudits for covering difficult issues such as cancer, alcoholism, drug addiction and child abuse in a sensitive manner. The programme won many awards, including in 1996 a BAFTA Children's Award for Best Drama, won by an episode in which a serial killer lures children to him via the internet and is – highly unusually for children's television – not eventually caught.

More info
Children's Ward
1989