02 June 2003

Brunel's BBC Champions win Academy Award

Isambard Kingdom Brunel has never really gone away for engineers, but he made a huge comeback as a public figure last autumn thanks to a compelling documentary on his life as the first in the BBC's landmark Great Britons series. Brunel topped the poll for weeks until Winston Churchill knocked him off the top spot in the final week of voting. Now the Royal Academy of Engineering is to award its Public Promotion of Engineering medals for 2003 to the men who made the Brunel film - producers Ed Bazalgette and Simon Winchcombe. They will receive the solid silver medals at the Academy Awards Dinner in London on Thursday 5 June.

Although he was born nearly 200 years ago, Brunel's legacy to engineering is extraordinary and all-pervasive. He was chief engineer on the Great Western Railway, he planned the Clifton Suspension Bridge and, with John Scott Russell, designed the SS Great Britain, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. Ed and Simon's film, with Jeremy Clarkson's enthusiastic narration, captured the breadth and passion of Brunel's commitment to technological advancement. It also showed some of the pitfalls that make pioneering engineering projects such a challenge.

Producer/director Ed Bazalgette began directing five years ago after a BAFTA-winning career as an editor. He has produced over 30 films including Turner 'The man who painted Britain', Invasion 'Battle for Britain' and House Detectives 'The first skyscraper'.

Assistant producer Simon Winchcombe started out as a consulting civil engineer, designing and building roads, bridges and railways. Four years ago he moved into TV production with the Einstein Channel, making educational programmes for engineers and architects on projects from the Great Court Roof at the British Museum to Canary Wharf underground station and the new GLA building. He joined the BBC specifically to work on the Brunel programme for Great Britons.

"I wasn't completely surprised that Brunel caught the public imagination in the way that he did," says Simon. "This was primarily because I knew they would be amazed at his remarkable achievements and the light and shade of his character... and because they knew so little about him there was also the element of surprise!"

Both Ed and Simon are now working on programmes for a new BBC2 series Great Industrial Wonders, which will show seven feats of 'heroic engineering' in a docu-drama format.

ends

Notes for editors

1. The Academy's Public Promotion of Engineering medal has only been presented once before, to author and TV presenter Dr Adam Hart-Davis in 2002.
   
   
2. The Royal Academy of Engineering brings together the UK's most eminent engineers from all disciplines. They use their unrivalled knowledge and experience for the public good, giving independent advice to Government, supporting engineering education and research and encouraging excellence and innovation.

For more information please contact:

Lize King at the Royal Academy of Engineering

 RSS Feed