My father, John Frankau, who has died aged 96, was a prolific theatre and television director. After rising through the ranks in the theatre, he broke into TV in the 1950s. Among his many credits were episodes of the long-running police drama No Hiding Place in 1965, and of The Main Chance (1969), a series about a lawyer starring John Stride.
In 1973 John directed the Yorkshire Television play Sarah, which was nominated for an Emmy award. The following year, again for Yorkshire TV, in the ITV Playhouse series, he made Mr Axelford’s Angel, with Julia Foster in the title role, which won the Emmy. The award certificates lived on the wall beside his desk.
