AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER

English is evidently a talented film-maker
— The Guardian

Katharine English is a BAFTA winning director and BAFTA Best Factual Director nominee, with a career recognised with Royal Television Society, International Emmy and Broadcast awards. Over the past 20 years, she has built a reputation for bold, imaginative and thought-provoking documentaries which engage audiences and explore complex, human stories.

This intelligent series couldn’t be more timely.

Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution

To watch without a lump in the throat was impossible.

Young war widows

Broadcast on ITV in September 2025 on the day convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner walked free, MADELEINE McCANN: SEARCHING FOR THE PRIME SUSPECT re-examines the evidence linking him to one of Britain’s most enduring missing-child cases. Former Detective and Criminologist Graham Hill, present during the 2007 investigation, returns to Portugal and Germany to trace Brueckner’s criminal past, meet those who knew him and build a psychological profile of the prime suspect at the centre of this case.

Broadcast in 2024, KYLE: THE GUNMAN WHO DIVIDED AMERICA for the BBC. In 2020, the shooting of three people at a Black Lives Matter protest in Wisconsin turned a teenage gunman into a national hero. With unprecedented access to Kyle Rittenhouse, the film explores the moral and cultural fault lines exposed by Rittenhouse’s actions and his subsequent murder trial. Crafting disparate social media footage into cinematic storytelling, the film is a multi-faceted portrait of a divided America, and was reviewed ‘a startling film’ by The Guardian. 

As Series Director of the four-part NETFLIX series SWAMP KINGS Katharine and the team crafted an intimate and exhilarating portrait of one of America’s college football teams at the height of their dominance. The series draws on unprecedented access to never-before-seen locker room archive and candid interviews to uncover the personal stories, pressures and rivalries that defined a double championship streak, giving audiences a rare glimpse into the vulnerability and intensity behind the bravado.  Blending high-octane sporting drama and stunning cinematic visuals, the series debuted at the #1 spot in NETFLIX’s Top 10 list.

BLAIR & BROWN: THE NEW LABOUR REVOLUTION for the BBC. Katharine’s opening film in this series explored the early relationship between the two young politicians, delving into the camaraderie and tensions that shaped their political careers. The film examines the genesis of Blair’s charismatic centrism and Brown’s policy-focused vision, tracing how youthful friendship evolved amid the fight for party leadership. Featuring interviews with both Prime Ministers and a cast of veteran insiders, the series was described as ‘a stirring, illuminating watch’ and went on to win Best Documentary Series - Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. 

Painstakingly crafted from soldiers’ helmet cam footage during Afghanistan’s bloodiest summer on record, INTO THE HORNETS NEST for the landmark BBC series OUR WAR, was described by Sunday Times as ‘a film that has as much power and poignancy as an epic war movie.’  Katharine’s direction earned her a BAFTA nomination - Best Factual Director - highlighting her ability to transform raw, frontline footage into dramatic, cinematic narrative. The series won a BAFTA - Best Documentary Series.

Katharine has always sought to create compelling, nuanced films that connect and engage their audiences. For MURDER GAMES - which told the story of groomed teenager Breck Bednar for BBC - she was inspired by the testimony of Breck’s friends to move beyond interview and archive, writing and directing a factual drama that vividly portrayed the dangerous dynamic of Breck’s relationship with his killer. Katharine’s sensitive and cinematic approach has given the film an enduring educational impact, and it continues to be widely screened as part of the UK schools PSHE curriculum.

CV