Arriving in Britain as a 14-year-old refugee, Herbert Wise would become one of his adopted country’s most versatile directors of television drama. The hugely successful I, Claudius was the high point of a 40-year career that brought polish and distinction to police series, costume dramas and single plays. Known for his sympathetic handling of actors, he defined the essentials of a director as “having the personality and desire to be in charge, to be able to use the creative contributions of everybody and fuse them in what you want to do with the piece”.
An oft-violent saga of murder and intrigue in ancient Rome, I, Claudius was one of the most sensational television productions of the Seventies. Wise insisted on directing all 13 episodes himself