Anyone who has seen the film Last Train to Christmas will probably not be aware that the writer and director is a former Frank Wheldon School pupil.
Julian Mitchell (professional name Julian Kemp) attended Frank Wheldon in the 1980s. His talents were developed at the school where he began writing school plays. He went on to secure a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He graduated in 1991 and his career blossomed from there.
Last Train to Christmas was released on 18th December 2021. The story goes:
Tony Towers is a local celebrity and a successful nightclub manager. He is engaged to Sue, a younger woman. Things get a little strange when he embarks upon the 3:17 train to Nottingham for a Christmas family reunion.
His website continues with his career to date
Founder Member of Central Junior Television Workshop
Moving into TV drama, Kemp wrote and directed a short film called Keith for the European Broadcasting Union which won the Prix Danube. Then directing a comedy series Roger and the Rottentrolls, written by Tim Firth. He directed three series, winning a BAFTA for series one.
He then went to Australia to co-write and direct an adaptation of Morris Glietzman’s book Blabbermouth. This comedy-drama about a young mute girl trying to fit in a rural Australian community won an International Emmy, an Australian Film Institute award and a BANFF award.
An opportunity soon came to direct his first feature film. House was set in South Wales. It is the story of an usher at a small bingo hall who discovers she has psychic powers. It starred Kelly Macdonald, Miriam Margolyes and Freddie Jones.
Working mainly as a television director, Julian wrote and directed a ten-part comedy-drama for ITV. Dangerville was all about a fictional reality programme run by a malevolent corporation. The series was awarded 2nd prize at the Prix Jenese.
He also shot a twelve-part comedy series called Uncle Max in Johannesburg starring David Schneider, as well as Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars, a two-hour BBC drama starring Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson and Anna Chancellor.
Julian’s second feature film My Last Five Girlfriends was released by Paramount Pictures across the UK and Tribeca Films in the US. Adapted from Alain de Botton’s novel Essays in Love, it starred Naomie Harris.
Since then, Julian has directed a series of 3D projects for Sky including the documentary Brian May’s Brief History of 3D. He devised, directed and series produced Cinemaniacs, a series to encourage young filmmakers. He also wrote and directed numerous episodes of the comedy The Legend of Dick and Dom.
America’s War on Drugs
One of Julian’s most complex and ambitious directing challenges was on the eight-hour History Channel documentary America’s War on Drugs. Filmed entirely in Norwich, UK, where Julian had to recreate thirty different countries across seven decades in five different languages.
Julian has worked on four series of the CBBC drama Jamie Johnson. The story of a boy who dreams of becoming a professional football player. Based on the best-selling books by Dan Freedman, it is the highest-rated programme on the channel, consistently in the top ten most watched shows for the whole of BBC iPlayer.
