Researcher in Focus: John Coldstream

Special Collections is used by many distinguished academics and film historians during the year - recently one of our most frequent visitors was John Coldstream, who was writing the official biography of the late Dirk Bogarde.

John was formerly the literary editor of the Daily Telegraph. He became Bogarde's commissioning editor in 1991 and worked closely with the actor during the last eight years of his life. John edited Dirk's last book, For The Time Being.

John consulted several special collections - Joseph Losey, Muriel and Sydney Box, Teddy Baird, T E B Clarke and Anthony Asquith, as well as the beautifully bound film scripts, some annotated and illustrated with Bogarde's own pen and ink sketches, which the actor donated to the bfi in 1984.