Martin Dennis

Director · Born December 1, 1965 (60) · Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Martin Dennis is a Canadian-born award-winning British television director specialising in situation comedy. He won the BAFTA for situation comedy in 2005, having been nominated in 1989, 1996, and 1998. Dennis was born in Toronto and lived there briefly until his family moved to Surrey. He graduated from the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham alongside his fellow and now well-known award-winning contemporaries - stage and screen directors Phyllida Lloyd and Andy Wilson, producer Sarah Curtis, actor and director Owen Brenman and stage and screen designer Mark Thompson. Stage and screen writer-directors Victoria Wood and Terry Johnson had graduated from the Department in preceding years. Dennis joined the BBC in 1980 as a runner. He soon became a production manager and was part of the crew behind 'Allo, 'Allo, Don't Wait Up, and Hi-De-Hi. In 1980, Dennis became the director of 'Allo, 'Allo and in 1991 he directed the first series of Men Behaving Badly for Hartswood Films, and went on to direct all the subsequent series and specials. He has also directed Birds of a Feather when it was revived by ITV in 2014.

What are Martin Dennis' films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight

Society

50%

Bonds

32%

Self

7%

Morality

7%

Ideas

3%

Community6 Romantic love2 Friendship2 Ambition2 Tradition vs change2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful

6

Absurd

6

Warm

6

Hopeful

1

Thrilling

1

Other

1

How their films linger

Feel-good8 Fun7

How their films end

Happy1
Bittersweet6
Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Martin Dennis' films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (8).

Also on these channels

Howdy1 title, show their title on Howdy
MovieSphere+1 title, show their title on MovieSphere+

Subscription and free streaming for Martin Dennis' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

18 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

The Goes Wrong Show(2019)
Show 1 episode · Director
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
The Job Lot(2013)
Show 5 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows
Friday Night Dinner(2011)
Show 30 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Monday Monday(2009)
Show Director
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all shows
Comedy Showcase (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Show 1 episode · Director
Mike Bassett: Manager (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Show 6 episodes · Director
Carrie & Barry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Show 12 episodes · Director
Bernard's Letter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Director
The Smoking Room(2004)
Show Director
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
The Savages (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Show 6 episodes · Director
Black Books(2000)
Show 12 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Coupling(2000)
Show 28 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Beast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Show 12 episodes · Director
Hippies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Show 6 episodes · Director
The Vicar of Dibley(1994)
Show Director
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows
Men Behaving Badly(1992)
Show 3 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
The Upper Hand (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Show 30 episodes · Director
'Allo 'Allo!(1982)
Show 23 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 15 titles from 1984 to 2019.

Highest rated

The Goes Wrong Show (2019)

Midcredits 97^th

By role

only this rolewith another role

Directing15 of 15 · 95^th

By decade

1980s1 · crew1990s3 · crew2000s8 · crew2010s3 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Is Martin Dennis' work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films

Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 11 · minimal

Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 36 · moderate

Profanity3 titlesmedian 55 · moderate

Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 31 · mild

Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 10 · minimal

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Martin Dennis work with?

People who share at least 2 of Martin Dennis' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kenton Allen shares the most, 3.