Benedict Spence
Benedict Spence | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation | Cinematographer/director of photography |
| Website | www.benedictspence.com |
Benedict Spence is an English cinematographer and director of photography. His cinematography credits include Witless, In My Skin, GameFace, The End of the F***ing World, This Is Going to Hurt and the Netflix psychological drama miniseries Eric.
Spence received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2020 for The End of the F***ing World. His cinematography for Netflix's Eric earned him Royal Television Society and British Society of Cinematographers awards in 2024 and 2025, along with a 2025 BAFTA Television Craft Award nomination.
Career
Spence began his career in factual entertainment, shooting programmes for the BBC, MTV and Sky before moving into commercial productions, music videos and television dramas. His early credits also include steadicam operating on The Inbetweeners Movie and camera supervisor on Sky Living's The Face featuring Naomi Campbell.
He worked on music videos for artists including Beth Ditto and Leona Lewis, and TV commercials for companies including Sony, Carphone Warehouse and Asda. His subsequent television credits included the BBC comedy series Witless (2016) and the Channel 4 comedy-drama GameFace (2017).
In 2017, Spence was cinematographer on The Blue Door, nominated by BAFTA for the Best British Short in 2019, and worked on all five episodes of the BATFA award-winning In My Skin. The production won the Television Drama award at the 2019 BAFTA Cymru Awards.
In 2019, he served as cinematographer on four episodes of the second series of the Channel 4 and Netflix dark comedy-drama The End of the F**ing World*. His work on the series earned him a nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards.
In 2020, Spence worked as director of photography on the BBC comedy series Mister Winner, starring Spencer Jones. He then collaborated again with Forbes on the BBC and AMC medical comedy-drama This Is Going to Hurt (2022), starring Ben Whishaw.
In 2024, he served as director of photography for the six-episode Netflix psychological drama miniseries Eric, directed by Forbes and starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Type | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Nothing but the Beat | Documentary film | Director of photography | |
| 2011 | The Inbetweeners Movie | Feature film | Steadicam operator | |
| 2013 | The Face | Reality television series | Camera supervisor | |
| 2016 | Witless | Television series | Cinematographer | |
| 2017 | GameFace | Television series | Cinematographer | Series 1 |
| 2017 | The Blue Door | Short film | Cinematographer | Nominated for the 2019 BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film |
| 2019 | The End of the F***ing World | Television series | Director of photography | Series 2, 4 episodes |
| 2020 | In My Skin | Television series | Director of photography | Series 1, 5 episodes |
| 2020 | Mister Winner | Television series | Director of photography | 6 episodes |
| 2022 | This Is Going to Hurt | Television miniseries | Cinematographer | 4 episodes |
| 2024 | Eric | Television miniseries | Director of photography | 6 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) | The End of the F***ing World | Nominated |
| 2024 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Photography – Scripted | Eric | Won |
| 2025 | British Society of Cinematographers Awards | Best Cinematography in a Television Drama (International/Streaming) | Eric | Won |
| 2025 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Photography & Lighting: Fiction | Eric | Nominated |
References
- ↑ "Low-budget shooting on BBC Comedy Witless". British Cinematographer. 28 July 2017.
- ↑ "Get your face on". Definition Magazine.
- ↑ "Lenspire". lenspire.zeiss.com.
- ↑ "Bringing a New Perspective to "End of the F***ing World" Season 2". INDIE Shooter. 8 April 2020. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021.
- ↑ "Benedict Spence". Television Academy. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Benedict Spence BSC wins Photography Scripted RTS Craft & Design Award for Eric". British Cinematographer. 3 December 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Winners Announced". British Society of Cinematographers. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "TV Craft Awards 2025". BAFTA. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "'The End of The F***ing World's Lucy Forbes On How The Dark Comedy Drama Has Been A Catalyst For Young Female Directors". Deadline Hollywood. 13 November 2019.
- ↑ "Beth Ditto - I Wrote The Book". www.benedictspence.com.
- ↑ "S+O Media". Somedia.tv.
- ↑ "Leona Lewis - One More Sleep". www.benedictspence.com.
- ↑ "Ascending Stars". Definition. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Benedict Spence". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "The Blue Door". IMDb.
- ↑ "BAFTA Shorts 2019". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 16 January 2019.
- ↑ "2019 Cymru Television Drama | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
- ↑ "BBC In My Skin". Shotoncooke.com.
- ↑ "Post-production uncovered: In My Skin (BBC3)". Broadcast.
- ↑ "Television Drama". BAFTA. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "The End of the F***ing World credits - Metacritic". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) 2020 - Nominees & Winners Emmy Awards". Television Academy. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Benedict Spence BSC". Vision Artists. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Benedict Spence BSC and Toby Tomkins on Developing a 1980s NYC Look for Eric". British Cinematographer. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "The Blue Door". British Council. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Benedict Spence". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Benedict Spence BSC and Toby Tomkins on Developing a 1980s NYC Look for Eric". British Cinematographer. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Benedict Spence". Television Academy.
- ↑ "Winners Announced for the RTS Craft & Design Awards 2024". Royal Television Society.
- ↑ "Winners Announced". British Society of Cinematographers.
- ↑ "TV Craft Awards 2025". BAFTA.