Ian Toynton

As both producer and director, Ian Toynton specialized in action-packed dramas with occasional dashes of whimsy. Following an apprenticeship as a television sound editor on fondly remembered 1970s U.K. TV series like "Special Branch" (ITV 1969-74) and "The Sweeney" (ITV 1975-78), he moved into producing with the comic crime drama "Minder" (ITV 1979-94), a British series that centered on a gangster's bodyguard. Toynton stayed involved throughout the show's 15-year run, rising in the ranks to producer and making his directorial debut with a 1980 episode. "Minder" was known for balancing scenes of brutal violence with moments of levity; this dichotomy eventually made him an excellent fit for quirky comic-tinged crime procedural "Bones" (Fox 2005- ).