Ben Bartlett obit

Ben Bartlett (1965-2026)

 

He was not on the list.

Ben Bartlett passed away last Sunday, April 19 at age 61 after battling lung cancer. The composer wrote numerous scores for British television and television over the last three decades and was best known for his music from the  BBC documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination and won a BAFTA TV Award. His other scoring credits include BBC’s Walking with Beasts & Walking with Monsters, ITV’s Vera, which ran between 2011 and 2025, Sky’s The Tunnel, ITV’s The Loch, Sky’s Mad Dogs, ITV’s Lucan, Sky’s Stan Lee’s Lucky Man and ITV’s The Trials of Jimmy Rose. Among his feature scoring credits are Marc Munden’s 2007 drama The Mark of Cain and Robert Krause’s 2006 horror thriller Blood Trails. He has also written extensively for concert hall and theatre, receiving critical acclaim for his mini- opera El Tigre. Bartlett is survived by his wife, Sonia, and two children.

 

Awards

2000 – Winner of the British Academy Television Craft Award in the category "Best Original Television Music", for Walking with Dinosaurs (1999).

2000 – Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the category "Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special", for Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)

2006 – RTS nomination for "Music – Original Title" for TV series The Ghost Squad (2005)

2007 – RTS nomination for "Music – Original Score" for The Mark Of Cain (2007) movie

2009 – Ivor Novello Award nomination for "Best Television Soundtrack" for BBC film Fiona's Story (2008)

2009 – RTS nomination for "Music – Original Title" for TV series Mutual Friends (2008)

 

Composer

Dog of Time

composed by

Post-productionShort

 

Vera (2011)

Vera

8.2

TV Series

Composer

2011–2025

55 episodes

 

Mark Benton in Penny drops (2024)

Penny drops

Short

composer

2024

 

Sin Eater (2024)

Sin Eater

Short

Composer

2024

 

James Nesbitt and Thekla Reuten in Lucky Man (2016)

Lucky Man

7.1

TV Series

Composer

2017–2018

18 episodes

 

Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy in The Tunnel (2013)

The Tunnel

7.9

TV Series

Composer

2016–2018

14 episodes

 

Bounce

Short

Composer

2018

 

Siobhan Finneran, Laura Fraser, and Don Gilet in The Loch (2017)

The Loch

6.9

TV Mini Series

Composer

2017

6 episodes

 

Ray Winstone in The Trials of Jimmy Rose (2015)

The Trials of Jimmy Rose

6.7

TV Mini Series

Composer

2015

3 episodes

 

Christopher Eccleston and Rory Kinnear in Lucan (2013)

Lucan

6.8

TV Mini Series

Composer

2013

2 episodes

 

Max Beesley, Philip Glenister, John Simm, and Marc Warren in Mad Dogs (2011)

Mad Dogs

7.5

TV Series

Composeroriginal music by

2013

6 episodes

 

Marton Csokas in Falcón (2012)

Falcón

6.5

TV Mini Series

composer

2013

1 episode

 

Eternal Law (2012)

Eternal Law

6.7

TV Series

Composer

2012

6 episodes

 

Dipdap (2011)

Dipdap

8.7

TV Series

Composer

2011

 

The Runaway (2010)

The Runaway

7.4

TV Mini Series

Composer

2011

6 episodes

 

Henry Kissinger in Kissinger (2011)

Kissinger

7.3

TV Movie

Composer

2011

 

The Making of Some Dogs Bite (2010)

The Making of Some Dogs Bite

Short

Composer

2010

 

Some Dogs Bite (2010)

Some Dogs Bite

6.0

TV Movie

Composer

2010

 

Janet McTeer and Hugh Bonneville in Hunter (2009)

Hunter

6.7

TV Mini Series

Composer

2009

2 episodes

 

Thrilla in Manila (2008)

Thrilla in Manila

7.8

TV Movie

Composer

2008

 

Mutual Friends (2008)

Mutual Friends

7.0

TV Series

Composer

2008

6 episodes

 

Fiona's Story (2008)

Fiona's Story

7.1

TV Movie

Composer

2008

 

Hugh Bonneville, Julie Graham, Adrian Lester, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Bonekickers (2008)

Bonekickers

5.1

TV Mini Series

Composer

2008

6 episodes

 

Midnight Man (2008)

Midnight Man

6.7

TV Mini Series

Composer

2008

3 episodes

 

Steven Robertson and Rafe Spall in He Kills Coppers (2008)

He Kills Coppers

6.4

TV Movie

Composer

2008

 

Fairy Tales (2008)

Fairy Tales

6.7

TV Mini Series

Composer

2008

1 episode

 

Empathy (2007)

Empathy

6.7

TV Movie

Composer

2007

 

Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea (2007)

Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea

6.9

TV Movie

Composer

2007

 

The Mark of Cain (2007)

The Mark of Cain

6.4

Composer

2007

 

The Chase (2006)

The Chase

6.8

TV Series

Composer

2006

6 episodes

 

Rebecca Palmer and Tom Frederic in Blood Trails (2006)

Blood Trails

3.5

music by

2006

 

Big Night Out

composer

2005

 

Elaine Cassidy, Emma Fielding, and Jonas Armstrong in The Ghost Squad (2005)

The Ghost Squad

7.4

TV Series

Composer

2005

8 episodes

 

Walking with Monsters (2005)

Walking with Monsters

8.2

TV Mini Series

Composer

2005

2 episodes

 

Legless (2005)

Legless

8.1

TV Movie

Composer

2005

 

Absolute Power (2003)

Absolute Power

8.1

TV Series

Composer

2003–2005

2 episodes

 

Conviction (2004)

Conviction

7.4

TV Mini Series

Composer

2004

2 episodes

 

Chased by Prehistoric Beasts

TV Mini Series

Composer

2004

1 episode

 

Nigel Marven in Sea Monsters: A Walking with Dinosaurs Trilogy (2003)

Sea Monsters: A Walking with Dinosaurs Trilogy

7.9

TV Mini Series

Composer

2003

3 episodes

 

Nigel Marven in A Walking with Dinosaurs Special (2002)

A Walking with Dinosaurs Special

7.7

TV Mini Series

Composer

2002–2003

2 episodes

 

Dinosaur World (2001)

Dinosaur World

Video Game

music composed by

2001

 

Walking with Prehistoric Beasts (2001)

Walking with Prehistoric Beasts

8.3

TV Mini Series

Composer

2001

8 episodes

 

Triumph of the Beasts

8.1

TV Movie

Composer

2001

 

Maisie's Catch

5.6

Short

Composer

2000

 

Allosaurus: A Walking with Dinosaurs Special (2000)

Allosaurus: A Walking with Dinosaurs Special

8.1

TV Mini Series

Composer

2000

2 episodes

 

The Secret World of Michael Fry (2000)

The Secret World of Michael Fry

7.9

TV Mini Series

Composer

2000

2 episodes

 

Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)

Walking with Dinosaurs

8.5

TV Mini Series

Composer

1999

6 episodes

 

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Making Of (1999)

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Making Of

7.5

TV Movie

Composer

1999

 

Music Department

Walking with Prehistoric Beasts (2001)

Walking with Prehistoric Beasts

8.3

TV Mini Series

conductororchestratormusic programmer (uncredited, uncredited)

2001

8 episodes

 

Allosaurus: A Walking with Dinosaurs Special (2000)

Allosaurus: A Walking with Dinosaurs Special

8.1

TV Mini Series

music programmerconductororchestrator (uncredited, uncredited)

2000

1 episode

 

Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)

Walking with Dinosaurs

8.5

TV Mini Series

music producerconductororchestrator (uncredited, uncredited, uncredited) ...

1999

7 episodes

 

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Making Of (1999)

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Making Of

7.5

TV Movie

conductormusic producerorchestrator (uncredited, uncredited, uncredited)

1999