Segun Akinola (born 1993) is an English composer for television and documentaries. He served as the music director and composer for Doctor Who from "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" (2018) until "The Power of the Doctor" (2022).[1]

Segun Akinola
Born1993 (age 30–31)
OccupationComposer
Years active2012–present
Websitewww.segunakinola.com Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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Akinola has British-Nigerian heritage.[2] As a child he learned to play piano and drums.[3] He is an alumnus of Bedford Modern School,[4] and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire,[5] from where he graduated with first-class honours in 2014.[3] He subsequently obtained an MA in Composing for Film and Television, at the National Film and Television School.[3][6]

Work

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Doctor Who

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On 26 June 2018, Doctor Who executive producer Chris Chibnall announced that the musical score for the eleventh series of the programme would be provided by Akinola.[5][7][2] Akinola returned to compose for the twelfth and thirteenth series, as well as the 2022 specials.[8][9] On 20 July 2022, Akinola announced that he had made the decision to depart alongside Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker, and that "The Power of the Doctor" would be his last episode as composer for the show.[10]

Recognition

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He was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2017.[11]

His "Dear Mr Shakespeare" score was given an Honourable Mention in the 2017 BSO Jerry Goldsmith Award for Best Original Score for a Short Film.[3]

In 2019, Segun Akinola received a nomination at the Screen Nation Awards in the "Rising Star" category. He was nominated for his work on Black and British: A Forgotten History, Doctor Who, and Wonders of the Moon.[12]

Personal life

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Akinola lives in London.[6]

Music

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Year Title Notes
2012 Outsiders Short
2013 Frozen Echoes
GT4 Challenge of Great Britain Donington Park Documentary short
Godsweeper Video game
2014 Wings Short
1 Way Up: The Story of Peckham BMX Documentary feature
2015 Shaun the Sheep the Movie Green Light to Opening Night Documentary series
Vienna Ugly Documentary short
2016 The Trip[6] Short
White Paint
Paul
A Moving Image[5] Film
The Proposal Short
Dear Mr Shakespeare: Shakespeare Lives[5]
Panorama -The VIP Paedophile Ring: What's the Truth?[6] Documentary series
Black and British: A Forgotten History[5]
2017 Wild Horses Short
Acta Non Verba Documentary
The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed[5] TV series
Expedition Volcano[5] Documentary series
Custom Love Short
2018 Wonders of the Moon Documentary
2018–2022 Doctor Who TV series, Series 11, 12, 13, 2022 specials
2018 Itsy Short
2021 Stephen TV series
9/11: Inside the President’s War Room Documentary
2023 Girl You Know It's True German film
Murder is Easy TV series

References

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  1. ^ Laford, Andrea (20 July 2022). "Composer Segun Akinola reveals special for BBC centenary is his last Doctor Who job". CultBox. Headline News.
  2. ^ a b Martin, Dan (27 June 2018). "Who is Segun Akinola? The composer reinventing the Doctor Who theme". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "Birmingham graduate is the sound of 'Doctor Who' - Royal Birmingham Conservatoire". Birmingham City University. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  4. ^ "OBMs Crowdfund for new film". Bedford Modern. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Jeffery, Morgan (26 June 2018). "Doctor Who series 11 composer has been revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "New series of Doctor Who to be scored by composer Segun Akinola". Doctor Who. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  7. ^ O'Connor, Rory (20 February 2018). "Doctor Who: Bradley Walsh WON'T work with two big stars after they confirm their exits". Express. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Doctor Who Series 12 begins New Year's Day 2020". www.segunakinola.com. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  9. ^ Nolan, Peter (9 May 2019). "LISTEN: Doctor Who composer Segun Akinola on This Classical Life". Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  10. ^ Andrea, Langford (20 July 2022). "Composer Segun Akinola reveals special for BBC centenary is his last Doctor Who job". Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  11. ^ "BAFTA Announces Breakthrough Brits of 2017". BAFTA. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Screen Nation Hall Of Fame". www.screennation.org. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
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