This obituary, written by Tim Hudnott, is taken from Ariel, w/c October 24 2005:

Michael Sheppard

Michael Sheppard, a dubbing mixer with the London post production sound team, died recently from liver cancer at the age of 51. He'd been unwell for some time but the cancer was only diagnosed shortly before his death.

Mike first joined the BBC on contract in 1973 as a holiday relief assistant film recordist. Based at Ealing film studios he worked in sound transfer areas and the back rooms of dubbing theatres, while at the same time pursuing a career as a musician. In 1976 Mike left the BBC to go on tour as rhythm guitar player with the band Trickster, who supported acts including ELO and the Bay City Rollers.

He returned to the BBC in 1989 as an assistant film recordist, working in the dubbing theatres of Ealing, Lime Grove and TVC. I had the pleasure of working with him for a long spell in Dubbing Theatre X, a film-based theatre in TVC's East Tower. Together with Rob James we worked on a number of dramas including Portrait of a Marriage, a production where Mike's knowledge of music proved very useful as the composer attended the dubbing sessions to ensure that his music sounded perfect. We often worked through the night to meet deadlines and Mike would still be his cheerful self in the early hours of the morning while I drank gallons of black coffee in the canteen to try to stay awake.

I worked with Mike again in Lime Grove Dubbing Theatre 1, a huge film-based theatre which was adapted to run video but had a habit of ending up with the picture and sound considerably out of sync. Mike would take these problems in his stride and would calmly sort things out in time for transmission, while the rest of us aged a few years each time.

In the early 1990s the BBC invested in digital sound technology and Mike was chosen to join a small team of people given the opportunity of making it work. The early digital days were fraught with problems but Mike's enthusiasm and calmness helped to ensure that these problems were resolved and digital sound editing accepted as the way forward. Mike was promoted from sound editor to dubbing mixer in 1996. In keeping with his background as a musician he announced his success to his colleagues with the words, 'Hey man, I got the gig'.

Mike particularly enjoyed working in the dubbing theatre at White City and was a popular choice with programme makers. He set up the system we use to do See Hear (the first programme to make use of the unity network at White City for sound work) and was instrumental in bringing this work back to post production. He was also popular with the Watchdog production, possibly because he displayed the stamina needed for lengthy overnight sessions.

Away from White City his other credits included many sport programmes and in his capacity as dubbing editor he received a Bafta nomination for Casualty. He also mixed the first widescreen programme to come through post-production.

He took a pride in his work and his commitment was such that he continued to work despite his ill health until a few weeks before his death. He will be sadly missed by everyone in the sound team and those that worked with him over his many years of loyal service.