BBC under fire over Hitchcock drama - Telegraph.co.uk

"There were six of us Hitchcock blondes, and it's like we all were married to the man at one time or another and we all have a different take on him," said Eve Marie Saint, who starred in North by Northwest.

"Each actress was at a different stage of their life, we were different ages, some married, some not. My experience with Hitch was one of utter respect, warmth, friendliness and humour, and North by Northwest was a glorious time in my life."

"Hitchcock was a gentleman, he was funny, he was so attentive to me, with the character, and he cared about everything my character Eve Kendall wore. He had an eye for the specifics of the character."

Doris Day, who starred in The Man Who Knew Too Much with Jimmy Stewart, was equally unstinting in her praise.

"He was just Mr. Hitchcock, wonderful, a great director and a good friend. I loved working with him."

Kim Novak, the star of Vertigo, also defended the director. "Hitchcock is one of the great directors and one to be studied. He was a perfectionist, he didn't make any short cuts."

Others to defend Hitchcock included Virginia Darcy, who was the set hairdresser during the filming of The Birds and Marnie.

"You had to take Hitch with a pinch of salt," she said.

"Tippi was an innocent from New York. I don't think she could handle herself then, she had never done a movie in her life, never been around a studio, never knew a director, she only knew guys who were photographers."

The BBC drama has also come under fire from Nora Brown, the widow of Jim Brown, assistant director on both The Birds and Marnie, who was interviewed by Gwyneth Hughes, who wrote the screenplay.

He had agreed to be interviewed on the understanding that it would be an affectionate portrayal of Hitchcock.

Interviewed in The Daily Telegraph, she said: "He had nothing but admiration and respect for Hitch, understood his clever Cockney sense of humour and thought the man a genius," she said.

"If he was here today, I doubt that he would have any negative comments. He would be saddened by the image portrayed of his friend and mentor."