Director Piers Haggard, who was the great-grand-nephew of author H. Rider Haggard, had been directing since the 1960s. Prior to "Quatermass", he had directed the acclaimed Dennis Potter drama serial "Pennies from Heaven" (1978). Commenting on the script, Haggard described it as "a tremendous re-assertion of the importance of people, ordinary people, and how necessary they are in fighting evil". Following "Quatermass", he directed "The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu" (1980) and the Disney Channel TV series "Return to Treasure Island" (1985).