David studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1947-49 before working for five years in repertory theatre as a stage manager and director.
He moved into television in 1954 as an assistant floor manager for Michael Barry’s BBC drama department.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s he was a leading figure in British television at the BBC, where he produced 176 episodes of Z Cars before moving on to the spin off series Softly, Softly. He was Head of English Regions Drama at BBC Pebble Mill for ten years, and then at Channel 4, where he was Senior Commissioning Editor for Fiction from 1981-90, responsible not only for the new channel's drama output but also for Film on Four.. Rose is credited by many as being a significant figure in the regeneration of British cinema and particularly remembered for films such as My Beautiful Laundrette, Wish You Were Here, Dance With A Stranger, Mona Lisa and Letter to Brezhnev.
