Rye was born in Cambridge. He was a producer for Blue Peter and directed The Box of Delights from the John Masefield novel, which was broadcast in the run-up to Christmas 1984. He is well-known for his novels.
Rye may be best known for directing the later work of Dennis Potter, Lipstick on Your Collar (1993) and two linked serials first shown in 1996, Karaoke and Cold Lazarus, two years after Potter died.
Other directing credits include: Midsomer Murders, Vital Signs, Two Thousand Acres of Sky, Silent Witness, Close and True, Oliver Twist, Sunburn, Big Women, Family Money, Kavanagh QC, The Other Side, The Box of Delights, The Paradise Club, TECX, The Gemini Factor, Casualty, The December Rose, Treasure Houses, The Box of Light, Dramarama, Ghost in the Water, Squadron, Her Mother's House, Maggie, A Moment in Time, and Rentaghost. He is also the producer of two credits.
