Educated at Bedales, Saunders entered the film industry in 1927 and acted as assistant director and editor with such companies as Gaumont-British.
[3] His directorial debut was a romantic comedy called No Exit (which he wrote, produced and directed),[4] about a publisher's daughter who wrongly believes that a humble staff writer of her father's is secretly a best-selling author.
Returning to television direction once more, he then made seven episodes of the police drama series, Fabian of the Yard, broadcast on the BBC in 1955, before completing three more films in 1956 (Behind the Headlines, The Narrowing Circle, and Find the Lady).
[2] After making three more episodes of "Fabian" in 1955 and 1956, he continued working with the BBC, filming nine instalments[2] of another TV series, Adventures of the Big Man in 1956, which presented stories about a public relations officer in a large store.
[13] It was produced by Guido Coen, for whom Saunders made other movies such as the 1957 drama Kill Her Gently and the 1959 thriller Naked Fury.