John Yorke (producer)

John Roland Clifford Yorke (born 9 July 1962)[1][2] is a British television producer and script editor, who was the executive consultant of BBC soap opera EastEnders from November 2017 to February 2019. Previously, he was the executive producer of EastEnders from 2000 to 2002 and 2004 to 2005.[3]

John Yorke
Born	John Roland Clifford Yorke 9 July 1962 Stepney, London, England
Alma mater	Newcastle University
Occupation	Television producer script editor
Years active	1994–present
Employer	BBC / Channel 4
Television	EastEnders (2000–2002, 2004–2005, 2017–2019)

Career

Background

Yorke attended Newcastle University.[4] He joined the BBC in 1986, working initially in radio as a studio manager and then as a producer on BBC Radio 5.[5]

Early career - the 1990s and EastEnders

In 1994, he moved to television, working as a script editor on EastEnders before becoming the storyline consultant on Casualty. In 1999, after a brief period as producer on Sunburn,[6] he took on the executive producer role on EastEnders.[7] During his time there, he was given the task of introducing the soap's fourth weekly episode.

He axed the majority of the Di Marco family, and helped introduce popular characters such as the Slater family.[7] As what Mal Young described as "two of EastEnders most successful years", Yorke was responsible for big ratings winners such as "Who Shot Phil?", Ethel Skinner's death, Jim Branning and Dot Cotton's marriage, abusive Trevor Morgan, and Kat Slater's revelation to her daughter Zoe that she was her mother.[7] Yorke was also responsible for Kim Medcalf being cast in the role of Sam Mitchell in January 2002, after Danniella Westbrook's drug addiction left her unsuitable for the role.[7]

The 2000s

In May 2002, he left the soap for a senior position under Mal Young in the BBC's in-house Drama Series team, but soon after he left to work for Channel 4 as the Head of Drama in 2003.[8] At Channel 4, he commissioned series such as Shameless, Sex Traffic and the critically acclaimed Omagh.[3] In 2005, it was announced he would return to the BBC, taking over Mal Young's position, as Controller of BBC Drama Series, and, in addition, Co-Head of Independent Drama Commissioning (i.e. programmes made for the BBC by independent production companies, rather than in-house).[8]

One of the reasons he returned was to set around reversing the fortunes of EastEnders, which had been receiving low ratings in comparison to the past. The results were mixed. As Controller of Continuing Drama Series, he has been ultimately responsible for overseeing some of the most popular programmes on British television, including EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City and Doctors.[8]

In 2009. he was made controller of the newly formed BBC Drama Production – a merger of Continuing Series and Series and Serials. While at the BBC, Yorke has been Commissioning Editor/Executive Producer for Life on Mars, Robin Hood, Bodies, The Street, A Class Apart, Waterloo Road and HolbyBlue, as well as looking after various series of Spooks, Hustle and New Tricks.

The 2010s

In 2010, Yorke's job title was changed to that of Controller Continuing Drama Production Studios. He was the executive producer of the Internet spin-off EastEnders: E20 and BBC daytime drama, Land Girls.[9]

In March 2012, Yorke became acting editor of radio soap The Archers while Vanessa Whitburn took long service leave.[10]

He left the BBC again later in 2012. In 2013, he was an executive producer of Truckers and Skins, and the following year, The Missing.

He was a regular writer on Red Rock, writing six episodes between 2015 and 2016.

He also wrote two episodes of Casualty between 2016 and 2017.

Return to EastEnders

In June 2017, it was announced that EastEnders executive producer Sean O'Connor had stepped down and would be temporarily replaced by Yorke as executive consultant.[11] Yorke announced that he would be staying with the show for a year, longer than his original three months he was contracted to.[12]

Into The Woods

Outside of television production, Yorke also authored Into The Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story, a writing guide that proposed a five act structure to film and television narrative, tying it back into classical mythology and playwriting techniques. The book draws extensively from Yorke's own research and experience, using examples from projects such as EastEnders and Spooks.[13] This is used as the basis for seminars and online classes, devised and taught by Yorke.

References

1. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
2. "John Roland Clifford YORKE - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
3. "John Yorke". IMDb. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
4. News - English Literature, Language and Linguistics - Newcastle University Archived January 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
5. "Team - John Yorke". John Yorke Story. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
6. "My First Television Drama Commission – Composing for TV - Sheridan Tongue". Sheridan Tongue. 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
7. Lindsay, Duncan (24 June 2017). "10 storylines which prove that EastEnders will be in great hands with John Yorke after boss Sean O'Connor leaves". Metro. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
8. "BBC - John Yorke, Former Controller of Drama Production and New Talent - Inside the BBC". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
9. "Mobilising Land Girls". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 24 September 2009. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
10. Davies, Keri (29 February 2012). "Acting Archers editor". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
11. "EastEnders confirms producer is leaving immediately". Digital Spy. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
12. Mitchell, Bea (2018-05-23). "EastEnders boss John Yorke extends contract with soap". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
13. "About Into the Woods".

External links

• EastEnders: Faith, Morality and Hope in the Community, Speech by John Yorke
• John Yorke at IMDb
• Into The Woods Official Site