Mike Gibbon

John Michael Gibbon (born 27 January 1942) is an English television producer and director.

For other similarly named people, see Michael Gibbons (disambiguation).
Mike Gibbon
Born
John Michael Gibbon

(1942-01-27) 27 January 1942
Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationTV Producer/Director
Years active1972 (1972)–1989 (1989)
TelevisionEastEnders
Spouse(s)
Moya McCarthy
​
(m. 1976)​
Children1 daughter

He directed and produced the BBC televised soap opera, EastEnders. He began directing the programme in 1985 and began producing the programme in 1988.[1] He became the show's new producer following the departure of the show's creator and series producer Julia Smith. Due to personal conflict with the series' head, Peter Cregeen, he was replaced by Michael Ferguson.[2] It was reported that Gibbon controversially called for the killing of at least ten long-running characters in a bid to boost ratings. According to the writer David Yallop, acting ability was a key factor in deciding which members of the cast to kill off. Cast lists were marked with black asterisks, signifying a death for their character. One of the written plots saw characters die in an IRA bombing. However, the plots never came to fruition, as Gibbon was demoted and then resigned from the serial.[3]

He is also the deviser and adaptor, with David Yallop, of Herbert Jenkins's Bindle book series.

Gibbon married Moya McCarthy in July 1976 and they have a daughter, Sophie.

Filmography
  • New Scotland Yard (1972) - director
  • Helen: A Woman of Today (1973) - director
  • Thick as Thieves (1974) - director
  • Within These Walls (1974) - director
  • Intimate Strangers (1974) - director
  • Emmerdale Farm -director
  • The Brack Report (1982) - director
  • Airline - director
  • Fair City (1988) - director
  • EastEnders (1988-89) - producer
  • City of the Rich - executive producer
  • The Log of the Ark - producer
  • Remains To Be Seen
  • The League Against Christmas

References
  1. Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37057-2.
  2. "'EastEnders' writer wins pounds 68,000 from BBC". The Independent. London. 17 October 1992. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
    - Oulton, Charles (6 October 1992). "Scriptwriter lost job after giving IRA a role in soap". The Independent. London. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  3. "Soap opera's producers 'aimed axe at poor acting'". The Independent. London. 8 October 1992. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
Media offices
Preceded by
Julia Smith		 Executive Producer of EastEnders
1988–89		 Succeeded by
Michael Ferguson


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