Biographies

Controller, Drama Production and New Talent

John Yorke graduated from Newcastle University with First Class Honours in English Literature and worked as a theatre director until joining the BBC in 1986.

Working first as a studio manager, then variously as a Music and Radio Drama producer, he moved to television and EastEnders in 1994.

After four years on the show he went on to storyline Casualty and produce Tony Jordan's first primetime show City Central before coming back to executive produce EastEnders from 2000 until 2003.

He then became Deputy Head of BBC Drama before joining Channel 4 as Head of Drama, commissioning Shameless, The Deal, Sex Traffic, Not Only But Always and Omagh.

In 2004 he returned to the BBC as Controller of Continuing Drama & Head of Independent Drama, commissioning and/or executive producing Life On Mars, Bodies, Waterloo Road and many more as well as overseeing the four long-running series EastEnders, Holby City, Casualty and Doctors.

In his role as Controller, Drama Production, John continues to oversee the long-runners, as well as executive producing single dramas including The Curse Of Steptoe, Hughie Greene – Most Sincerely; Consuming Passion; Breaking The Mould; 39 Steps and the recent daytime drama, Land Girls.

In his capacity as Head of New Talent John also created and runs the BBC Writers Academy, now in its fifth year – the first full-time training course for new writers in the UK that guarantees primetime television commissions. Many of the graduates now work not only for Continuing Drama but shows as diverse as Shameless and Wild At Heart.

He set up and continues to run Producer and Director training programmes across the industry, lectures widely across the UK on working for television and is Visiting Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.