Paul Marquess
Paul Marquess | |
---|---|
Born | 23 June 1964 | (age 59)
Occupation | Television producer |
Years active | 1996–present |
Television | Hollyoaks The Bill Brookside Family Affairs Footballers' Wives Suspects Hope Street |
Paul Marquess (born 23 June 1964) is a television producer from Belfast, Northern Ireland. His credits include
TV career
Early stages
Marquess began his career in 1996, as a storyliner on
The Bill
In 2002, Marquess took over as executive producer of The Bill, with a clear brief from network bosses at ITV to shift the series away from stand-alone episodes to a more serialised format, in an attempt to attract a younger demographic. The move caused controversy amongst many die-hard fans after Marquess fired a number of veteran actors and introduced more sensational storylines, which explored issues such as serial murder, gang rape and domestic violence.[2][3]
For the first time, the show also focused on the regulars' private lives, including the contentious screening of a gay kiss between two uniformed officers,
In 2005, the show's consistently high ratings led to commercial interest from
Family Affairs
In 2003, Marquess was promoted to Head of Drama at TalkbackThames and took over as executive producer of Channel 5's tea-time soap, Family Affairs. The show won best storyline at The British Soap Awards in 2005, for the sexual abuse of Chloe Costello by a young family friend, and best dramatic performance for Kazia Pelka.[9] However, ratings remained low and Channel 5 axed it in the same year, saying that the soap had come to the end of its natural lifespan.[10]
Hollyoaks
In 2010, after a period developing new projects for Endemol and BBC Worldwide,[11][12] Marquess succeeded Lucy Allan as series producer on Channel 4's teen soap Hollyoaks.[13] Marquess inevitably cemented his reputation as an "axeman" after culling 11 cast members as part of a major revamp. However, he also introduced a raft of new characters, including the show's first mixed-race family[14] and also hired Emmett J. Scanlan to play anti-hero Brendan Brady, who went on to win Best Villain and Best Newcomer at The British Soap Awards the following year.
In 2011, Marquess stood down from Hollyoaks, but stayed on at Lime Pictures to storyline the second series of
Crime Stories
In 2012, Marquess co-created the police procedural series,
Whilst the series received mixed reviews, ratings were consistent at 900,000 viewers per episode, holding well against BBC1 daytime soap, Doctors.[17] However, ITV declined to commission a second series.
Suspects
The following year, Channel 5 commissioned Newman Street to produce a new police procedural series, the broadcaster's first original drama for eight years.[18] Building on the drama/documentary hybrid format, Suspects was filmed in a less obtrusive fly-on-the wall documentary style than Crime Stories, but still relied on the actors to improvise the dialogue based on a tightly plotted storylines.
The show was shot entirely on location in East London, and starred Fay Ripley, Damien Molony and Clare-Hope Ashitey. The first series (of five episodes) premiered in February 2014 to some critical acclaim[19] though ratings fell from 1.34 million viewers for the first episode to around half a million for the fifth. A second and third series (of four episodes each) were transmitted in August 2014 and January 2015 respectively.[20]
London Kills
In March 2018
Hope Street
In 2021, serial drama
References
- ^ "Corner shop to cop shop". the Guardian.
- ^ "Interview - Fitting The Bill.". broadcastnow.co.uk.
- ^ "BBC News | TV AND RADIO | Fire boosts The Bill's ratings". bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Claire Cozens. "ITV cleared over gay kiss in the Bill". the Guardian.
- ^ "'The Bill' recommissioned through 2010". Digital Spy.
- ^ "BAFTA Television Awards". bafta.org.
- ^ "The Bill tied up until 2010". broadcastnow.co.uk.
- ^ Theo Robertson. "M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team (TV Series 2003–2005)". IMDb.
- ^ "British Soap Awards 2005 - The winners". Digital Spy.
- ^ "BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Five pulls plug on Family Affairs". bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Marquess in deal with Endemol". broadcastnow.co.uk.
- ^ "BBCW buys into Marquess indie". broadcastnow.co.uk.
- ^ "'Hollyoaks' producer Allan quits soap". Digital Spy.
- ^ "'Hollyoaks' unveils new family name". Digital Spy.
- ^ Televisual Media Ltd UK. "Televisual | NEWS & COMMENTS" Archived 26 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. televisual.com.
- ^ "Retired detective becomes TV cop". BBC News.
- ^ Gareth McLean. "Is Crime Stories the most radical drama on TV?". the Guardian.
- ^ Televisual Media Ltd UK. "Televisual | BLOGS & COMMENTS" Archived 26 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. televisual.com.
- ^ Serena Davies (12 February 2014). "Suspects is a home-grown drama of note" Telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "CHANNEL 5 DECLARES SUSPECTS WILL RETURN THIS AUTUMN AND IN 2015" Archived 27 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. channel5.com.
- ^ White, Peter (23 March 2018). "Acorn TV Commissions Original 'London Kills' From 'Suspects' Paul Marquess". Deadline. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ Ali, Lorraine (24 February 2019). "Review: 'London Kills' expands the reach of Acorn TV and British detective dramas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "'London Kills' episode 1 review: A complex murder, murky backstories and twisted revelations help Acorn TV's latest show shine". meaww.com. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ Clarke, Stewart (4 April 2019). "'London Kills' Finds U.K. Home, BBC Buys Acorn Drama". Variety. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b Coleman, Maureen (17 November 2021). "Hope Street: High hopes for new BBC NI police drama ahead of its launch". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ Patterson, Stephen (31 January 2022). "What is Hope Street and what is it about?". Metro. (DMG Media). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ Patterson, Stephen (31 January 2022). "Hope Street review: Charming BBC detective series puts the 'hope' back in serial drama". Metro. (DMG Media). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
External links
- Paul Marquess at IMDb