Dominic Treadwell-Collins | |
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Born | Dominic Charles C.T. Collins 26 August 1977 Brent, London, England, UK |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Television producer |
Dominic Treadwell-Collins (born 26 August 1977) [1] is a British television producer, known for his work on the soap operas Family Affairs and EastEnders , creating the EastEnders spin-off series Kat & Alfie: Redwater and Executive Producing the award-winning A Very English Scandal for the BBC and Amazon. In 2019, he set up his own television company, Happy Prince under ITV Studios.
Born Dominic Charles C.T. Collins, Treadwell-Collins adapted his mother's maiden as a double-barreled compound surname. [2]
Treadwell-Collins' father, Michael J. Collins, was an Irishman who emigrated to London from Skibbereen, West Cork, in the mid-1960s. [3] His mother, Linda ( née Treadwell), is a hairdresser from Kilburn. The couple wed in Brent, London in 1975. [4]
When Treadwell-Collins was in his teens, his father died in a drowning accident on holiday at the family home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. [4] As a child, Treadwell-Collins had ambitions to work for the BBC. He lived in Radlett, Hertfordshire, near the BBC Elstree Centre, and used to look in through the gates. [5]
Treadwell-Collins attended Edge Grove School (an independent school in Aldenham, Hertfordshire), followed by Harrow School and the University of Oxford. [4]
Treadwell-Collins' first job in television was for the ITV crime drama series Midsomer Murders , devising means of killing off characters. [5] He moved to Talkback Thames for four years, [6] working as a story producer on the Five soap opera Family Affairs , where he was taught to storyline by Ian Aldwinckle.[ citation needed ] In 2007, he named the show winning the 2005 British Soap Award for "Best Storyline" the biggest achievement of his career. [5] Family Affairs was cancelled in 2005, which surprised Treadwell-Collins, who had expected that several award wins meant the show would be extended. He felt that viewers remained "incredibly loyal" to the series, and that it would have had greater longevity had it aired on a different channel, or been better publicised by Five. [7]
Treadwell-Collins began working on the BBC soap opera EastEnders in October 2005, [6] as a senior story editor under Brigie de Courcy, before becoming story producer in January 2007. [5] He was responsible for running the EastEnders story department, working with the show's writers to devise future storylines. [5]
In his first year on the show, he created the characters Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell, played by Samantha Womack and Rita Simons. [8] In response to criticism of the show's lack of characters with disabilities, EastEnders producers planned to introduce several actors with disabilities in early 2009. Treadwell-Collins felt such characters are often portrayed as being unduly "noble" or "worthy", and suggested that EastEnders subvert this stereotype by making the new characters flawed. [9] He created the storyline in which the Muslim character Syed Masood struggled to reconcile his faith and sexuality, and his relationship with Christian Clarke, [10] as well as "The Secret Mitchell" and the "Who Killed Archie?" whodunnit, which culminated in the show's first live episode in February 2010. [6]
Treadwell-Collins stood down from his EastEnders role on 25 June 2010, becoming head of development at Kudos' Lovely Day production company. The company is run by former EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer, who commented: "Dominic is a brilliant and original talent, bursting with great ideas and gripping stories. Many of EastEnders' best storylines and characters of the last few years have come directly from his imagination and design, and he played an integral part in conceiving and plotting the hugely successful 25th anniversary episodes. I'm delighted to be resuming our creative partnership at Lovely Day." Treadwell-Collins stated: "I have had an amazing time at EastEnders and I couldn't have dreamed of a better place to work. Working on EastEnders has enabled me to create some fantastic storylines and characters that have been received so well but after four-and-a-half years of life in Walford, I feel that it is time to move on and try something new." [6]
On 29 July 2013, it was announced that Treadwell-Collins would be returning to EastEnders as executive producer, taking over from Lorraine Newman, who resigned from the role after sixteen months on the job. He assumed the position on 19 August 2013 [11] and his first episode as executive producer aired on 9 December 2013.
His first major cast change was to introduce Shirley Carter's (Linda Henry) extended family, who took over The Queen Vic – her brother (later revealed to be her son) Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), sister Tina (Luisa Bradshaw-White), Mick's common-law wife Linda (Kellie Bright) [12] and their children Lee (Danny Hatchard), Nancy (Maddy Hill) and Johnny (Sam Strike). [13]
The family was later expanded to include Shirley and Tina's father Stan Carter (Timothy West), their maternal aunt Babe Smith (Annette Badland) [14] and their estranged mother Sylvie (Linda Marlowe), [15] plus Shirley's son Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) who returned to the show after several years. [16] Other major characters introduced by Treadwell-Collins include Dot Branning's (June Brown) grandson Charlie Cotton (Declan Bennett), [17] Pam (Lin Blakley) wife of established recurring character Les Coker (Roger Sloman), Donna Yates (Lisa Hammond), Vincent Hubbard (Richard Blackwood) as Kim Fox's husband, Claudette Hubbard (Ellen Thomas) as Vincent's mother and Donna's adoptive Mother, and the Kazemi family - Kush (Davood Ghadami), Carmel (Bonnie Langford) and Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi). [18]
He reintroduced several characters who had previously featured in the show, including Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) [19] Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner), Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), Les Coker (Roger Sloman), [20] Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) [21] Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), [22] and Steven Beale (Aaron Sidwell) who all returned permanently, while the likes of Peggy Mitchell (Dame Barbara Windsor), [23] [24] Nick Cotton (John Altman), [25] Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook) returning for guest appearances. The characters of Shabnam Masood, [26] Bex Fowler, Ben Mitchell, [27] Martin Fowler, [28] Louise Mitchell, [29] Jordan Johnson and Belinda Peacock [30] were also reintroduced, but the roles were recast to Rakhee Thakrar, Jasmine Armfield, Harry Reid, James Bye, [31] Tilly Keeper, [32] Joivan Wade [33] and Carli Norris [34] respectively.
Treadwell-Collins also created a spin-off for the EastEnders characters Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) set in Ireland called Kat & Alfie: Redwater , which started on BBC One and RTÉ One in May 2017. [35]
Treadwell-Collins' decision to leave the show was announced on 18 February 2016. [36] He described his choice as "not one I have taken lightly" and citied his reasons for leaving as wanting to "move on to other things". [36] His final work on the show saw him produce the conclusion to the Who Killed Lucy Beale? storyline and produce the death of Peggy Mitchell (Dame Barbara Windsor). Of Windsor's request that he produce her exit storyline, Treadwell-Collins said "When Dame Barbara comes to you to produce her final episodes, you cannot say no." [36] His final day at EastEnders was 6 May 2016. [37]
Treadwell-Collins' new post as Head of Television at Blueprint Television was announced on 7 June 2016. [38] Treadwell-Collins stated his admiration of films produced by Blueprints and his excitement to "develop their television arm". [38] The co-chairman of Blueprint Pictures, Graham Broadbent, added that the company were "excited to have someone of his experience and calibre to launch Blueprint's TV side". [38] Whilst at Blueprint, he developed and produced A Very English Scandal for the BBC and Amazon, starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, written by Russell T Davies and directed by Stephen Frears, winning Golden Globe, Emmy, Critics Choice, Rose D'Or, RTS and BAFTA awards.[ citation needed ]
He left Blueprint in 2019 to set up his own label, Happy Prince, at ITV Studios.[ citation needed ] In 2022, he wrote and produced Holding for ITV and Virgin Media, based on the novel by Graham Norton and directed by Kathy Burke.[ citation needed ]
EastEnders is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the programme follows the stories of local residents and their families as they go about their daily lives. Within eight months of the show's original launch, it had reached the number one spot in BARB's television ratings, and has consistently remained among the top-rated series in Britain. Four EastEnders episodes are listed in the all-time top 10 most-watched programmes in the UK, including the number one spot, when over 30 million watched the 1986 Christmas Day episode. EastEnders has been important in the history of British television drama, tackling many subjects that are considered to be controversial or taboo in British culture, and portraying a social life previously unseen on UK mainstream television.
Charlie Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Derek Martin. Charlie's first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2000. He was played by Jason McGregor in flashbacks broadcast in 2001 and Richie Daysh in a 2018 flashback. He also makes a cameo appearance in the second series of the spin-off EastEnders: E20.
Alfie Moon is a fictional character from the BBC drama EastEnders, played by Shane Richie. He made his first appearance on 21 November 2002, and left on 25 December 2005. He returned on 21 September 2010, following the return of his on-screen wife, Kat Slater, two episodes previously, and they continued to feature until 22 May 2015. Alfie appeared in a guest stint between 26 December 2015 and 25 January 2016, before starring in the six-part drama spin-off series Kat & Alfie: Redwater in 2017. Richie returned for two short stints in 2018, concluding with his exit on 22 January 2019. Richie then made a virtual cameo appearance on 12 July 2022, followed by a permanent return from 12 September 2022.
Lesley Jane Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Laurie Brett. She made her first appearance on 21 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May. She returned on 8 November and departed again on 27 January 2012. Jane made a temporary return to the show on 6 January 2014 until 20 May of that year and permanently from 24 November 2014 to 23 October 2017.
Bobby Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who made his first appearance in episode 2557, originally broadcast on 24 July 2003. The character was originally played by Kevin Curran as an infant. Prior to his introduction, Bobby's paternity is at the centre of a storyline and is resolved when Ian Beale is revealed as Bobby's father. His mother, Laura Beale, is killed off in 2004 and Bobby's stepmother, Jane Beale, later adopts Bobby. Curran was replaced by Alex Francis in 2007. Following Jane's departure, Bobby finds a mother figure in Mandy Salter and is upset when she leaves.
Sean Michael O'Connor is an English producer, writer, and director working in theatre, film, television and radio. He was the editor of the long-running BBC radio drama, The Archers from 2013 to 2016 and executive producer of EastEnders from 2016 to 2017.
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Mick Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Danny Dyer, making his first appearance in the show in the episode originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2013. Dyer's casting was announced on 1 October 2013 with that of his on-screen partner, Linda Carter, played by Kellie Bright. He is the son of established character Shirley Carter and is a member of the Carter family. Mick immediately becomes the new landlord of The Queen Victoria public house, bringing Linda, their son Johnny Carter and pet bulldog Lady Di with him. They are later joined by daughter Nancy Carter, son Lee Carter and other members of the extended family. In January 2022, it was announced that Dyer had quit the show after nine years in the role of Mick, and his final scenes aired on 25 December 2022.
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Gavin Sullivan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul Nicholas. He first appeared on 21 August 2015. Gavin is the third husband of Kathy Beale and is also revealed as the biological father of Sharon Watts. He is first mentioned as Sharon's father in 1990 and as Kathy's husband in 2001, but does not appear on screen until 2015 and it is not known that Sharon's father and Kathy's husband are the same Gavin until October 2015. Viewers are informed in a 2006 episode that Kathy and Gavin are dead, but Kathy returns in February 2015, revealing that Gavin is also alive. Billed as "an EastEnders villain like no other", Gavin has been described as "dangerous", "sinister", "nasty" and "evil". His storylines include his "abusive", "controlling" and "manipulative" relationship with Kathy, kidnapping recovering alcoholic Phil Mitchell and getting him drinking again, and blackmailing Claudette Hubbard. His departure involves kidnapping Kathy, causing the death of his sister Margaret Midhurst and being arrested after threatening to kill himself and Sharon. He appeared in 30 episodes, and his final appearance is on 8 July 2016. In January 2021, Gavin was killed-off off-screen.
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The Slater family are a fictional family from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, that have appeared since Episode 1,997, first broadcast in September 2000. The family are introduced as a central family unit, originally consisting of father Charlie Slater, grandmother Mo Harris, Charlie's daughters, Kat Slater, Lynne Slater, Little Mo Morgan and Kat's teenage daughter Zoe Slater, and Lynne's partner Garry Hobbs. A fifth sister, Belinda Peacock, was introduced one year later. The family were the eighth to be introduced in the soap's history, replacing the di Marco family who departed during the previous month. The Slaters were created by Tony Jordan and introduced by John Yorke. The Slater sisters were cast in an improvisation session. In their first years on the show, the family were involved in storylines about child sexual abuse and domestic violence.