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Ken Horn is a British television producer. He is the producer of ITV1's Heartbeat and its spin-off The Royal . He is co-creator of their sister show, The Royal Today .[ citation needed ]
Ken Horn grew up in Leicester, where he attended Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys.
Horn has produced various shows for both ITV and BBC, including City Central , Merseybeat , and directed shows such as We Are Seven , Heartbeat , Emmerdale , Brookside , Hollyoaks and The Grand . He also produced and directed a one-off drama for ITV about the sinking of the Marchionness .
In 2006, Horn produced The Street , a Jimmy McGovern drama for BBC One that went on to win a BAFTA and an International Emmy. In 2012, he produced the one-off drama Our Girl , starring Lacey Turner, for BBC One. More recently, in 2019 and 2021, Horn produced the fifth and sixth series of Line of Duty for BBC One. [1]
He is the brother of the musician and record producer Trevor Horn, with whom he established Horn Brothers Pictures in 2011. [2]
Heartbeat is a British police procedural period drama series, based upon the Constable series of novels written by Nicholas Rhea, and produced by Yorkshire Television until it was merged with ITV, then by ITV Studios, from 1992 until 2010. The series is set in the North Riding of Yorkshire during the 1960s, with plots centred on the fictional locations of Aidensfield and Ashfordly.
Michael Ferguson was a British television director and producer. His early career included directing four serials of the BBC's science fiction series Doctor Who (1966–1971). He later directed ITV's police drama series The Bill and was promoted to become its producer (1988–1989), and as executive producer of the BBC soap opera EastEnders (1989–1991) he was responsible for the introduction of two of its most popular and long-running characters, Phil and Grant Mitchell. He then produced the BBC medical drama series Casualty (1993–1994).
Kenneth William Farrington is a retired English actor. He first came to fame playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's longest-running soap opera, Coronation Street. Following a brief period as a film actor, Farrington secured the role of power-hungry Tom King in Emmerdale. After the character's high-profile death in December 2006, Farrington largely retired from acting, although he has appeared in occasional TV roles since then.
Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, she has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre, and many others. Her most notable television role was as Dr. Kate Rowan in the UK series Heartbeat (1992–1995). Other TV and film credits include Always and Everyone (1999–2002), The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1992–1995), The Closer You Get (2000), Agatha Christie's Marple, Midsomer Murders (2008), A Touch of Frost (2010), In Love with Alma Cogan (2011), Testament of Youth (2014), Departure (2015), ChickLit, The Ghoul, The Virtues (2019), Death in Paradise (2021), and The Tower (2023). She has been nominated at IFTA for her performance in Too Good to be True (2003).
Geoffrey Hutchings was an English stage, film and television actor.
Joseph McFadden is a Scottish actor, best known for his roles in The Crow Road,Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll, Heartbeat and Holby City. He won the 2017 series of the BBC One series Strictly Come Dancing with professional dance partner Katya Jones.
World Productions Limited is a British television production company, founded on 20 March 1990 by producer Tony Garnett, and owned by ITV plc following a takeover in 2017.
The Royal is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television, and broadcast on ITV from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the staff at the fictional "St Aidan's Royal Free Hospital", a National Health Service hospital serving the fictional rural seaside town of Elsinby and its surrounding area. The programme was a spin-off of ITV's period drama series Heartbeat and the first three series featured crossovers with Heartbeat and appearances by its cast members. From the start of the fourth series, the crossover elements were removed, and The Royal focussed on stories involving its own cast.
John Arthur Duttine is an English actor noted for his roles on stage, films and television. He is well known for his role as Sgt George Miller in Heartbeat and also Bill Masen in the TV series The Day of the Triffids.
Patricia Penrose is a British actress, singer & broadcaster. She is best known for her role as Gina Ward in ITV's long-running 1960s drama Heartbeat, a role she played continuously for 17 years from 1993 to 2010. She has also appeared on The Royal, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Boon, Justice, Fort Boyard, The Bill and Dancin' Thru the Dark. As well as her acting roles, she has had her own show on Radio Wirral and since 2021 has been working on some shows for BBC Radio 4.
Jack Deam is an English actor. He used his grandfather's name for his stage name. His most notable performances have been as Marty Fisher in Channel 4 dramedy Shameless, DC Ken Blackstone in the ITV crime drama DCI Banks, and Inspector Mallory in the BBC detective series Father Brown.
Corinne Ann Hollingworth is a British television producer and executive, best known for her contributions to British soap operas, including BBC's EastEnders and five's Family Affairs. Hollingworth has gained a reputation for winning huge drama audiences by concentrating on human interest storylines.
Terence John Feely was a British screenwriter, playwright and author. His work spanned five decades and included creating the ITV police drama series The Gentle Touch (1980–84) and its spin-off C.A.T.S. Eyes (1985–87).
The Leeds Studios is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ITV plc had proposed to close the studios in 2009, however later in the year had a change of mind and instead decided to refit them as high-definition studios.
Andrew Harries is chief executive and co-founder of Left Bank Pictures, a UK based production company formed in 2007. In a career spanning four decades he has produced television dramas including The Royle Family,Cold Feet, the revivals of Prime Suspect and Cracker, as well as the BAFTA-winning television play The Deal.
Haldane Duncan was a Scottish television producer and director, best known for his contributions to soap operas.
Paul Opacic is a British actor from Halifax, England. Best known for his roles as Carl Costello in Hollyoaks, Steve Marchant in Emmerdale and Mark Waddle in Bad Girls. In 2021, he joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Stefan Brent.
Christopher John Hall is an English television producer. He has produced dramas primarily for the BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4 networks, and worked for major British production companies, including Kudos, Carnival Films, Hat Trick Productions, World Productions and Tiger Aspect Productions.
Freddie Fletcher is an English actor best known for playing Jud, in Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes. He also appeared in the ITV series Fox.
Siobhan Finneran is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Finneran made her film debut starring as Rita in the 1987 film release Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Over the following decade, Finneran established herself as a television actress appearing frequently in both comedic and dramatic guest roles. Into the 21st century, Finneran began appearing in more regular and leading roles in returning and standalone television series. Her more prolific work includes Benidorm (2007–2015), Downton Abbey (2010–2012) and Happy Valley (2014–2023).