Sean O'Connor | |
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Born | Sean Michael O'Connor 11 February 1968 The Wirral, England |
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Known for | The Archers EastEnders |
Sean Michael O'Connor (11 February 1968) 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.
Sean Michael O'Connor was born on 11 February 1968 and grew up in The Wirral, where he attended a grammar school, St Anselm's College, run by the Christian Brothers. [1] [2] He later earned a degree in English from University College London. [2] Following his graduation, O'Connor successfully applied for a place on ITV's Regional Theatre Young Directors’ Scheme. [3]
O'Connor produced the feature film version of Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea directed by Terence Davies and starring Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russell Beale. [4] The film is based on Rattigan's 1952 play which had previously been filmed in 1955, starring Vivien Leigh and Kenneth More. Produced by Camberwell Productions and Fly Films, The Deep Blue Sea was released in the UK in 2011, the centenary of Rattigan's birth. O'Connor introduces the playtext of The Deep Blue Sea published by Nick Hern Books with notes by Dan Rebellato. O'Connor serves as a trustee of the estate of Sir Terence Rattigan.
In the late 1990s, O'Connor worked as producer of the long-running radio drama The Archers , storylining and directing the programme. [5] He re-introduced several popular characters including Kenton Archer, Adam Travers-Macy and Lillian Bellamy, as well as introducing Fallon Rogers, Ed Grundy and Emma Carter. Subsequently, he was appointed as Series Producer of Hollyoaks on Channel 4. [6]
In 2005, O'Connor was appointed producer of the Channel 5 soap opera Family Affairs . He planned to revamp the show but was told that the show would be axed. He appointed Dominic Treadwell-Collins, his future predecessor in EastEnders as story producer and reintroduced characters Eileen Callan (Rosie Rowell) and Melanie Costello (Rebecca Hunter). [7]
O'Connor also produced the third series of Footballers' Wives for Shed Productions as well as the re-booted version of Minder starring Shane Richie and Lex Shrapnel for TalkbackThames. [8]
On 5 August 2013, it was announced that O'Connor had been appointed editor of The Archers. [9] Of his return to the show, O'Connor commented "I'm delighted to be returning to Ambridge to work with the team in Birmingham. I'm honoured to take the reins of our national epic drama and to build on the extraordinary achievements of Vanessa Whitburn who dedicated much of her career to this unique cultural institution." [9]
In 2001, O'Connor was appointed as Series Story Producer on the BBC soap opera, EastEnders . [10] story-lining the award-winning Kat and Zoe Slater story, the domestic violence story featuring Little Mo, and Dot Cotton's marriage to Jim Branning. He left the show in 2005. [8]
On 18 February 2016, it was announced that O'Connor would return to EastEnders after 11 years and take over from Dominic Treadwell-Collins as Executive Producer. [11] On his return he commented "I'm thrilled to be back in Walford and particularly delighted to work once more with many dear friends and colleagues both backstage and on screen. I loved my time working at EastEnders previously; there's nothing quite as challenging nor as rewarding." [12]
Following this, he announced he would be stepping down from The Archers, saying "At the same time, it is a real wrench for me to leave Ambridge. The Archers is an extraordinary programme – a jewel at the heart of the BBC and in the hearts of the British public. Working on it, with the extraordinary cast, writers and production team in Birmingham has been an absolute privilege. The Archers has been a part of my life for much of my life - and though I'll be away from Borsetshire, I'll continue to listen to the villagers of Ambridge, who feel to me – as they do for millions of listeners - like family." [13] [14] [15]
O'Connor's first episode as executive producer aired on 11 July 2016. [16] Although O'Connor's first credited episode aired in July, his own creative work was not seen onscreen until late September. [17] O'Connor's tenure as executive producer has generally been received as negative by viewers and former cast alike, primarily his decision to kill off sisters Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell in a swimming pool freak accident which elicited strong reactions from viewers and has been regarded as one of the "worst decisions in [soap opera] history". [18] Diederick Santer, who introduced the Mitchell sisters whilst executive producer between 2006 and 2010, said that whilst he commended O'Connor for producing "brilliant work at The Archers", the direction he had taken EastEnders in had made it "unwatchable". [19] Barbara Windsor, who played the sister's on-screen aunt, described the decision to Hello magazine as "a mistake." [20] whilst former executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins also criticised the sisters' axing, adding that he was "really sad" to see them go. [21] His decision to recast original character Michelle Fowler to actress Jenna Russell was criticised by viewers, who argued that the recast "just [wasn't] working". [22] In June 2017, The Sun reported that O'Connor had been axed from EastEnders for bullying cast members as well as the soap's drop in ratings, however O'Connor denied this and The Sun were ordered to pay "substantial damages". [23] The BBC announced that O'Connor would be leaving EastEnders on 23 June after a year in the role of executive producer. cast members said: "I've had an amazing time at EastEnders. Working with the editorial staff, cast and crew at Elstree has been an absolute privilege". O'Connor's final episode as Executive Producer aired on 24 November 2017. [24] [12] Following his departure, former cast member Ross Kemp, who played Grant Mitchell in the soap accused O'Connor of "treating the cast badly" and "working them into the ground". [25] He was however defended by Samantha Womack, who despite her character being killed off [by O'Connor] said that "her heart [went] out to him and everyone struggling in the show". [26]
As a graduate of the Regional Theatre Young Directors' Scheme, [27] O'Connor has worked all over the UK as a theatre director. His work has featured at Liverpool Everyman, Hornchurch, Salisbury Playhouse, Chester Gateway, Windsor, Guilford, Bath, Richmond, Chichester, Cardiff and Edinburgh. In 1995, O'Connor directed the UK premiere of Dorothy Parker's drama, The Ladies of the Corridor (1953) at the Finborough Theatre and the first London revival of Christa Winsloe's Children in Uniform (1931) (Mädchen in Uniform) at Battersea Arts Centre. [28] He is also a graduate of the BBC Drama Directors' Course. [29]
Handsome Brute ISBN 978-1471101335, a study of the murders of Neville Heath in the 1940s, was published in 2013 by Simon & Schuster. [30]
O'Connor has made a study of 20th Century drama, particularly neglected or forgotten works. In 1997, he published Straight Acting; Popular Gay Drama from Wilde to Rattigan, [31] examining the work of British gay playwrights who dominated the West End in the 20th Century. Dartmouth's Professor of Gender Studies, Michael Bronski, praised the book, claiming that it "almost single-handedly reinvents what we think of as the history of modern gay theater". [31]
The same year, he adapted and directed the play Vertigo based on the novel D'Entre Les Morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, which was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's film of 1958. This, the first stage adaptation of the story, retained the original French wartime setting of the novel. The play first appeared at Chester Gateway Theatre featuring Marcus D'Amico, but was subsequently produced by Bill Kenwright at the Theatre Royal Windsor starring Martin Shaw and Jenny Seagrove. A revival at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford starred Anthony Andrews in the central role, replacing Martin Shaw. [32]
In 2001, O'Connor adapted Winston Graham's 1960 novel Marnie for the stage which played at Chester Gateway Theatre and The Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke. [33] The adaptation returned the story to Graham's original post-war British setting and preserved Graham's bleak ending. [34]
In 2010, O'Connor adapted Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as Juliet and Her Romeo [35] which played at Bristol Old Vic, directed by Tom Morris and starring Siân Phillips, Michael Byrne and Dudley Sutton. [36]
The sensational murder trial of Alma Rattenbury provides the subject for O'Connor's 2019 non-fiction work The Fatal Passion of Alma Rattenbury . [37]
In October 2019 O’Connor released The Haunting Of Borley Rectory.
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.
Roxanne Lizette "Roxy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Rita Simons. Roxy arrived in Walford with her sister Ronnie on 24 July 2007 and decides to move permanently to Walford from Ibiza where they ran a bar together. Roxy is the younger of the two sisters. She is described as the "fire", as opposed to Ronnie's "ice". Simons took a temporary hiatus in 2016, with Roxy off screen from 1 January until 4 May 2016. Following the announcement that Womack would be leaving the series, Simons' departure was also announced. Roxy departed the series in scenes broadcast on 1 January 2017, when she drowned in a hotel swimming pool along with Ronnie. Simons returned in 2019 to record a voiceover as Roxy, which was broadcast on 3 May 2019. A younger version of Roxy, played by Elodie de Rohan Willner, appeared in a flashback episode broadcast on 5 September 2022, which focuses on the Mitchell family in the 1970s. Simons reprised her role on 27 April 2023 for a one-off appearance as a hallucination to her daughter, Amy Mitchell.
Dominic Treadwell-Collins 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.
Glenda Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Glynis Barber. The character first appeared in the programme on 7 January 2010. She was axed in February 2011, departing on 8 March 2011. She later returned for two episodes in January 2016 and three in May 2016. She made an unannounced return on the 30 December 2016 episode for the departures of her two daughters. She made her second departure from the show on 10 February 2017. Glenda has been described as "complex", "vulnerable"," "demure, dynamic and assured". She is the former wife of Archie Mitchell ; and mother of both her son Danny and Archie's two daughters Ronnie and Roxy.
Carl White is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Daniel Coonan. He first appears in the 4660th episode, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 20 June 2013. Carl is the ex-boyfriend of Kirsty Branning, and his storylines include tracking down cash owed to him by Derek Branning – which Ian Beale has used to open a restaurant; trying to win Kirsty back; a relationship with Roxy Mitchell ; his feuds with Roxy's cousin Phil and Derek's brother Max ; blackmailing Ian for money; and developing a conflict with Roxy's sister Ronnie that ultimately results in his downfall. He became the show's main antagonist up until his death on 1 January 2014. The character was axed in September 2013 and departed in the episode first broadcast in the UK on 1 January 2014, a joint broadcast of episodes 4775 and 4776, after being killed by Ronnie.
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.
Linda E. Blakley is an English actress, known for her roles as Pam Coker in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and as Georgia Sharma in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.
Kat & Alfie: Redwater, is a British–Irish co-production television series broadcast on RTÉ One and BBC One. It was created by Dominic Treadwell-Collins as a six-part series based on the characters Kat Moon, played by Jessie Wallace, and Alfie Moon, played by Shane Richie, from the soap opera EastEnders. The series is set in the fictional Irish village of Redwater, where the residents are hiding a dark secret, and features an ensemble cast. Redwater is a co-production between the BBC and Element Pictures, with Victoria Wharton serving as producer. It was filmed on location in Dublin, County Waterford and County Wicklow between 11 April and 26 July 2016. It started airing in Ireland on 14 May 2017 and the United Kingdom on 18 May 2017. It has also been shown in the United States and Canada. A second series was mooted during filming of the first but in September 2017, it was confirmed that no more episodes would be produced, leaving the fates of the characters unknown. However, Kat's return to EastEnders was confirmed on 20 December 2017, meaning that she had survived the events of Redwater, and EastEnders storylines following her return confirmed that Alfie had also survived and he returned later in the year.
Paul Coker is a character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jonny Labey. He first appeared in episode 5077 of the show, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 1 June 2015. Paul, a gay character, is the grandson of established characters Les Coker and Pam Coker and boyfriend of Ben Mitchell. The character's final appearance is in Episode 5347, shown on 8 September 2016, following the character's death after an off-screen homophobic attack on 18 July 2016.
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.
John Roland Clifford Yorke is a British television producer and script editor, who was head of Channel 4 Drama 2003–2005, controller of BBC drama production 2006–2012 and MD of Company Pictures (2013–2015).
Louise Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who has been played by four different actors since her on-screen birth on 6 November 2001. Louise has been played by Rachel Cox between 2001 and 2003, Danni Bennatar in 2008, Brittany Papple in 2010, and Tilly Keeper from 2016 to 2020. Keeper's casting was announced on 16 December 2015, and she made her first appearance as Louise on 15 January 2016. The character's departure was announced in December 2019 after Keeper quit the role, with Louise making her last appearance on 24 January 2020.
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.
The 2016 British Soap Awards honoured the best in British soap operas throughout 2015 and 2016. The ceremony was held on 24 May 2016 at the Hackney Empire theatre in Hackney, London, and was broadcast four days later on ITV1 and STV. The publicly voted categories were announced on 4 April 2016, with the vote opening that same day. This included a longlist for the Best Actress and Actor awards. The shortlist, including panel nominations, was released on 2 May 2016.
Johnny Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Charlie Suff. Johnny makes his first appearance in episode 4771, originally broadcast on 26 December 2013. Johnny has been played by three actors since being introduced in 2013. Sam Strike first portrayed the role from 2013 until he exited in 2014, his final appearance on 25 December 2014 via a Skype call on Christmas Day. In February 2016, it was announced that Johnny would return, played by Ted Reilly who made his first appearance on 11 April 2016. Reilly announced his departure from the role in December 2017, making his final on-screen appearance on 29 January 2018. In December 2023, it was announced that the character would be returning, played by Charlie Suff. Johnny returned on 9 February 2024.