Diederick Santer (born 3 July 1969[1]) is a British television producer and is best known for his work on EastEnders, a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010. He is currently the Chief Creative Officer of BritBox International.
Early life and television career[]
Santer is the son of the late Anglican Bishop Mark Santer, who was the Bishop of Birmingham and sat in the House of Lords. He graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in Psychology and the History and Philosophy of Science. He studied Drama at the Drama Studio London and was an actor. He was understudy to Michael Sheen in the Harold Pinter play Moonlight during its West End run.
Santer's television career started in 1996, where he was a freelance script reader for United Productions and then script editor on Where the Heart Is, and assistant script editor on Touching Evil. Santer moved to Granada Television where he script-edited A&E and The Last Train before joining BBC Drama Series and Serials in 2000, where he produced Cutting It. He also produced The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and an adaptation of Jane Eyre.
EastEnders[]
Santer joined EastEnders as Executive Producer on 23 October 2006, with his first episode being Episode 3291 (5 January 2007). He introduced many characters to the show, including Heather Trott, Zainab Masood, Shabnam Masood, Ronnie Mitchell, Roxy Mitchell, Tamwar Masood, Masood Ahmed, Jack Branning, Christian Clarke, Whitney Dean, Tiffany Dean, Lucas Johnson, Archie Mitchell, Syed Masood and Ryan Malloy. Santer specifically focused on introducing ethnic minorities and LGBT characters, to make the show 'feel more 21st Century'.
Santer also reintroduced past and popular characters to the programme including Bianca Jackson,[2] Ricky Butcher,[3] Janine Butcher,[4] Sam Mitchell (reverse recast),[5] Liam Butcher, May Wright, Owen Turner, Liz Turner,[6] Carol Jackson, Robbie Jackson, Sonia Fowler and Billie Jackson.[7] He reinstated Diane Butcher for a week of episodes in 2008, and brought back Clare Bates and Steven Beale for a period of a few months. He also introduced all four original EastEnders: E20 characters: Zsa Zsa Carter, Leon Small, Fatboy Chubb and Mercy Olubunmi.
After the success of the show's 25th anniversary, it was announced on 1 March 2010 that Santer will step down as executive producer, with Bryan Kirkwood taking over.[8] His last episode was broadcast on 18 June 2010.
Post-EastEnders[]
Following his departure from EastEnders, Santer continued to work at the BBC, executive producing in a special position developing "new shows that can be internationally co-produced".[8] However, in May 2010, he decided to leave the BBC after ten years to set up his own production company called Lovely Day.[9]
External links[]
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kate Harwood |
Executive Producer of EastEnders 2007–2010 |
Succeeded by Bryan Kirkwood |
References[]
- ↑ http://web.researcha.com/iccquery/detail/?did=25800708&c=uk
- ↑ "Palmer making EastEnders comeback". BBC News Online. 29 October 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7066949.stm. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
- ↑ "Sid Owen makes 'Enders comeback". Digital Spy. 30 October 2007. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a78788/sid-owen-makes-enders-comeback.html. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
- ↑ "EastEnders super-bitch Janine Butcher will return to show for Christmas: Picture exclusive". The Mirror. 4 December 2008. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2008/12/04/eastenders-super-bitch-janine-butcher-will-return-to-show-for-christmas-picture-exclusive-115875-20944010/. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ↑ "The original Mitchell sister to return". BBC Online. 7 April 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/news/news_20090331_n1.shtml. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
- ↑ Green, Kris (15 June 2009). "Owen, Liz Turner return to 'EastEnders'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a159616/owen-liz-turner-return-to-eastenders.html. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
- ↑ Green, Kris (25 October 2009). "The Jacksons return to 'EastEnders'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a183438/the-jacksons-return-to-eastenders.html. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Green, Kris (2 November 2009). "Kirkwood replaces Santer as 'Enders exec". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a184853/kirkwood-replaces-santer-as-enders-exec.html. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ↑ Sweney, Mark (6 May 2010). "Diederick Santer quits BBC to launch production company Lovely Day". guardian.co.uk (Guardian Media Group). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/may/06/diederick-santer-kudos-lovely-day. Retrieved 6 May 2010.