Kathleen Hutchison is a British television producer, best known for her work on EastEnders between 2004 to 2005, taking over from Louise Berridge and handing over to Kate Harwood.
Her other credits include Playing the Field, Holby City and Casualty.
On 21 September 2004, Hutchison became Executive Producer of the EastEnders, when Louise Berridge resigned after prolonged critical and public criticism of the show.
Hutchison was appointed with reversing some of the prior fortunes of EastEnders, due to the fact that viewing figures had suffered compared to ITV Soap competitor Emmerdale in previous months. During her tenure, multiple characters were axed, with the rewriting of numerous scripts also being ordered. Newspapers reported on employee dissatisfaction with Hutchison's tenure at EastEnders.[1] In January 2005, Hutchison decided to resign as Executive Producer, commenting: “I’ve enjoyed my brief time at EastEnders and wish the show the very best." Media reports suggested she had been dismissed.[2]
After her resignation, John Yorke, a previous Executive Producer of EastEnders, and at the time BBC Controller of Continuing Drama Series, acted as Executive Producer for a short period, before appointing Kate Harwood. John Yorke commented, “Kathleen has done a fantastic job of managing EastEnders during this period of change - I am very grateful to her for all her hard work and for leaving the show in such a strong position for us to build on.”[3]
Post-EastEnders projects[]
I’m 2005, Hutchison moved from the genre of drama to comedy after setting up The Hutch Management. She worked with comedians and developed comedy projects for stage and television, which started with the pilot for a sketch show for Feelgood Fiction which starred Nathan Caton in January 2007, as well as a 30 minute narrative comedy named Standing-Up, which was also written by Tommy Mack.
The following month, Hutchison became Head of New Comedy for Paramount Comedy. Her goal included developing and nurturing new talent from the comedy circuit. Previously she had worked with Jim Jeffries and Rob Rouse.
During the summer of 2007, Hutchison became a judge at the IF.Comedies at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
References[]
External links[]
- BBC confirms changes to production at EastEnders
- Kathleen Hutchison at the Internet Movie Database
- Shortcuts at Paramount Comedy Website
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by Louise Berridge |
Executive Producer of EastEnders 2004–2005 |
Succeeded by Kate Harwood |