Meet John Yorke
John is passionate about storytelling and story creators. He is also a master at getting things made.
For many years he’s been responsible for a vast array of British drama; as both Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he’s worked on big popular works such as Hustle, Spooks, Casualty and Holby City alongside award-winners such as Bodies, Omagh, Sex Traffic, Not Only But Always and The Curse of Steptoe.
His career began single-handedly story-lining EastEnders in its very first BAFTA-winning year – beginning a 14 year association that produced some of the biggest audiences in British television history.
As a commissioning Editor/Executive Producer, he championed some of the defining works of British television including Life On Mars, The Street, Shameless and Waterloo Road. In 2005 he created the BBC Writers Academy, a year-long in-depth training scheme which has produced a generation of successful television writers. He’s also worked as Editor of The Archers.
John took a sabbatical for three years to research and write arguably the best book on story telling ‘Into The Woods’… Dominic Dromgoole, Artistic Director of the The Globe Theatre said… ‘Even for a convinced sceptic, John Yorke’s book, with its massive field of reference from Aristotle to Glee, and from Shakespeare to Spooks, is a highly persuasive and hugely enjoyable read. It would be hard to beat for information and wisdom about how and why stories are told.‘
More recently John and his team won the Golden Globe for ‘Wolf Hall.’
He knows the business. He knows story. And he is passionate about helping new talent into the industry.