John Yorke (producer)
John Yorke | |
|---|---|
Yorke in 2019 | |
| Born | John Roland Clifford Yorke 9 July 1962 Stepney, London, England |
| Alma mater | Newcastle University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1994–present |
| Employer | BBC / Channel 4 |
| Television | EastEnders, Wolf Hall, Life on Mars |
John Roland Clifford Yorke (born 9 July 1962) is a British television producer, screenwriter, editor, and author who, as head of Channel 4 Drama (2003–2005), controller of BBC drama production (2006–2012) and managing director of Company Pictures (2013–2015), has commissioned or produced many award-winning television and radio programmes, including EastEnders, Wolf Hall, Shameless, Life on Mars, Father Brown, Spooks, and The Archers. Yorke also founded the BBC Writers Academy.
Yorke taught as a visiting professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and teaches at the National Film and Television School. Since 2016 Yorke has taught screenwriting and story development through his own company, John Yorke Story.
Yorke is the author of Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them (2014), an exploration of story structures particularly relevant to film and television, particularly the five-act structure. The book has been translated into multiple languages.
In 2026 Yorke's second book, Trip to the Moon: Understanding the True Power of Story, was published by Penguin.