Jane Harris is a British television director and producer, best known for her contributions to soap operas, including ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), 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 ...

'' and ''

Family Affairs ''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...

''.

Career

Harris worked on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

play ''

Cathy Come Home "Cathy Come Home" is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a 200 ...

'' in 1966. The play was produced by

Tony Garnett Anthony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century. Early life ...

, who Harris has described as her mentor. She later moved to America, where she worked on the soap opera ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'', and the successful action series ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

''.It's got murder, a stalker, incest (kind of), and bulimia. What more
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. Retrieved 6 May 2007. When she returned to the United Kingdom, she worked for the BBC soap opera ''

''. In 1988, she was the serial's programme editor, but rose to producer in 1995, and eventually took control of the show as the series/executive producer in 1996, following the departure of

Corinne Hollingworth Corinne Ann Hollingworth (born 25 May 1952) is a British television producer and executive, best known for her contributions to British soap operas, including BBC's ''EastEnders'' and five's ''Family Affairs''. Hollingworth has gained a reputatio ...

.Godmother of `EastEnders' dies
, ''The Independent''. Retrieved 11 November 2007. At ''EastEnders'', Harris was responsible for introducing the di Marco family, the Flahertys, Irene Hills, Lorna Cartwright, as well as bringing back

Frank Butcher Frank Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Mike Reid (actor), Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, but due to a positive viewer reception, he is reintr ...

and

Dot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Cotton (also Branning) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', portrayed by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in f ...

as full-time characters. Axings included characters such as

Ted Hills Ted Hills is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Brian Croucher. He was introduced in 1995 as the patriarch of the Hills family, who are the extended family of established character Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylfor ...

, Frankie Pierre and Felix Kawalski. Storylines that aired under her tenure included

Phil Mitchell Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother, Grant ( Ross Kemp), sister, Sam ( Danniella Westbrook/ Kim Medca ...

’s alcoholism,

Ricky Butcher Ricky Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Sid Owen. Introduced as a school boy in 1988, Ricky is one of the longest-running male protagonists to feature in ''EastEnders''. Owen originally left the ...

and

Bianca Jackson Bianca Jackson (also Butcher) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders,'' played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opt ...

’s wedding, the critically panned Ireland episodes, and Cindy Beale’s attempted assassination of

Ian Beale Ian Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Adam Woodyatt. He is one of four remaining original characters, the others being his mother, Kathy Beale ( Gillian Taylforth), his long standing best friend an ...

, which brought in an audience of twenty three million in 1996, roughly four million more than rival ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

''. Harris's contributions to the soap were awarded in 1997, when ''EastEnders'' won the

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for "Best Drama Series." She shared the award with producer, Corrinne Hollingworth.IMDB awards
, IMDb. Retrieved 6 May 2007. She left the series at the end of 1997, and was succeeded by Matthew Robinson. Following this, Harris moved to channel five to become the series producer of its flagship soap opera ''

'', taking over from co-creator and her former boss on ''EastEnders'', Corinne Hollingworth. She has also worked as an assistant director on various programmes including the police dramas ''

Mersey Beat ''Mersey Beat'' was a music publication in Liverpool, England in the early 1960s. It was founded by Bill Harry, who was one of John Lennon's classmates at Liverpool Art College. The paper carried news about all the local Liverpool bands, and ...

'' (2001) and ''Beech is Back'' (2001).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Jane British television producers British women television producers Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) British television directors Living people British women television directors