Bryan Kirkwood (producer)

Kirkwood was born in Bellshill, Scotland. He formerly lived in East Kilbride and in Edinburgh prior to moving to Brighton, England at a young age. Kirkwood is openly gay, and was living in Liverpool with his partner in 2006.[2] Kirkwood entered into a civil partnership in 2011, and now lives in Surrey.

Kirkwood's first major role came as a storyliner for ITV's Coronation Street. He later took control as the producer for Channel 4's Hollyoaks between 2006 and 2009, a period in which the show explored a number of well-loved and critically acclaimed storylines (such as that of the relationship between John Paul McQueen and Craig Dean and the Dog at the Pond explosion that killed five characters).[3] After leaving the main Hollyoaks team, he produced the second series of the late-night spin-off Hollyoaks Later, shown in 2009 on E4. He became responsible for the casting of several new characters and guest appearances, such as Bonnie Tyler.[4]

On 2 November 2009 it was announced that he would become the executive producer of the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, replacing Diederick Santer.[5] He faced criticism from the media before he even assumed his role on EastEnders, with many reporting he planned to 'sex up' the show on arrival.[6] His appointment came on 1 March 2010 as Santer stepped down from the role after the 25th anniversary celebrations.[7] His first episode was broadcast on 4 June 2010 (moved from 7 June due to a schedule change), though he shares the executive producer credit with Santer for two weeks.[8]

Kirkwood's tenure oversaw numerous high-profile storylines, such as the death of Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson), and the introduction of such characters as Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd), Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti), Vanessa Gold (Zöe Lucker) and Jodie Gold (Kylie Babbington). Other ideas, however, such as the introduction of Eddie Moon, the reintroduction of the early 90s teenage tearaway Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton), and the decision to kill off long-standing soap veteran Pat Butcher (Pam St. Clement) and Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison), were not as well-received and prompted media criticism. The show was also criticized for pandering too heavily towards a younger demographic, insofar that the soap was, at one point, dubbed the "East End version of Hollyoaks."

In January 2011 an EastEnders baby swap storyline involving Ronnie Branning (Samantha Womack) and Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) gained over 10,000 complaints, which resulted in the BBC ending the storyline earlier than planned.[9] On 12 March 2012, it was announced Kirkwood had decided to leave his position of executive producer of EastEnders, and left in April 2012, after two years in charge[10] with series producer Lorraine Newman temporarily taking over his role.[10] Of his departure, Kirkwood said "Being the executive producer of EastEnders is one of the most exciting jobs in TV, but it's also the most exhausting - so after two years, I've decided it's time to leave Walford."[10]

Later that month it was announced that Kirkwood had returned to working with Lime Pictures. Working alongside Tony Wood, Kirkwood will help create new scripted and reality drama.[11] He produced Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights[12] before returning as executive producer of Hollyoaks.[13] in 2014, Hollyoaks won Best British soap in at The British Soap Awards. This was the first time Hollyoaks ever won this award.

• Bryan Kirkwood on IMDb