Kate Harwood
British television producer
Kate Harwood is a British television producer. She became managing director of the revived Euston Films in summer 2014.
Early life
Kate graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Drama and Theatre Arts in 1981 before becoming an Arts Council Trainee director with Century Theatre, Keswick, then Literary Manager of the Royal Court Theatre in London.
Television career
Harwood moved from the Royal Court to spend over 15 years working at the BBC, including as Script Editor and Script Executive, before becoming an executive producer in the BBC Drama Serials department. As a producer, she has worked on dramas including The Beggar Bride, Close Relations, The Echo, David Copperfield, Man and Boy and BAFTA winner Charles II: The Power and the Passion (released in the US under the title The Last King: the Power and the Passion of Charles II, in a heavily edited version on the A&E cable network). In her role as executive producer in BBC drama serials, she was responsible for programs including Crime and Punishment, Daniel Deronda, The Lost World, and Final Demand.
Harwood was appointed the executive producer of EastEnders in February 2005, a position she retained until October 2006, when she was succeeded by Diederick Santer. As well as being responsible for the introduction of several new families, such as the Brannings and the Foxes, she introduced such characters as Sean Slater and May Wright, as well as the departures of many popular characters such as Sharon Watts and Dennis Rickman, Chrissie Watts, Kat Moon and Alfie Moon, Sam Mitchell, Nana Moon, Jake Moon, Little Mo Mitchell, Johnny Allen and Pauline Fowler and oversaw numerous high-profile storylines, such as Pauline Fowler's murder; Billy and Honey's wedding and daughter being born with Down syndrome; and the domestic abuse storyline between Denise Fox and Owen Turner as well as the discovery of Den Watts' body under the Queen Vic. She was also responsible for such ratings-winners as Dennis Rickman's stabbing and the critically acclaimed return of the Mitchell brothers, which drew respective audiences of 12 and 13 million viewers. Other storylines, however, such as a brief lesbian affair between Sonia and Naomi, "Get Johnny Week", and the handling of Pauline Fowler's departure were not as well received, and prompted further media criticism; in July 2006, EastEnders fell to just 3.9 million viewers (although this was very-much a circumstantial, one-off figure and not at-all representative of how episodes that did not clash with Emmerdale rated), its then-lowest-ever viewing figure.
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