Spencer Campbell
Encyclopedia
Spencer Campbell is an English television producer
.
television magazine Chalkface. At the end of the decade he directed several episodes of The Krypton Factor
and the soap opera Coronation Street
.
television documentary The Living Soap
, a year-long series that put a group of students into a purpose-bought house. In a 2000 interview, Campbell noted that the series would have worked better if it had followed an existing group of students in a real house, comparing the situation the participants were put in to Big Brother, but in hindsight would not repeat the experiment: "It was a draining year both for the production team and for the people in the house. We were shooting a week's film and then showing it on TV, which made everything quite fraught." In another interview, he said he "should have chosen other people [...] partly because the people in the house were reluctant participants after a while, and chose quite deliberately not to do things after the initial five or six programmes", referring to one girl who would lock herself in her bedroom when the cameras arrived. In an episode of the 2008 Channel 4
documentary series How TV Changed Britain, Campbell explained how the series pioneered the use of "diary rooms" and public telephone votes long before their use in such series as Big Brother. Reviewing the programme, Thomas Sutcliffe of The Independent
said of Campbell's interview, "He now wears the faintly rueful look of a man who invented a better mousetrap, but forgot to put the patent forms in the post."
, The Grimleys
(both the pilot and the series) and the sitcom Sunnyside Farm. In 2000, he became producer of Granada's comedy drama Cold Feet
. During his time on the series, Campbell oversaw an increase from six to eight episodes per year, cast Canadian-Australian actress Kimberley Joseph
in a lead role when Fay Ripley
left during the fourth series
, and organised overseas filming in Sydney
, Australia. The episode filmed in Australia won Cold Feet the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series
, which Campbell received along with the writer, Mike Bullen
, and the executive producer, Andy Harries
.
Following Cold Feets conclusion in 2003, Campbell produced Donovan, a psychological thriller serial starring Tom Conti
, and the comedy drama Christmas Lights
and its spin-off Northern Lights
, both starring Robson Green
and Mark Benton
. In 2006, he co-produced Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback
, a dramatisation of the events surrounding the murder of Peter Falconio
. Campbell pledged not to deviate from the facts of the case, saying "We've obviously researched it pretty thoroughly, so really it's a story about how difficult it was to bring Murdoch
[the killer] to justice." In 2007, he began working for Shed Productions
, where he developed Catwalk Dogs
, a comedy television film written by Simon Nye
and starring Kris Marshall
. From 2008 to 2009 he produced two series of Shed Productions' school drama Waterloo Road
and in 2009 produced the series Hope Springs
. In 2011 he produced Mad Dogs
for Left Bank Pictures
and Sky1.
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
.
Career
Campbell's early credits include working as a researcher in the early 1980s on the Granada TelevisionGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
television magazine Chalkface. At the end of the decade he directed several episodes of The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor was a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995, and was hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 19:00....
and the soap opera Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
.
The Living Soap
One of his most notable works is the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television documentary The Living Soap
The Living Soap
The Living Soap was a BBC North fly on the wall documentary series broadcast in 1993, which set out to show the everyday lives of six students sharing a house in Manchester. The six chosen students gave up their privacy for one year in return for free rent and the chance to be on television...
, a year-long series that put a group of students into a purpose-bought house. In a 2000 interview, Campbell noted that the series would have worked better if it had followed an existing group of students in a real house, comparing the situation the participants were put in to Big Brother, but in hindsight would not repeat the experiment: "It was a draining year both for the production team and for the people in the house. We were shooting a week's film and then showing it on TV, which made everything quite fraught." In another interview, he said he "should have chosen other people [...] partly because the people in the house were reluctant participants after a while, and chose quite deliberately not to do things after the initial five or six programmes", referring to one girl who would lock herself in her bedroom when the cameras arrived. In an episode of the 2008 Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary series How TV Changed Britain, Campbell explained how the series pioneered the use of "diary rooms" and public telephone votes long before their use in such series as Big Brother. Reviewing the programme, Thomas Sutcliffe of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
said of Campbell's interview, "He now wears the faintly rueful look of a man who invented a better mousetrap, but forgot to put the patent forms in the post."
Other work
Other credits in the 1990s include producing Jack Dee's Sunday ServiceJack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
, The Grimleys
The Grimleys
The Grimleys is a nostalgic comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series....
(both the pilot and the series) and the sitcom Sunnyside Farm. In 2000, he became producer of Granada's comedy drama Cold Feet
Cold Feet
Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...
. During his time on the series, Campbell oversaw an increase from six to eight episodes per year, cast Canadian-Australian actress Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph is a Canadian-Australian actress who is based in the United States. Joseph was born in Canada, raised on the Gold Coast in Australia, and educated in Switzerland. After returning to Australia, she began a degree at Bond University but dropped out at the age of 19 when she was cast...
in a lead role when Fay Ripley
Fay Ripley
Fay Ripley is an English actress and recipe author. Born in Wimbledon, London, Ripley is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama . Her first professional role was in the chorus of a pantomime version of Around the World in 80 Days...
left during the fourth series
Cold Feet (series 4)
The fourth series of the British comedy drama television series Cold Feet was aired on the ITV network from 18 November to 10 December 2001. Eight episodes were broadcast over four weeks and the final episode was extended to 72 minutes...
, and organised overseas filming in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia. The episode filmed in Australia won Cold Feet the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series
British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series
The British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series is one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards , the primary awards ceremony of the British television industry...
, which Campbell received along with the writer, Mike Bullen
Mike Bullen
Mike Bullen is an English-born screenwriter. Bullen grew up in the West Midlands of England, attending the Solihull School and later Magdalene College, Cambridge. He left with a degree in history of art and became a radio producer for the BBC World Service...
, and the executive producer, Andy Harries
Andy Harries
Andrew D. M. Harries is a British television and film producer. After graduating from Hull University in the 1970s, Harries began his television career on the Granada Television current affairs series World in Action, before moving on to freelance work...
.
Following Cold Feets conclusion in 2003, Campbell produced Donovan, a psychological thriller serial starring Tom Conti
Tom Conti
Thomas "Tom" Conti is a Scottish actor, theatre director and novelist.-Early life:Born Thomas Conti in Paisley, Renfrewshire, he was brought up Roman Catholic, but he considers himself anti-religious...
, and the comedy drama Christmas Lights
Christmas Lights
Christmas Lights is a 2004 British Christmas television special broadcast by ITV starring Robson Green and Mark Benton and written by Jeff Pope and Bob Mills...
and its spin-off Northern Lights
Northern Lights (TV series)
Northern Lights is a 2006 comedy-drama broadcast on ITV starring Mark Benton and Robson Green. It is a spin-off of the 2004 Christmas special Christmas Lights....
, both starring Robson Green
Robson Green
Robson Green is an English actor, singer–songwriter and presenter.-Biography:Robson Golightly Green was born in Hexham, Northumberland, and baptised in Bethel Chapel, , and named in Northeast tradition as first son after family surnames: Robson is his grandmother's maiden surname, while Golightly...
and Mark Benton
Mark Benton
Mark Benton is an English actor, perhaps most famous for his roles as Eddie in Early Doors and Howard in Northern Lights.-Life and career:Benton was born in Guisborough, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England....
. In 2006, he co-produced Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback
Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback
Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback is a television film produced by Channel Ten and ITV Productions, which first aired in Australia on Channel Ten on 18 March 2007 and in the UK on ITV on Sunday 8 April, where it was titled Murder In The Outback...
, a dramatisation of the events surrounding the murder of Peter Falconio
Peter Falconio
Peter Marco Falconio was a British tourist who disappeared in the Australian outback in July 2001, while travelling with girlfriend Joanne Lees and is nowpresumed dead....
. Campbell pledged not to deviate from the facts of the case, saying "We've obviously researched it pretty thoroughly, so really it's a story about how difficult it was to bring Murdoch
Bradley John Murdoch
Bradley John Murdoch is serving life imprisonment for the July 2001 murder of English backpacker Peter Falconio in Australia. He will be 74 when eligible for parole. Murdoch is being held in Alice Springs Correctional Centre in Alice Springs. He has lodged two appeals against his conviction; both...
[the killer] to justice." In 2007, he began working for Shed Productions
Shed Productions
Shed Productions, part of the Shed Media Group, is an independent UK television production company, specialising in contemporary, original drama programming and content...
, where he developed Catwalk Dogs
Catwalk Dogs
Catwalk Dogs is a British television film written by Simon Nye and produced by Shed Productions for ITV. It stars Kris Marshall and Georgia Mackenzie and was first shown on 21 October 2007...
, a comedy television film written by Simon Nye
Simon Nye
Simon Nye is an English comic television writer, best known for creating the hit sitcom Men Behaving Badly, writing all of the four ITV Panto, co-writing the 2006 film Flushed Away, co-writing Reggie Perrin and creating the latest adaption of William Brown in the Just William CBBC...
and starring Kris Marshall
Kris Marshall
Kristopher "Kris" Marshall is an English actor, best known for his role as Nick Harper in My Family, and as Adam in the adverts for BT Group since 2005.-Career:...
. From 2008 to 2009 he produced two series of Shed Productions' school drama Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
and in 2009 produced the series Hope Springs
Hope Springs (TV Series)
Hope Springs is a British television comedy-drama series following the lives of four female ex-cons in hiding following a multimillion pound robbery. Produced by Shed Productions, the company behind Bad Girls, Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road, the 8-part series began airing on BBC One on 7 June...
. In 2011 he produced Mad Dogs
Mad Dogs (TV series)
Mad Dogs is a four-part British black comedy and psychological thriller television series created by Cris Cole that started broadcast on Sky1 on 10 February 2011. It was produced by Left Bank Pictures, and co-produced by Palma Pictures. The series stars John Simm, Marc Warren, Max Beesley and...
for Left Bank Pictures
Left Bank Pictures
Left Bank Pictures is an English film and television production company. It was formed in 2007 by Andy Harries, formerly controller of drama, comedy and film at Granada Productions, and Francis Hopkinson and Marigo Kehoe...
and Sky1.
External links
- Spencer Campbell at the British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...