John Yorke

Who is John Yorke?

John Yorke is a British television producer. who is the current Controller of BBC Drama Production.

Yorke attended Newcastle University. He joined the BBC in 1986, working initially in radio as a studio manager and then as a producer on BBC Radio 5.

In 1994, he moved to television, working as a script editor on EastEnders before becoming storyline consultant on Casualty. In 1999, after a brief period as producer on Sunburn starring Michelle Collins, he took on the executive producer role on EastEnders. During his time there, he was given the task of introducing the soap's fourth weekly episode and managed a win over long-running rival Coronation Street in a rare head-to-head showdown. He axed the majority of the Di Marco family and helped introduce popular characters such as the Slater family. As what Mal Young described as "two of EastEnders most successful years", Yorke was responsible for big ratings winners such as "Who Shot Phil?", Ethel Skinner's death, Jim Branning and Dot Cotton's marriage, abusive Trevor Morgan, and Kat Slater's revelation to her daughter Zoe that she was her mother. Yorke was also responsible for the recasting of Sam Mitchell in January 2002.