Andy Harries
Encyclopedia
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. He directed and produced programmes for Jonathan Ross
's Channel X production company in the 1980s, before being appointed controller of the newly created comedy department at Granada in 1992. Over the next decade he produced and executive produced several critically acclaimed series, including The Royle Family
, Cold Feet
and The Grimleys
.
In 2000 his portfollio was expanded to include Granada's drama productions. He worked on the revivals of Prime Suspect and Cracker
, as well as the BAFTA-winning television play
The Deal. In 2004 he began work producing The Queen
, which was released to critical acclaim in 2006. Though he had spent 14 years with Granada, part of the ITV
network, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the management of ITV after its corporate merger in 2003, and publicly criticised the network in 2006. He announced he would not be renewing his contract and departed in 2007 to form Left Bank Pictures
. Since 2007, Left Bank has produced the television series Wallander, Strike Back
, Married Single Other
, the feature film The Damned United
, and has several more television series in development.
In addition to the awards won by programmes he has worked on, Harries was given a Special Achievement award by BAFTA in 2007 for his contributions to British television. The same year, he was ranked in The Guardian
s Media Top 100, and Broadcasts Top 100 Producers. He is married to novelist and director Rebecca Frayn.
, Scotland on 7 April 1954 and grew up in Peterborough
, England, receiving primary education at West Town Primary School until 1961, and secondary education at the public Oakham School
. He grew up aspiring to be a war correspondent in Vietnam
, or an investigative journalist; his idols were Harold Evans
, Jon Swain
and John Pilger
. He left college at the age of 17 with poor A Level results and became a trainee reporter on the Peterborough Evening Telegraph newspaper. His time on the newspaper raised his awareness of politics, and he sought to further his understanding of it by studying at university. He applied to various northern universities to break away from his southern middle-class lifestyle, and was accepted at Hull University.
Harries stayed at Hull until he was 21, though continued to work at the Evening Telegraph during holidays. At university he developed an interest in music journalism
and found an outlet for this by writing reviews for Melody Maker
.
, writing diary pieces for the Daily Mail
and News of the World
from 1975 to 1976. On the advice of a friend, he applied for a position as a researcher for Granada Television
in Manchester. He did not understand the appeal of television production, and as a result he was turned away at two interviews before being hired in 1976.
Shortly after being hired he was taken aside by the news producer and asked to read the on-air bulletin for the nightly broadcast. He read the news for three months until one night when he condensed a six-minute bulletin into three minutes. He attributed this to stage fright
, which caused him to speak too fast. The rest of the production crew were not ready to move on to the next news items, leaving Harries standing in silence for several minutes. Harries recalled in a 2007 interview that Steve Morrison, the producer of the bulletin, called him into his office and berated him, telling him he did not deserve to be on television and that he would no longer be reading the news. Morrison's remarks angered Harries to such a point that he assaulted the man. Aware that he was going to lose his job, he contacted a Granada colleague who got him a new job at Granada's London centre, which he took up at the age of 23.
Pursuing his interest in investigative journalism, Harries worked as a researcher on the current affairs programme World in Action
, where he met Paul Greengrass
. While Greengrass achieved success in exposing alleged corruption involving Manchester United F.C.
chairman Louis Edwards
, Harries investigated irregularities in the British Singles Chart. Greengrass's investigation was a success, though Harries admits his own programme "didn't make a blind bit of difference".
, with whom he made four films in Peru
between 1985 and 1989—Martin Chambi
and the Heirs of the Incas, Our God the Condor, Iquitos
, and Mario Vargas Llosa
: The Novelist Who Would Be President—and working on editions of The South Bank Show
and Arena
. While directing a corporate video for BT he met Jonathan Ross
, who was his assistant for the day. Ross invited Harries to direct a pilot for a chat show he and Alan Marke had developed that was based on Late Night with David Letterman
. The pilot was a success and Ross found a television audience with The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross, which first aired in 1988.
Harries formed a production company called Sleeping Partners with Greengrass in the latter part of the decade, which produced Ross's The Incredibly Strange Film Show and stand-up comedian Lenny Henry
's Lenny Live and Unleashed film. The latter was directed by Harries and was edited together from a number of performances by Henry at the Hackney Empire
in 1989. The Guardian
s film critic called the direction "unobtrusive".
The 1990s began with more direction and production for Ross and Marke's Channel X production company; in 1991 he made the documentary Viva Elvis! and executive produced Middlemarch Films' The Ghosts of Oxford Street, a musical
about Oxford Street
's history. The script for Ghosts was written by Harries' wife, Rebecca Frayn. The same year, he developed a script with Peter Morgan
called Bhundu Beat, a film described by Variety
as "a bizarre remake of A Hard Day's Night
featuring the briefly fashionable Zimbawean band the Bhundu Boys
and Brit comic Lenny Henry". With a development budget of £
2,000, Harries sent Morgan on a research trip to Zimbabwe
, taking a circuitous route that lasted for three days. Bhundu Beat was never made.
, a comedy play written by Arthur Smith
and Chris England based around a group of England
fans at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
. Smith bet Harries £100 that he would not be able to get the adaptation on television before the next World Cup
. Harries tried selling Smith and England's screenplay to the BBC
, Channel 4
, LWT, Yorkshire Television
and Central Independent Television
to no avail. The BBC offered to produce it as a studio play but Harries wanted a full-length film to distinguish it from the original play, which was by then playing at London's West End. He was reluctant to offer the script to Granada because of his previous experience with the company. However, in 1992 he was accepted the position of controller of comedy at Granada and An Evening with Gary Lineker was made. Harries was disappointed that pressure from Granada's management had forced him to replace so many of the original stage cast; England was replaced by Paul Merton
, leaving Caroline Quentin
as the only original actor. The Edinburgh Fringe played an important role in Harries' early commissions at Granada; he was not fond of traditional styles of comedy and was always looking for alternative comedians. These included Caroline Aherne
, Steve Coogan
and John Thomson (though Coogan "got away" from him after the BBC offered to produce his Alan Partridge
shows). After the failure of Bhundu Beat, Harries commissioned Peter Morgan to write "Mickey Love" in 1993, one of a series of short comedy films for the Rik Mayall
series Rik Mayall Presents.
In 1994, after turning down an offer for "the number three position" at Channel 4
and extending his contract with Granada to become controller of entertainment and comedy, he commissioned The Mrs Merton Show
from Aherne. In negotiating a second series with the BBC a few years later, another series from Aherne was included; The Royle Family
, a sitcom featuring a working-class northern family, aired on BBC One
from 1998 to 2000. The first two episodes were filmed with a studio audience, something Harries did not approve of. He scrapped these episodes and had them refilmed without a laugh track. The Royle Family returned for a one-off special in 2006, an achievement Harries described as giving him no greater pleasure. A spin-off of The Mrs Merton Show was commissioned by Harries from Aherne in 1999; Mrs Merton and Malcolm
was based around Mrs Merton and her son Malcolm, played by Craig Cash
. The programme was Aherne's first critical failure, which Harries blamed on the BBC One
schedulers.
In 1995 he commissioned a comedy drama on spec
from Mike Bullen
, a BBC radio producer and first-time writer. Like An Evening with Gary Lineker, The Perfect Match was based around football and received respectable reviews. Harries was interested in producing more comedy dramas, based on the success of American programmes like Thirtysomething, and assigned Granada producer Christine Langan
to work with Bullen. Langan and Bullen developed Cold Feet
, which was broadcast in 1997 and was commissioned for a full series in 1998. It won the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series
in 2002, which Harries collected with Bullen and Spencer Campbell
. Harries executive produced two more series of Bullen's; Life Begins
(2004–2006) and All About George (2005).
His first panel show produced came in 1999 with Mel and Sue
's Casting Couch
. The show was Mel and Sue's first programme made for ITV following the success of Light Lunch
for Channel 4. Casting Couch had low viewing figures and was not recommissioned. It was one of several comedies commissioned by Harries in 1999 that were produced by Justin Judd. Others included Dark Ages
and My Wonderful Life. Judd and Harries began developing Dark Ages—a sitcom set at the turn of the 2nd millennium
—in 1997 but could not make it work with the writer at the time. They proposed it to Red Dwarf
writer Rob Grant
, who liked the idea, and wrote all six episodes. Dark Ages aired nightly during the Christmas 1999 period. A second series was proposed—Harries said it would "hit its stride" then—but ITV did not recommission it. My Wonderful Life was another ratings disaster. Harries blamed ITV Network Centre and publicly criticised the network, courting the ire of its director of channels David Liddiment.
and Henry VIII
. ITV would provide only £750,000 for each hour of the serials, so Harries approached US broadcaster WGBH
to make up the remaining funds. Following the merging of Granada Films with Granada Productions in 2002, Harries' brief was expanded to include films.
2003 was a significant year for Harries' drama output; Peter Morgan approached Granada with an idea for a drama documenting the conjectured pact
between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before the Labour Party leadership election, 1994. Granada's chief executive Charles Allen was not keen on producing The Deal but Harries and John Whiston persuaded him otherwise. ITV initially agreed to show it but pulled out before filming began. Harries offered it to Channel 4
, who took it within 24 hours. The Deal was a critical success and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama. That same year Harries brought back the drama serial Prime Suspect, which had not been produced since the star Helen Mirren
quit in 1995. Mirren agreed to return for Prime Suspect: The Last Witness only if it was "about something". Two years later it returned for the seventh and final serial, entitled The Final Act, in which Jane Tennison, Mirren's character, confronts her alcoholism in a sub-plot. Lynda La Plante
, who created Prime Suspect in 1989, was critical of the decision to "make [Tennison] a drunk", though Harries rebutted, saying, "Lynda was the one who started Jane Tennison drinking heavily—it's not out of character". In 2004, Harries was ranked number eleven on a list of the most powerful figures in British TV drama, compiled by industry experts for the Radio Times
.
During the read-throughs for The Last Witness Harries watched other actors and production staff react to Mirren as if she was "like the Queen
". Already in pre-production was a follow-up to The Deal that would focus on the royal family
in the week following the death
of Diana, Princess of Wales
. Peter Morgan was due to return as the writer, Stephen Frears
was signed on as director and Harries suggested to Mirren that she play the Queen. Mirren agreed and the film, co-produced by Granada and Pathé
, was released in September 2006. Among the numerous awards for which it was nominated were the BAFTA Award for Best Film
and the Academy Award for Best Picture
(the former it won). Despite the success of the film, Harries once again expressed disappointment with ITV for not giving enough backing. In an interview the month before The Queen was released he criticised the management of ITV for being deeply complacent and arrogant, and expressed disappointment that drama on the channel was not as good as it once was. At the end of the year he announced that he would not be renewing his contract with the company. Entertainment industry commentators suggested that he would set up his own independent production company.
, which BBC Worldwide
immediately took a 25% share in. Left Bank was the first British production house to receive investment from BBC Worldwide and there was some concern that there was a conflict of interest for the publicly-funded BBC; in The Guardian, Steve Hewlett wrote that the deal was a "back-door way of getting around the rules preventing the BBC producing programmes for its British rivals". Hewlett also commented that the investment might limit Left Bank's future prospects, as it was "tied to" the BBC. At Left Bank, Harries proposed to produce two features films per year, as well as several television series. The company's first television commission is Wallander, a three-part series based on Henning Mankell
's Kurt Wallander
novels. The series was made in association with Swedish company Yellow Bird
for the BBC. It was broadcast in November and December 2008, and a second series followed in 2010.
In 2009, Left Bank's first feature film, The Damned United
(adapted by Peter Morgan from the David Peace
novel
) was released. Also broadcast in 2009 was the comedy series School of Comedy
and the crime drama Father & Son
. Comedy drama series Married Single Other
was filmed for ITV and was broadcast in 2010. Harries executive produced the third part of Peter Morgan's "Blair trilogy", The Special Relationship
, for HBO Films
and BBC Films
. It was first broadcast on the HBO networks in the United States in May 2010.
awarded him the Special Award in Honour of Alan Clarke. In December 2009, the Radio Times ranked him at number six in their "Faces of 2010" feature, a compilation of "the biggest names and the coming stars in the year ahead". In Broadcasts Top 100 for 2010, Harries was ranked at number two in the executive producers category.
The Royal Television Society
conferred a Fellowship on Harries in January 2011 for outstanding contributions to the broadcasting industry.
pilot School of Comedy, and the subsequent E4 series
, which was produced by Left Bank. Finn appears in a School of Comedy sketch entitled "Continuity Errors", as a clone of Jack's character.
After producing a South Bank Show profile and The Ghosts of Oxford Street, Harries remained good friends with Malcolm McLaren
, and spoke at his funeral in April 2010.
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...
and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. After graduating from Hull University in the 1970s, Harries began his television career on the Granada Television
Granada 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....
current affairs series World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
, before moving on to freelance work. He directed and produced programmes for Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
's Channel X production company in the 1980s, before being appointed controller of the newly created comedy department at Granada in 1992. Over the next decade he produced and executive produced several critically acclaimed series, including The Royle Family
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
, 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...
and 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....
.
In 2000 his portfollio was expanded to include Granada's drama productions. He worked on the revivals of Prime Suspect and Cracker
Cracker (UK TV series)
Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The series is centered on a criminal psychologist , Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane. Set in Manchester, it consists of three series which were...
, as well as the BAFTA-winning television play
Television play
From the 1950s until the early 1980s, the television play was a popular television programming genre in the United Kingdom, with a shorter span in the United States. The genre was often associated with the social realist-influenced British drama style known as "kitchen sink realism", which depicted...
The Deal. In 2004 he began work producing The Queen
The Queen (film)
The Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II...
, which was released to critical acclaim in 2006. Though he had spent 14 years with Granada, part of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the management of ITV after its corporate merger in 2003, and publicly criticised the network in 2006. He announced he would not be renewing his contract and departed in 2007 to form 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...
. Since 2007, Left Bank has produced the television series Wallander, Strike Back
Strike Back (TV series)
Chris Ryan's Strike Back is a six-part British television series based on the novel of the same name written by best-selling author and former soldier of the Special Air Service, Chris Ryan. It was produced by Left Bank Pictures for Sky1...
, Married Single Other
Married Single Other
Married Single Other is a British television drama created and written by Peter Souter. The series is based on the lives of group of people who are either married, single or "other", other being defined as in a relationship. It began airing on Monday 22 February 2010 at on ITV1 and UTV...
, the feature film The Damned United
The Damned United
The Damned United is a 2009 British sports drama film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling novel The Damned Utd, a largely fictional book based on the author's interpretation of Brian Clough's tenure as manager of Leeds United...
, and has several more television series in development.
In addition to the awards won by programmes he has worked on, Harries was given a Special Achievement award by BAFTA in 2007 for his contributions to British television. The same year, he was ranked in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Media Top 100, and Broadcasts Top 100 Producers. He is married to novelist and director Rebecca Frayn.
Early life and education
Andy Harries was born in InvernessInverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, Scotland on 7 April 1954 and grew up in Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, England, receiving primary education at West Town Primary School until 1961, and secondary education at the public Oakham School
Oakham School
Oakham School is a British co-educational independent school in the historic market town of Oakham in Rutland, accepting around 1,000 pupils, aged from 10 to 18, both male and female, as boarders and day pupils . The Good Schools Guide called the school "a privileged but unpretentious and...
. He grew up aspiring to be a war correspondent in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, or an investigative journalist; his idols were Harold Evans
Harold Evans
Sir Harold Matthew Evans is a British-born journalist and writer who was editor of The Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981. He has written various books on history and journalism...
, Jon Swain
Jon Swain
Jon Anketell Brewer Swain is an award-winning British journalist and writer who was portrayed by Julian Sands in the 1984 Oscar-winning film The Killing Fields...
and John Pilger
John Pilger
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
. He left college at the age of 17 with poor A Level results and became a trainee reporter on the Peterborough Evening Telegraph newspaper. His time on the newspaper raised his awareness of politics, and he sought to further his understanding of it by studying at university. He applied to various northern universities to break away from his southern middle-class lifestyle, and was accepted at Hull University.
Harries stayed at Hull until he was 21, though continued to work at the Evening Telegraph during holidays. At university he developed an interest in music journalism
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
and found an outlet for this by writing reviews for Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
.
Early career (1976–1981)
After leaving Hull, Harries moved to London to work for the Southern News Service news agencyNews agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
, writing diary pieces for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
and News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
from 1975 to 1976. On the advice of a friend, he applied for a position as a researcher for Granada Television
Granada 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....
in Manchester. He did not understand the appeal of television production, and as a result he was turned away at two interviews before being hired in 1976.
Shortly after being hired he was taken aside by the news producer and asked to read the on-air bulletin for the nightly broadcast. He read the news for three months until one night when he condensed a six-minute bulletin into three minutes. He attributed this to stage fright
Stage fright
Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, whether actually or potentially . In the context of public speaking, this fear is termed glossophobia, one of the most common...
, which caused him to speak too fast. The rest of the production crew were not ready to move on to the next news items, leaving Harries standing in silence for several minutes. Harries recalled in a 2007 interview that Steve Morrison, the producer of the bulletin, called him into his office and berated him, telling him he did not deserve to be on television and that he would no longer be reading the news. Morrison's remarks angered Harries to such a point that he assaulted the man. Aware that he was going to lose his job, he contacted a Granada colleague who got him a new job at Granada's London centre, which he took up at the age of 23.
Pursuing his interest in investigative journalism, Harries worked as a researcher on the current affairs programme World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
, where he met Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.-Life and career:...
. While Greengrass achieved success in exposing alleged corruption involving Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
chairman Louis Edwards
Louis Edwards
Louis Charles Edwards from Salford, Lancashire, was an English businessman and chairman of Manchester United from 1965 to 1980.- Manchester United :...
, Harries investigated irregularities in the British Singles Chart. Greengrass's investigation was a success, though Harries admits his own programme "didn't make a blind bit of difference".
Freelance and Channel X (1981–1992)
In 1981, Harries left Granada and moved into freelance producing and directing. He directed the documentary series Africa in 1984 before beginning a collaboration with Paul YulePaul Yule
Paul Harris Yule is a photographer and film maker.Born in South Africa his family emigrated to England when he was 8 years old. After studying at Aldenham School and Oxford University he became an acclaimed photojournalist and documentary film maker, founding Berwick Universal Pictures in London in...
, with whom he made four films in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
between 1985 and 1989—Martin Chambi
Martín Chambi
Martín Chambi Jiménez or Martín Chambi de Coaza, was a photographer, originally from southern Peru...
and the Heirs of the Incas, Our God the Condor, Iquitos
Iquitos
Iquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, with a population of 370,962. It is the capital of Loreto Region and Maynas Province.Located on the Amazon River, it is only above sea level, although it is more than from the mouth of the Amazon at Belém on the Atlantic Ocean...
, and Mario Vargas Llosa
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
: The Novelist Who Would Be President—and working on editions of The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
and Arena
Arena (TV series)
Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. It has run since 1 October 1975, and over five hundred episodes have been made. Arena covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Bob Dylan to the Ford Cortina car...
. While directing a corporate video for BT he met Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
, who was his assistant for the day. Ross invited Harries to direct a pilot for a chat show he and Alan Marke had developed that was based on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
. The pilot was a success and Ross found a television audience with The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross, which first aired in 1988.
Harries formed a production company called Sleeping Partners with Greengrass in the latter part of the decade, which produced Ross's The Incredibly Strange Film Show and stand-up comedian Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
's Lenny Live and Unleashed film. The latter was directed by Harries and was edited together from a number of performances by Henry at the Hackney Empire
Hackney Empire
The Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney, built in 1901 as a music hall.-History:Hackney Empire is a grade II* listed building...
in 1989. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s film critic called the direction "unobtrusive".
The 1990s began with more direction and production for Ross and Marke's Channel X production company; in 1991 he made the documentary Viva Elvis! and executive produced Middlemarch Films' The Ghosts of Oxford Street, a musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
about Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
's history. The script for Ghosts was written by Harries' wife, Rebecca Frayn. The same year, he developed a script with Peter Morgan
Peter Morgan
Peter Morgan may refer to:* Peter Morgan , British sports car manufacturer* Peter Morgan , 1978 British Formula Ford champion* Peter Morgan , Wales and British lions international...
called Bhundu Beat, a film described by Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
as "a bizarre remake of A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
featuring the briefly fashionable Zimbawean band the Bhundu Boys
Bhundu Boys
The Bhundu Boys were a Zimbabwean band that played a mixture of chimurenga music with American rock and roll, disco, country, and pop influences...
and Brit comic Lenny Henry". With a development budget of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
2,000, Harries sent Morgan on a research trip to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, taking a circuitous route that lasted for three days. Bhundu Beat was never made.
Controller of Comedy
At the 1991 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Harries personally bought the television rights to An Evening with Gary LinekerAn Evening with Gary Lineker
An Evening with Gary Lineker is a 1991 stage play, adapted for television in 1994, by Arthur Smith and Chris England.The action takes place against the backdrop of the 1990 Football World Cup semi-final, between England and West Germany, which is taking place in Italy while Monica and Bill are on...
, a comedy play written by Arthur Smith
Arthur Smith (comedian)
Brian Arthur John Smith is an English alternative comedian and writer. He was born in Bermondsey, South London, brother to Richard Smith...
and Chris England based around a group of England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
fans at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
. Smith bet Harries £100 that he would not be able to get the adaptation on television before the next World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
. Harries tried selling Smith and England's screenplay to the BBC
BBC
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...
, 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...
, LWT, Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
and Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
to no avail. The BBC offered to produce it as a studio play but Harries wanted a full-length film to distinguish it from the original play, which was by then playing at London's West End. He was reluctant to offer the script to Granada because of his previous experience with the company. However, in 1992 he was accepted the position of controller of comedy at Granada and An Evening with Gary Lineker was made. Harries was disappointed that pressure from Granada's management had forced him to replace so many of the original stage cast; England was replaced by Paul Merton
Paul Merton
Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
, leaving Caroline Quentin
Caroline Quentin
Caroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
as the only original actor. The Edinburgh Fringe played an important role in Harries' early commissions at Granada; he was not fond of traditional styles of comedy and was always looking for alternative comedians. These included Caroline Aherne
Caroline Aherne
Caroline Mary Aherne is an English comedian and BAFTA winning writer and actress, best known for Mrs Merton and The Royle Family.- Background :...
, Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
and John Thomson (though Coogan "got away" from him after the BBC offered to produce his Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
shows). After the failure of Bhundu Beat, Harries commissioned Peter Morgan to write "Mickey Love" in 1993, one of a series of short comedy films for the Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
series Rik Mayall Presents.
In 1994, after turning down an offer for "the number three position" at 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...
and extending his contract with Granada to become controller of entertainment and comedy, he commissioned The Mrs Merton Show
The Mrs Merton Show
The Mrs Merton Show is a mock talk show starring Caroline Aherne as the elderly host Mrs Merton. It ran from 1994 to 1998, and was produced by Granada Television.The writers included Aherne, Craig Cash, Dave Gorman and Henry Normal....
from Aherne. In negotiating a second series with the BBC a few years later, another series from Aherne was included; The Royle Family
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
, a sitcom featuring a working-class northern family, aired on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
from 1998 to 2000. The first two episodes were filmed with a studio audience, something Harries did not approve of. He scrapped these episodes and had them refilmed without a laugh track. The Royle Family returned for a one-off special in 2006, an achievement Harries described as giving him no greater pleasure. A spin-off of The Mrs Merton Show was commissioned by Harries from Aherne in 1999; Mrs Merton and Malcolm
Mrs Merton and Malcolm
Mrs Merton and Malcolm was a six episode BBC One sitcom produced by Granada and written by Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash and Henry Normal. It has never been repeated on the BBC although a DVD was released on 10 November 2008...
was based around Mrs Merton and her son Malcolm, played by Craig Cash
Craig Cash
Craig Cash is an English comedy actor, BAFTA award-winning writer and also a director.-Biography:Cash is best known for playing slightly dull and dopey working-class northern men, particularly Dave Best in the hugely successful BBC sitcom The Royle Family, which he co-wrote with Caroline Aherne...
. The programme was Aherne's first critical failure, which Harries blamed on the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
schedulers.
In 1995 he commissioned a comedy drama on spec
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
from 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...
, a BBC radio producer and first-time writer. Like An Evening with Gary Lineker, The Perfect Match was based around football and received respectable reviews. Harries was interested in producing more comedy dramas, based on the success of American programmes like Thirtysomething, and assigned Granada producer Christine Langan
Christine Langan
Christine Langan is an English film producer who has been Creative Director of BBC Films since April 2009.After graduating from Cambridge University in 1987 and working in advertising for three years, Langan joined Granada Television's drama serials department where she script edited daytime soap...
to work with Bullen. Langan and Bullen developed Cold Feet
Pilot (Cold Feet)
Cold Feet is a British television pilot directed by Declan Lowney. It stars James Nesbitt and Helen Baxendale as Adam and Rachel, a couple who meet and fall in love, only for the relationship to break down when he gets cold feet. John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst appear...
, which was broadcast in 1997 and was commissioned for a full series in 1998. It won 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...
in 2002, which Harries collected with Bullen and Spencer Campbell
Spencer Campbell
Spencer Campbell is an English television producer.- Career :Campbell's early credits include working as a researcher in the early 1980s on the Granada Television television magazine Chalkface...
. Harries executive produced two more series of Bullen's; Life Begins
Life Begins
Life Begins is a British television drama first broadcast on ITV between February 2004 and October 2006, starring Caroline Quentin and Alexander Armstrong, Anne Reid and Frank Finlay.-History:...
(2004–2006) and All About George (2005).
His first panel show produced came in 1999 with Mel and Sue
Mel and Sue
Mel and Sue are a British comedy duo, consisting of Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.-Early career:The two women met whilst students at the University of Cambridge in England where both were members of the famous comedy club Footlights.-Television:Their television breakthrough came on the French &...
's Casting Couch
Casting couch
The casting couch, casting couch syndrome or casting couch mentality is a term which involves the trading of sexual favors by an aspirant, apprentice employee, or subordinate to a superior, in return for entry into an occupation, or for other career advancement within an organization...
. The show was Mel and Sue's first programme made for ITV following the success of Light Lunch
Light Lunch
Light Lunch is a Channel 4 lunch-time comedy chatshow broadcast between March 1997 and February 1998. It starred Mel and Sue...
for Channel 4. Casting Couch had low viewing figures and was not recommissioned. It was one of several comedies commissioned by Harries in 1999 that were produced by Justin Judd. Others included Dark Ages
Dark Ages (TV series)
Dark Ages is a British television sitcom, first broadcast as five thirty-minute episodes on ITV in December 1999. It portrayed medieval English villagers fearful of the turn of the new millennium in the year 999 AD, and parodied contemporary fears at the turn of the third millennium in 1999...
and My Wonderful Life. Judd and Harries began developing Dark Ages—a sitcom set at the turn of the 2nd millennium
2nd millennium
File:2nd millennium montage.png|From left, clockwise: In 1492, Christopher Columbus; The American Revolution; The French Revolution; The Atomic Bomb from World War II; An alternate source of light, the Light Bulb; For the first time, a human being sets foot on the moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11...
—in 1997 but could not make it work with the writer at the time. They proposed it to Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
writer Rob Grant
Rob Grant
Robert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....
, who liked the idea, and wrote all six episodes. Dark Ages aired nightly during the Christmas 1999 period. A second series was proposed—Harries said it would "hit its stride" then—but ITV did not recommission it. My Wonderful Life was another ratings disaster. Harries blamed ITV Network Centre and publicly criticised the network, courting the ire of its director of channels David Liddiment.
Drama and film brief
In September 2000, Harries' portfolio was significantly expanded when he was appointed Granada's controller of drama, following the resignations of Sue Hogg and Simon Lewis. 2002 commissions included Doctor ZhivagoDoctor Zhivago (TV serial)
Doctor Zhivago is a 2002 British television serial directed by Giacomo Campiotti and starring Keira Knightley and Sam Neill. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the 1957 novel of the same title by Boris Pasternak....
and Henry VIII
Henry VIII (TV serial)
Henry VIII is a two-part British television serial produced principally by Granada Television for ITV. It chronicles the life of Henry VIII of England from the disintegration of his first marriage to an aging Spanish princess until his death following a stroke in 1547, by which time he had married...
. ITV would provide only £750,000 for each hour of the serials, so Harries approached US broadcaster WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
to make up the remaining funds. Following the merging of Granada Films with Granada Productions in 2002, Harries' brief was expanded to include films.
2003 was a significant year for Harries' drama output; Peter Morgan approached Granada with an idea for a drama documenting the conjectured pact
Blair-Brown deal
The Blair–Brown deal was an alleged gentlemen's agreement made between the British politicians Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in the summer of 1994...
between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before the Labour Party leadership election, 1994. Granada's chief executive Charles Allen was not keen on producing The Deal but Harries and John Whiston persuaded him otherwise. ITV initially agreed to show it but pulled out before filming began. Harries offered it to 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...
, who took it within 24 hours. The Deal was a critical success and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama. That same year Harries brought back the drama serial Prime Suspect, which had not been produced since the star Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
quit in 1995. Mirren agreed to return for Prime Suspect: The Last Witness only if it was "about something". Two years later it returned for the seventh and final serial, entitled The Final Act, in which Jane Tennison, Mirren's character, confronts her alcoholism in a sub-plot. Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante, CBE is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series....
, who created Prime Suspect in 1989, was critical of the decision to "make [Tennison] a drunk", though Harries rebutted, saying, "Lynda was the one who started Jane Tennison drinking heavily—it's not out of character". In 2004, Harries was ranked number eleven on a list of the most powerful figures in British TV drama, compiled by industry experts for the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
.
During the read-throughs for The Last Witness Harries watched other actors and production staff react to Mirren as if she was "like the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
". Already in pre-production was a follow-up to The Deal that would focus on the royal family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
in the week following the death
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Fayed's...
of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. Peter Morgan was due to return as the writer, Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s...
was signed on as director and Harries suggested to Mirren that she play the Queen. Mirren agreed and the film, co-produced by Granada and Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
, was released in September 2006. Among the numerous awards for which it was nominated were the BAFTA Award for Best Film
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
and the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
(the former it won). Despite the success of the film, Harries once again expressed disappointment with ITV for not giving enough backing. In an interview the month before The Queen was released he criticised the management of ITV for being deeply complacent and arrogant, and expressed disappointment that drama on the channel was not as good as it once was. At the end of the year he announced that he would not be renewing his contract with the company. Entertainment industry commentators suggested that he would set up his own independent production company.
Left Bank Pictures (2007–present)
Rumours that he would start his own company, possibly with Caroline Aherne, had circulated since the 1990s. The predictions came to fruition in May 2007 when Harries announced the formation of Left Bank PicturesLeft 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...
, which BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
immediately took a 25% share in. Left Bank was the first British production house to receive investment from BBC Worldwide and there was some concern that there was a conflict of interest for the publicly-funded BBC; in The Guardian, Steve Hewlett wrote that the deal was a "back-door way of getting around the rules preventing the BBC producing programmes for its British rivals". Hewlett also commented that the investment might limit Left Bank's future prospects, as it was "tied to" the BBC. At Left Bank, Harries proposed to produce two features films per year, as well as several television series. The company's first television commission is Wallander, a three-part series based on Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell is a Swedish crime writer, children's author, leftist activist and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most famous creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander.-Life and career:...
's Kurt Wallander
Kurt Wallander
Kurt Wallander is a fictional character created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell. The protagonist of several mystery novels, set in and around the town of Ystad, 60 km south-east of the city of Malmö, in the southern province of Skåne...
novels. The series was made in association with Swedish company Yellow Bird
Yellow Bird (company)
Yellow Bird is a Swedish film and television production company founded by best-selling novelist Henning Mankell and film-producers Ole Søndberg and Lars Björkman. The company was founded to produce films based on Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels. Yellow Bird was sold to Danish media house Zodiak...
for the BBC. It was broadcast in November and December 2008, and a second series followed in 2010.
In 2009, Left Bank's first feature film, The Damned United
The Damned United
The Damned United is a 2009 British sports drama film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling novel The Damned Utd, a largely fictional book based on the author's interpretation of Brian Clough's tenure as manager of Leeds United...
(adapted by Peter Morgan from the David Peace
David Peace
David Peace is an English author. Known for his novels GB84, The Damned Utd, and Red Riding Quartet, Peace was named one of the Best of Young British Novelists by Granta in their 2003 list...
novel
The Damned Utd
The Damned Utd is a novel by British author David Peace. The main plot depicts a fictionalised account of Brian Clough's brief spell as manager of Leeds United football club in 1974.-Plot:...
) was released. Also broadcast in 2009 was the comedy series School of Comedy
School of Comedy
School of Comedy is a British comedy sketch show written and performed by a cast of teenagers. A television spin-off of a revue performed in London and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, School of Comedy was piloted on Channel 4's Comedy Lab in 2008, before a six-part series ran on E4 from 2 October...
and the crime drama Father & Son
Father & Son (TV serial)
Father & Son is a four-part television crime thriller produced by Left Bank Pictures and Octagon Films for the British ITV network and the Irish broadcaster RTÉ. Written by Frank Deasy, the serial depicts the return of Michael O'Connor to his native Ireland, after spending several years imprisoned...
. Comedy drama series Married Single Other
Married Single Other
Married Single Other is a British television drama created and written by Peter Souter. The series is based on the lives of group of people who are either married, single or "other", other being defined as in a relationship. It began airing on Monday 22 February 2010 at on ITV1 and UTV...
was filmed for ITV and was broadcast in 2010. Harries executive produced the third part of Peter Morgan's "Blair trilogy", The Special Relationship
The Special Relationship (film)
The Special Relationship is a 2010 American-British political film directed by Richard Loncraine from a screenplay by Peter Morgan. It is the third film in Morgan's informal "Blair trilogy", which dramatizes the political career of British Prime Minister Tony Blair , following The Deal and The...
, for HBO Films
HBO Films
HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. While much of HBO Films' output is created directly for the television market, such as the film Witness Protection and the mini-series Band of Brothers, Pacific, Generation Kill and Angels in...
and BBC Films
BBC Films
BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
. It was first broadcast on the HBO networks in the United States in May 2010.
Acclaim
Left Bank's inception lead to Harries being listed in The Guardians Media Top 100, making his entry at number 66. At the end of the year he was listed in Broadcasts Top 100 Producers, being described as "one of the UK's most outstanding drama producers". In May 2007, the British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
awarded him the Special Award in Honour of Alan Clarke. In December 2009, the Radio Times ranked him at number six in their "Faces of 2010" feature, a compilation of "the biggest names and the coming stars in the year ahead". In Broadcasts Top 100 for 2010, Harries was ranked at number two in the executive producers category.
The Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
conferred a Fellowship on Harries in January 2011 for outstanding contributions to the broadcasting industry.
Personal life
Harries has been married to writer and director Rebecca Frayn since July 1992. The couple have three children; Jack and Finn (identical twins) born in 1993, and Emmy Lou. Emmy Lou was conceived through IVF, an experience Harries worked into the storyline of Cold Feet and Frayn used as the basis for her novel One Life. Emmy Lou also had a cameo in The Queen as the little girl who hands flowers to the Queen outside Buckingham Palace. In 2008, Jack appeared in the Channel 4 Comedy LabComedy Lab
Comedy Lab is a British television series which showcases pilots of experimental comedy shows. Series have been aired irregularly on Channel 4 and E4 since 1998....
pilot School of Comedy, and the subsequent E4 series
School of Comedy
School of Comedy is a British comedy sketch show written and performed by a cast of teenagers. A television spin-off of a revue performed in London and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, School of Comedy was piloted on Channel 4's Comedy Lab in 2008, before a six-part series ran on E4 from 2 October...
, which was produced by Left Bank. Finn appears in a School of Comedy sketch entitled "Continuity Errors", as a clone of Jack's character.
After producing a South Bank Show profile and The Ghosts of Oxford Street, Harries remained good friends with Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
, and spoke at his funeral in April 2010.
Filmography
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | World in Action World in Action World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often... |
Researcher | Television documentary series |
| 1982 | Disappearing World Disappearing World Disappearing World is the second album from Tooth & Nail Records band Fair, which features notable musician and record producer Aaron Sprinkle... |
Researcher | Television documentary series |
| 1983 | Twenty Twenty Vision | Director | 2 episodes of television series:
|
| 1984 | Africa | Director | Television documentary seriesDirected and produced with Paul Yule Paul Yule Paul Harris Yule is a photographer and film maker.Born in South Africa his family emigrated to England when he was 8 years old. After studying at Aldenham School and Oxford University he became an acclaimed photojournalist and documentary film maker, founding Berwick Universal Pictures in London in... . |
| 1984–1988 | The South Bank Show The South Bank Show The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States... |
Director, producer | 4 episodes of television series:
|
| 1985 | Food for Thought | Director | Television documentary series |
| 1986 | South of Watford | Director, producer | 2 episodes of television series
|
| 1987 | A Short Sharp Shock | Director, producer | Television documentary |
| 1987 | Arena Arena (TV series) Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. It has run since 1 October 1975, and over five hundred episodes have been made. Arena covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Bob Dylan to the Ford Cortina car... |
Director, producer | 2 episode of television series:
|
| 1988 | The Incredibly Strange Film Show | Director, producer | 1 series of television series |
| 1989 | Lenny Live and Unleashed | Director, producer | Feature film |
| 1989 | Son of Incredibly Strange Film Show | Director, producer | 1 series of television series |
| 1990 | True Stories True Stories (TV series) True Stories was an Australian biographical documentary series which explored the personal journeys of ordinary, and sometimes extraordinary Australians. It is based on the ABC's Australian Story.... |
Director, producer | 1 episode of television series:
|
| 1990 | Omnibus | Director, producer | 1 episode of television series:
|
| 1991 | Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only | Director, producer | 1 series of television series |
| 1991 | Viva Elvis! | Director, producer | Television documentary |
| 1991 | The Ghosts of Oxford Street | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1993–1995 | Surgical Spirit | Executive producer | 3 series of television series |
| 1993–1995 | Rik Mayall Presents | Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 1993 | Full Monty | Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 1993 | Comic Timing: That Nice Mrs Merton | Executive producer | Television pilot |
| 1994 | The House of Windsor | Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 1994 | An Evening with Gary Lineker An Evening with Gary Lineker An Evening with Gary Lineker is a 1991 stage play, adapted for television in 1994, by Arthur Smith and Chris England.The action takes place against the backdrop of the 1990 Football World Cup semi-final, between England and West Germany, which is taking place in Italy while Monica and Bill are on... |
Executive producer | Television film |
| 1995–1998 | The Mrs Merton Show The Mrs Merton Show The Mrs Merton Show is a mock talk show starring Caroline Aherne as the elderly host Mrs Merton. It ran from 1994 to 1998, and was produced by Granada Television.The writers included Aherne, Craig Cash, Dave Gorman and Henry Normal.... |
Executive producer | 5 series of television series |
| 1995 | The World of Lee Evans The World of Lee Evans The World of Lee Evans was a BAFTA nominated tv show written and starring Lee Evans and a range of actors, it followed Lee around getting stuck in tight situations and originally aired on Channel 4. The series was released on Channel 4 DVD in 2006 and features all episodes.... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 1995 | The Perfect Match The Perfect Match The Perfect Match is a British comedy-drama television film written by Mike Bullen and directed by Nick Hurran. It stars Saskia Reeves and Con O'Neill as Bridget and Phil, a couple whose marriage proposal is broadcast to football fans. It was first broadcast on the ITV network on 6 September 1995... |
Executive producer | Television film |
| 1996 | True Love | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1997–1998 | Holding the Baby Holding the Baby Holding the Baby was a 1997 UK sitcom television series produced by Granada Television. It lasted for two seasons. The series' average audience in 1997 was 6.85 million viewers, making it the 16th-highest rated British sitcom that year.... |
Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 1997 | Comedy Premieres Comedy Premieres Comedy Premieres was a programming strand of four one-off television comedies, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network and broadcast throughout 1997.- Premieres :- Production :... : Cold Feet Pilot (Cold Feet) Cold Feet is a British television pilot directed by Declan Lowney. It stars James Nesbitt and Helen Baxendale as Adam and Rachel, a couple who meet and fall in love, only for the relationship to break down when he gets cold feet. John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst appear... |
Executive producer | Television pilot |
| 1997 | Comedy Premieres: The Chest | Executive producer | Television pilot |
| 1997–1999 | My Wonderful Life | Executive producer | 3 series of television series |
| 1997 | Comedy Premieres: The Grimleys | Executive producer | Television pilot |
| 1997 | Jack Dee's Sunday Service | Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 1997 | Comedy Premieres: King Leek | Executive producer | Television pilot |
| 1998 | The Misadventures of Margaret The Misadventures of Margaret The Misadventures of Margaret is a 1998 French-British romantic comedy film directed by Brian Skeet and starring Parker Posey, Jeremy Northam and Craig Chester. It was based on the novel Rameau's Niece by Cathleen Schine. The bored wife of a Professor decides to write an erotic novel.-Cast:* Parker... |
Executive producer | Feature film |
| 1998–2000 | The Royle Family The Royle Family The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards... |
Executive producer | 3 series of television series |
| 1998–2003 | 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... |
Executive producer | 5 series of television series |
| 1999 | Mrs Merton and Malcolm Mrs Merton and Malcolm Mrs Merton and Malcolm was a six episode BBC One sitcom produced by Granada and written by Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash and Henry Normal. It has never been repeated on the BBC although a DVD was released on 10 November 2008... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 1999 | Passion Killers | Executive producer | Television pilot |
| 1999–2001 | 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.... |
Executive producer | 3 series of television series |
| 1999 | Mel and Sue's Casting Couch | Executive producer | Television chat show |
| 1999 | Dark Ages Dark Ages (TV series) Dark Ages is a British television sitcom, first broadcast as five thirty-minute episodes on ITV in December 1999. It portrayed medieval English villagers fearful of the turn of the new millennium in the year 999 AD, and parodied contemporary fears at the turn of the third millennium in 1999... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2000–2001 | Bob Martin Bob Martin (TV series) Bob Martin is a British situation comedy. Its concept bears significant resemblance to The Larry Sanders Show. Michael Barrymore is its principal actor. It was made by Granada for the ITV network from 2 April 2000 to 4 June 2001.... |
Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2000 | Back Passage to India | Director, executive producer | Television mockumentary |
| 2000 | Metropolis Metropolis (TV series) Metropolis An eight-part British television series produced and directed by Glenn Wilhide for Granada TV. It was written by Peter Morgan. The series starred a notable cast including James Fox and Louise Lombard, James Purefoy, Kris Marshall, Flora Montgomery and Matthew Rhys... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2000 | Safe as Houses | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2002 | The Jury The Jury (TV serial) The Jury is a British television serial broadcast in 2002 . The series was the first ever to be allowed to film inside the historic Old Bailey courthouse.-Series One:... |
Executive producer | 6-part television serial |
| 2002–2003 | The Forsyte Saga | Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2002 | Lenny Blue | Executive producer | 2-part television serial |
| 2002 | Doctor Zhivago Doctor Zhivago (TV serial) Doctor Zhivago is a 2002 British television serial directed by Giacomo Campiotti and starring Keira Knightley and Sam Neill. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the 1957 novel of the same title by Boris Pasternak.... |
Executive producer | 3-part television serial |
| 2003 | Cold Feet: The Final Call | Executive producer | Television documentary |
| 2003 | Watermelon | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2003 | The Deal | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2003 | Henry VIII Henry VIII (TV serial) Henry VIII is a two-part British television serial produced principally by Granada Television for ITV. It chronicles the life of Henry VIII of England from the disintegration of his first marriage to an aging Spanish princess until his death following a stroke in 1547, by which time he had married... |
Executive producer | 2-part television serial |
| 2003–2006 | Prime Suspect | Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2004–2006 | Donovan | Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2004–2006 | Life Begins Life Begins Life Begins is a British television drama first broadcast on ITV between February 2004 and October 2006, starring Caroline Quentin and Alexander Armstrong, Anne Reid and Frank Finlay.-History:... |
Executive producer | 3 series of television series |
| 2004–2006 | Murder City | Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2004 | Island at War Island at War Island at War is a British television series that tells the story of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. It primarily focuses on three local families: the upper class Dorrs, the middle class Mahys and the working class Jonases, and four German officers. The fictional island of St... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2004 | Wall of Silence | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2004 | Dirty Filthy Love Dirty Filthy Love Dirty Filthy Love is a British single television drama starring Michael Sheen as an architect living with obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome.... |
Executive producer | Television film |
| 2004 | Whose Baby? | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2004 | Christmas Lights | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2005 | Bloodlines | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2005 | Planespotting | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2005 | The Walk | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2005 | Colditz | Executive producer | 2-part television serial |
| 2005 | Pierrepoint Pierrepoint (film) Pierrepoint , is a 2005 British film directed by Adrian Shergold about the life of British executioner Albert Pierrepoint.... |
Executive producer | Television film with territorial theatrical release |
| 2005 | All About George | Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2005–2006 | Vincent Vincent (TV series) Vincent is an ITV drama series. An initial series was made and aired in 2005 and starred Ray Winstone, in the title role, and Suranne Jones as two members of a team of private eyes hired by people to spy on their partners or indeed anyone else they need to keep tabs on. The four part series also... |
Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2005 | Secret Smile Secret Smile Secret Smile is a drama serial in two parts shown by ITV in December 2005, based on the Nicci French book of the same name, directed by Christopher Menaul and starring David Tennant, Claire Goose and Kate Ashfield.-Overview:... |
Executive producer | 2-part television serial |
| 2006 | Eleventh Hour | Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2006 | 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.... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2006 | The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant is a 2005 film loosely based on the life of Mary Bryant, a Cornish girl convicted of petty theft and is transported to the Australian Penal Colony on the First Fleet with other prisoners bound for Botany Bay. It is written by Peter Berry and directed by Peter... |
Executive producer | 2-part television serial |
| 2006 | The Street The Street (TV series) The Street is a British television drama series created by Jimmy McGovern and produced by Granada Television for the BBC. The series follows the lives of various residents of an unnamed street in Manchester and features an all-star cast including Timothy Spall, Jim Broadbent, Jane Horrocks, Bob... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2006 | See No Evil: The Moors Murders | Executive producer | 2-part television serial |
| 2006 | The Kindness of Strangers | Executive producer | 2-part television serial |
| 2006 | The Queen The Queen (film) The Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II... |
Producer | Feature film |
| 2006 | The Girls Who Came to Stay | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2006 | Cracker Cracker (UK TV series) Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The series is centered on a criminal psychologist , Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane. Set in Manchester, it consists of three series which were... |
Executive producer | 1 episode of television series: "Nine Eleven" |
| 2006 | Behind the Scenes: Cracker | Executive producer | Television documentary |
| 2006 | What We Did on Our Holiday | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2006 | Longford Longford (film) Longford is a 2006 drama television film directed by Tom Hooper and written by Peter Morgan.The film centres on Labour Party peer Lord Longford and his campaign for the parole of Moors Murderer Myra Hindley.... |
Executive producer | Television film |
| 2006 | We Love The Royle Family | Executive producer | Television documentary |
| 2006 | The Royle Family: The Queen of Sheba | Executive producer | Television episode |
| 2006 | Losing Gemma Losing Gemma Losing Gemma is a two part British television drama based on the debut novel by Katy Gardner. The series was written by Robert Murphy, was directed by Maurice Phillips and starred Jonas Armstrong, Alice Eve, Jason Flemyng and Rachel Leskovac... |
Executive producer | 2-part television serial |
| 2006 | Perfect Parents | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2007 | Dead Clever: The Life and Times of Julia Bottomley Dead Clever Dead Clever is a British black comedy film, first screened on ITV on New Year's Day, 2007. Written by Sally Wainwright, it stars Suranne Jones, Helen Baxendale and Dean Lennox Kelly. Although officially titled Dead Clever it was subtitled The Life and Crimes of Julie Bottomley... |
Executive producer | Television film |
| 2007 | Northanger Abbey Northanger Abbey (2007 TV drama) Northanger Abbey, an adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel of the same name, premiered on 25 March, 2007 on the United Kingdom channel ITV at 9pm, as part of their Jane Austen Season. The drama ran for 120 minutes in the UK, and 93 minutes without interruption in the United States... |
Executive producer | Television film |
| 2007 | City Lights | Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2008 | Comedy Lab: Kids' School of Comedy Comedy Lab Comedy Lab is a British television series which showcases pilots of experimental comedy shows. Series have been aired irregularly on Channel 4 and E4 since 1998.... |
Executive producer | Television pilot |
| 2008–2010 | Wallander | Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2009 | The Damned United The Damned United The Damned United is a 2009 British sports drama film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling novel The Damned Utd, a largely fictional book based on the author's interpretation of Brian Clough's tenure as manager of Leeds United... |
Producer | Feature film |
| 2009 | Father & Son Father & Son (TV serial) Father & Son is a four-part television crime thriller produced by Left Bank Pictures and Octagon Films for the British ITV network and the Irish broadcaster RTÉ. Written by Frank Deasy, the serial depicts the return of Michael O'Connor to his native Ireland, after spending several years imprisoned... |
Executive producer | 4-part television serial |
| 2009–2010 | School of Comedy School of Comedy School of Comedy is a British comedy sketch show written and performed by a cast of teenagers. A television spin-off of a revue performed in London and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, School of Comedy was piloted on Channel 4's Comedy Lab in 2008, before a six-part series ran on E4 from 2 October... |
Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2010 | Married Single Other Married Single Other Married Single Other is a British television drama created and written by Peter Souter. The series is based on the lives of group of people who are either married, single or "other", other being defined as in a relationship. It began airing on Monday 22 February 2010 at on ITV1 and UTV... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2010–2011 | Strike Back Strike Back (TV series) Chris Ryan's Strike Back is a six-part British television series based on the novel of the same name written by best-selling author and former soldier of the Special Air Service, Chris Ryan. It was produced by Left Bank Pictures for Sky1... |
Executive producer | 2 series of television series |
| 2010 | The Special Relationship The Special Relationship (film) The Special Relationship is a 2010 American-British political film directed by Richard Loncraine from a screenplay by Peter Morgan. It is the third film in Morgan's informal "Blair trilogy", which dramatizes the political career of British Prime Minister Tony Blair , following The Deal and The... |
Executive producer | Television film with territorial theatrical release |
| 2010 | DCI Banks: Aftermath | Executive producer | 2-part television pilot |
| 2011 | Zen Zen (TV series) Zen is a British television series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the BBC, co-produced with WGBH Boston for its Masterpiece anthology series, Mediaset and ZDF. It stars Rufus Sewell and Caterina Murino and is based on the Aurelio Zen detective novels by Michael Dibdin. The series was filmed on... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2011 | 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... |
Executive producer | 1 series of television series |
| 2011 | Rafta Rafta | Producer | Feature film — in post-production |
| 2011 | The Lady The Lady (2011 film) The Lady is a film directed by Luc Besson, starring Michelle Yeoh, and released by EuropaCorp in France and Entertainment Film Distributors in the UK.-Production:... |
Producer | Feature film — in post-production |
| 2011 | DCI Banks | Executive producer | 1 series of television series — filming |
External links
- Andy Harries 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...