Brian Park is a Scottish television producer and executive. He was born in Fife but lived in Aberdeen’s Bucksburn between the ages of nine and 17. He acted as a child and when he was 13 he joined the Aberdeen Children’s Theatre and appeared in an episode of Dr Finlay’s Casebook.

Park joined 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....

 after graduating from Edinburgh University. He rose through the television ranks and, after leaving for a two-year spell with Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...

, he returned to Granada in 1992 as head of entertainment where he produced the award-winning Prime Suspect, September Song

September Song

"September Song" is an American pop standard composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday. It has since been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists...

and the pilot for My Wonderful Life.

In 1997, Park was appointed executive producer of the long-running 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...

following a decline in its ratings. Park became known as the "axeman" in the popular press after her axed several long-running characters including Derek Wilton

Derek Wilton

Derek Bernard Wilton was a fictional character on the British television soap opera Coronation Street. He was portrayed by Peter Baldwin. He appeared between 1976 and 1997.-Development:...

, Andy McDonald, Bill Webster

Bill Webster

William Geoffrey "Bill" Webster is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Peter Armitage, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 February 1984. He remained in the show until 1985 when Armitage decided to leave,...

, Maureen Holdsworth, and Don Brennan. He introduced more sensational storylines such as Deirdre Rachid's wrongful imprisonment, as well as a range of new characters such as transsexual Hayley Cropper

Hayley Cropper

Hayley Anne Cropper is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...

 and the Battersby family, in a bid to capture the younger audience and reinvent the show. His storylines were ratings successes.

Park left Coronation Street in 1998 to start 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...

 with Coronation Street script executive Ann McManus, which produced popular TV shows such as Family Affairs

Family Affairs

Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...

, Bad Girls

Bad Girls (TV series)

Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...

, 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 Footballers Wives.

In 2009, Park had a brain aneurysm while on holiday in Italy and underwent brain surgery.

External links

• Brian Park at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...