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Jane Tranter (born 17 March 1963) is an English television executive who was the executive vice-president of programming and production at
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
's Los Angeles base from 2009 until 2015. From 2006 to 2008, she was the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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's controller of fiction; in this capacity she oversaw the corporation's output in drama and comedy, as well as films and programmes acquired from overseas, across all BBC TV channels. Critics were concerned that the BBC had invested too much creative power in one person, and following Tranter's move to the United States, the position of controller of fiction was abolished and the responsibilities divided up among four other executives.


Early career

After studying English Literature at
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
and taking a secretarial course back in Oxford, she joined the staff of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1985, initially working as a secretary in the radio drama department. Two years later, she made the switch into television, working as a floor manager on dramas such as ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'' and '' Bergerac''. Later that same year she was promoted to assistant script editor, working on the BBC's popular medical drama ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
''. She quickly caught the eye of producer
David M. Thompson David Marcus Thompson (born 18 July 1950 in Hackney, London) is a British film and television producer, and the editor of several books about film directors. Overview Thompson worked for the BBC from 1978 as a film programmer and documentary ...
, who promoted her to act as
script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wi ...
on the anthology drama series ''
Screen One ''Screen One'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual films, ...
'' and ''
Screen Two ''Screen Two'' was a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1985 to 1998 (not to be confused with a run of films shown on BBC2 under the billing ''Screen 2'' between April 1977 and March 197 ...
'', essentially the same programme whose title changed depending on whether it was being screened on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
or
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, with the transmission channel varying depending on content and tone of the dramas produced. In 1992, she left the staff of the BBC to take up a position as a drama script editor at
Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Televi ...
, working for Tracy Hofman, the controller of drama. Carlton had won the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
network franchise for broadcasting in London on weekdays, and planned to produce dramas for national consumption across the entire network. At Carlton, Tranter oversaw the
Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall (born 27 February 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''. Spall performed in '' S ...
comedy-drama ''
Frank Stubbs Promotes ''Frank Stubbs Promotes'' (alternative title: Frank Stubbs) is a British comedy drama series by Simon Nye, that starred Timothy Spall, Lesley Sharp, Danniella Westbrook, Choy-Ling Man, Anne Jameson, Nick Reding, Trevor Cooper and Roy Marsden. Tw ...
'' and the Victorian-era medical drama '' Bramwell'', both of which were hits for ITV. She returned to the BBC in 1997, initially as an executive producer in the Film & Single Drama department and in 1999 she became Head of Drama Serials. In these roles she commissioned and oversaw a range of dramas made or co-produced by the BBC's own drama department, from playwright Arthur Smith's football-based comedy-drama ''
My Summer With Des ''My Summer with Des'' is a 1998 comedy drama television film, written by Arthur Smith, and directed by Simon Curtis. Broadcast to coincide with the beginning of World Cup 1998, the story is set during the European football championships i ...
'' (1998) to gritty contemporary dramas such as ''
Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...
'' (1999, starring
Matthew Macfadyen David Matthew Macfadyen (; born 17 October 1974) is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005). He currently stars as Tom Wambsgans ...
) and traditional BBC literary adaptations in the vein of ''
David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...
'' (also 1999).


BBC executive

In 2000, she was promoted to Controller of Drama Commissioning at the BBC, where she was ultimately responsible for overseeing the corporation's entire drama output across all channels, from the in-house departments and independent companies, in series, serials and one-offs. During her tenure in charge of the drama department, the BBC screened ratings-grabbing popular dramas such as '' Spooks'' (BBC One, 2002–2011) and '' Waking the Dead'' (BBC One, 2000–2011), as well as award-winning productions such as
Paul Abbott Paul Abbott (born 22 February 1960) is an English television screenwriter and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain, following his work on popular series such as ...
's '' State of Play'' (2003) and the adaptation of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
' novel ''
Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...
'' (2005). She also oversaw the transformation of popular dramas ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' and its spin-off ''
Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...
'' into year-round dramas, the addition of a fourth weekly episode to soap opera ''EastEnders'' and the highly successful
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
of classic
science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' in 2005. In 2003, she was responsible for a programming budget in the region of £324 million, and in 2002 alone was ultimately responsible for 473 hours of television. In September 2006, Tranter was promoted to the newly created Head of Fiction position at the BBC. This made her responsible not only for drama, but for comedy, films and acquired programmes from overseas. In this new position, Tranter had an almost unprecedented amount of control over scripted drama on the BBC.


BBC Worldwide

Throughout 2008, there was media speculation that Tranter would be leaving the BBC to take up a position as head of BBC Worldwide's American arm. Despite denying the claims at a
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) 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. It currently has fourteen r ...
event in June, her new role in the US was confirmed in September. She began her new job as executive vice-president of programming and production at BBC Worldwide's Los Angeles base on 1 January 2009. The BBC had been criticised for consolidating the control of fiction commissioning in one person; following Tranter's resignation, the responsibilities were split between four BBC executives.


Bad Wolf

In the summer of 2015, Tranter set up a production company with
Julie Gardner Julie Ann Gardner (born 4 June 1969) is a Welsh television producer. Her most prominent work has been serving as executive producer on the 2005 revival of '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-off shows ''Torchwood'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. ...
based in Cardiff, Wales and Los Angeles, California. The company was named
Bad Wolf "Bad Wolf" is the twelfth episode of the revived first series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 11 June 2005. It is the first of a two-part story. The concluding episo ...
in homage to a ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' storyline. Bad Wolf's first production, ''
The Night Of ''The Night Of'' is a 2016 American eight-part crime drama television miniseries based on the first season of ''Criminal Justice'', a 2008 British series. The miniseries was written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian (based on the original ''C ...
'', was nominated for thirteen Emmys in 2017, of which it won five. The company has since gone on to produce shows like ''
His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), ''The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and ''The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follows ...
'' and ''
A Discovery of Witches ''A Discovery of Witches'' is a 2011 historical-fantasy novel and the debut novel by American scholar Deborah Harkness. It follows Diana Bishop, a history of science professor at Yale University, as she embraces her magical blood after finding ...
''. She, along with Julie Gardner, will be returning to ''Doctor Who'' when Russell T Davies returns as show-runner in 2023, with Bad Wolf taking over the series production. Tranter continues to work as a producer outside of Bad Wolf. She was an executive producer on the HBO hit ''
Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...
,'' which was awarded a Peabody in 2019. In 2020, Succession received both a Golden Globe and an Emmy - Best Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series respectively. In 2021,
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
listed Tranter as #16 in their TV 100 list for 2020.


References


External links


Jane Tranter BAFTA webcastJane Tranter: Give Wales a Chance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tranter, Jane 1963 births Living people People from Oxford Alumni of King's College London BBC executives BBC television producers British women television producers English expatriates in the United States People educated at the School of St Helen and St Katharine Primetime Emmy Award winners