Ken Riddington (8 May 1922 – 26 December 2014)Simon Farquha

''The Independent'', 12 March 2015. Some sources give his year of births as 1920. was an English

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

, who worked predominantly in BBC television drama from the 1970s onwards. Riddington was born in Leicester. Originally a stage actor, "truly dreadful" according to Riddington himself, he moved to a back stage role managing the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

from 1950 and then directing the musical ''Rendezvous'' at the Comedy Theatre in 1952. Later, he managed the London Palladium and

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

s in London's West End."House of Cards producer Ken Riddington dies"
''Ariel'', 8 January 2015 After a period as a BBC television floor manager in the early 1970s, he became a producer. His first project as a producer to gain recognition was the 10 part serial adaptation of '' Anna Karenina'' (1977). Subsequently Riddington produced several high-profile television series and serials, including ''

A Horseman Riding By ''A Horseman Riding By'' is a sequence of 3 novels by R. F. Delderfield written between 1966 and 1968. It starts in 1902 at the tail end of the Boer War and is continued in the sequels to end in 1965. The first book is set in Devon in the early ...

'' (1978), '' Tenko'' (1981), ''

To Serve Them All My Days : ''For the 1980 television adaptation, see To Serve Them All My Days (TV series).'' ''To Serve Them All My Days'' is a novel by British author R. F. Delderfield. First published in 1972, the book was adapted for television in 1980. It has b ...

'' (1981), '' The Citadel'' (1983), '' Diana'' (1984), '' The House of Eliott'' (1991) and Andrew Davies's adaptations of

Michael Dobbs Michael John Dobbs, Baron Dobbs (born 14 November 1948) is a British Conservative politician and author, best known for his ''House of Cards'' trilogy. Early life and education Michael Dobbs was born on 14 November 1948 in Cheshunt, Hertfordsh ...

' '' House of Cards'' trilogy — ''House of Cards'' (1990), '' To Play the King'' (1993) and '' The Final Cut'' (1995). Riddington was involved with several other projects scripted by Davies, including ''

A Very Peculiar Practice ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' is a surreal black-comedy drama set in the health centre of a British university, produced by the BBC, which ran for two series in 1986 and 1988. The two series were followed by a 90-minute made-for-television film, ...

'' (1986–88), a black comedy set in a university medical centre. For a time during the 1980s, he was the acting Head of Series & Serials in the BBC drama department, before returning to front-line producing work. Ending his period at the BBC at the age of 75, he and his wife

Liz Riddington Elizabeth Chambers (18 August 1933 - 26 May 2018) was an English actress best known for her portrayal of Domenica Van Meyer in the 1980s drama series '' Tenko''. She has also appeared in ''The Bill'', ''The Onedin Line'', ''To Play the King'' and ...

enjoyed twelve years of retirement before Ken moved to a London nursing home, where he was treated for dementia. Riddington died on 26 December 2014.

References

External links

* 1922 births 2014 deaths BBC television producers English television producers {{UK-tv-bio-stub