Nicola Shindler (born 8 October 1968) is a British television producer and executive, and founder of the independent television drama production company Quay Street Productions, having founded and run Red Production Company from 1998 to 2020. She has won eleven

BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

Early life and education

Shindler was born in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, England, the daughter of school teacher Gaye Shindler (née Kenton) and solicitor

Geoffrey Shindler Geoffrey Arnold Shindler (born 21 October 1942) is an English solicitor specialising in the field of wills, trusts and estates law. He is a founding member and president of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Early life Shindler ...

. She grew up in the Whitefield area of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

. Shindler attended

Bury Grammar School (The key that opens sacred doors) , established = , type = Independent day schoolGrammar school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

from 1979 to 1987. She graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in history from

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

Career

Shindler first started out working as a sales manager in the sales department at

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

, which she chose because it was the home of new writing. She eventually started working as a script reader there but realised after a couple of years that she was more interested in the process of writing and working with writers in television versus theatre. Shindler then got a job at the

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

as a trainee script editor. Part of the responsibilities of that job in the early days was reading scripts that had been accumulating in the basement of the BBC for over 10 years. Shindler says that it was educational and she got a reputation as a hard worker from clearing this huge backlog. Shindler worked at

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

, for whom she first came to prominence as a script editor on the drama series ''

Cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

'' (1993). She then went on to work as assistant producer on the

's ''

Our Friends in the North ''Our Friends in the North'' is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne o ...

'' (1996) and producer on '' Hillsborough'', a dramatised account of the 1989 football stadium disaster. All three starred actor

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...

, who subsequently featured in several dramas for Shindler's Red Production Company. In 1998, Shindler formed Red Production Company – named after the nickname of Shindler's favourite football team,

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

– in Manchester. Its first project, with Shindler producing, was writer

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...

' gay drama serial '' Queer as Folk''. ''Queer as Folk'' gave Red a reputation as producers of noteworthy drama, and they followed this up with subsequent series for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

such as ''Love in the 21st Century'' (1999) and ''Queer as Folk 2'' (2000). Red has since produced dramas for BBC One, BBC Two, and

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 ...

including ''Clocking Off'' (2000–03), ''Flesh and Blood'' (2002), ''Bob and Rose'' (2001) and '' The Second Coming'' (2003). In addition to the ITV series, ''

Scott & Bailey ''Scott & Bailey'' is a British police procedural series that debuted on ITV on 29 May 2011 and concluded on 27 April 2016. The series stars Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Amelia Bullmore, Nicholas Gleaves, Danny Miller and Pippa Haywood. The sh ...

,'' Shindler produced the award-winning '' Happy Valley,'' which is set in the Calder Valley and environs and stars

Sarah Lancashire Sarah-Jane Abigail Lancashire (born 10 October 1964) is an English actress from Oldham, England. She graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1986 and began her career in local theatre, whilst teaching drama classes at the Sal ...

Sally Wainwright Sally Anne Wainwright (born 1963) is an English television writer, producer, and director from Yorkshire. Early in her career, Wainwright worked as a playwright, and as a scriptwriter on the long-running radio serial drama ''The Archers''. In t ...

credits Shindler with bringing ''

Last Tango in Halifax ''Last Tango in Halifax'' is a British comedy-drama series that began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 November 2012 until its final episode which was broadcast on 15 March 2020. Screenwriter Sally Wainwright loosely adapted the story of her mothe ...

'' to BBC TV. In December 2013, it was announced that Shindler had sold a majority stake Red Production Company to the French media company

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

. Other productions produced by Shindler at Red are 2016's '' The Five'' and 2017's '' Trust Me,'' alongside 2018's ''Come Home'' and

Harlan Coben Harlan Coben is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple twists. Among his novels a ...

’s ''

Safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...

'', 2019's '' Years and Years'' from

Russell T. Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One sci ...

, and ''Traces'', a second series of which is due in 2021, and

’s '' The Stranger'' (2020) Further new dramas produced by executive produced by Shindler due in 2021 include ''

Finding Alice ''Finding Alice '' is a British television comedy-drama produced by RED Production Company (a StudioCanal company) in association with Bright Pictures TV, Buddy Club Productions and Genial Productions. It premiered on ITV in the UK on 17 January ...

'', '' It’s a Sin'', '' Ridley Road'', ''No Return'', ''Traces'' Series 2 and ''Stay Close''. In 2021, Shindler launched new scripted production company Quay Street Productions. Sited within ITV Studios, the label is based in Central Manchester and focuses on producing premium drama for the UK and international market.

Personal life

Shindler lives and works in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. Shindler is married to writer

Matt Greenhalgh Matthew Greenhalgh (born 1972) is an English screenwriter from Manchester, England. He is best known for writing the screenplay to the film ''Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool'', which earned him a BAFTA Award nomination BAFTA Award for Best Ada ...

, with whom she has two daughters and a son.

Honours

* 2003: ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' – Media top 100 * 2009:

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

, Honorary Doctorate of Arts * 2013:

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'' – Power List 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom * 2015: ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' – 25 Most Powerful Women in Global TV * 2016:

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for ''Happy Valley'' * 2017:

Women in Film and Television International Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) is a global network of non-profit membership chapters. Established in 1997, it is dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and ot ...

– Women in Film and Television Award * 2019:

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2019 Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

for services to broadcasting

Awards

* 1997:

, Best Single Drama for ''Hillsborough'' – with Katy Jones, Charles McDougall, Jimmy McGovern * 1997: Munich Film Festival, VFF TV Movie Award, Best International Television Production for ''Hillsborough'' * 2001:

, Best Drama Series for ''Clocking Off'' – with Ann Harrison-Baxter, Paul Abbott * 2002:

, Best Drama Serial for ''Bob & Rose'' (nomination) – with Ann Harrison-Baxter, Russell T. Davies * 2002:

, Best Drama Series for ''Clocking Off'' (nomination) – with Juliet Charlesworth, Paul Abbott * 2003:

, Best Drama Series for ''Clocking Off'' (nomination) – with Paul Abbott, Juliet Charlesworth * 2005:

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 ...

, RTS Television Award, Best Drama Serial for ''Conviction'' (nomination) – with Marc Munden, Bill Gallagher, Ann Harrison-Baxter, David Richards * 2008:

, Best Single Drama for ''The Mark of Cain'' – with Tony Marchant, Lynn Horsford, Marc Munden * 2008: Broadcasting Press Guild Award, Best Single Drama for ''The Mark of Cain'' (nomination) – with Tony Marchant, Marc Munden, Lynn Horsford * 2008: Monte-Carlo TV Festival, Golden Nymph for Best Television Film for ''The Mark of Cain'' – with Marc Munden, Lynn Horsford, Tony Marchant * 2010:

, Best Drama Serial for ''Unforgiven'' (nomination) – with Sally Wainwright, Karen Lewis, David Evans * 2013:

, Best Mini-Series for ''Last Tango in Halifax'' – with Sally Wainwright, Euros Lyn, Karen Lewis * 2015:

, Best Mini-Series for ''

Prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

'' (nomination) – with Nick Murphy, Tom Sherry, Chris Lunt * 2017:

, Best Drama Series for ''Happy Valley'' – with Sally Wainwright. Juliet Charlesworth, Neasa Hardiman * 2017: BAFTA Television Craft Award, Best Drama Series for ''Happy Valley'' (nomination) – with Sally Wainwright, Juliet Charlesworth, Neasa Hardiman * 2017: Banff Rockie Award, Best Mini-Series for ''Happy Valley'' (nomination) – with Sally Wainwright, Neasa Hardiman, Juliet Charlesworth * 2017:

, RTS Television Award, Best Single Drama for ''The Mark of Cain'' (nominated) – with Marc Munden, Lynn Horsford, Tony Marchant *2018:

, RTS Northern Ireland Award, Best Drama for ''Come Home'' *2019: Creative Diversity Network Award, Commissioning for ''Butterfly'' *2019:

, RTS North West Award, Best Single Drama or Drama Series for ''Years and Years'' * 2019:

, Presented with a Special Award recognising her outstanding contribution to the television industry *2020:

Broadcast Award ''Broadcast'' is a monthly magazine for the United Kingdom television and radio industry, owned by Media Business Insight. History ''Broadcast'' was started in 1973 by Rod Allen, who went on to work at LWT, HTV and HarperCollinsInteractive. ...

, International Programme Sales for ''Years and Years''

Filmography

* 1993: ''

'' (TV series) – script editor (7 episodes) * 1995: ''Degrees of Error'' (TV series) – script editor * 1996: ''

'' (TV mini-series) – assistant producer (9 episodes) * 1996: '' Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgement'' (TV mini-series) – assistant producer (2 episodes) * 1996: '' Hillsborough'' (TV movie) – producer * 1999: ''Heart'' – producer * 1999: ''Love in the 21st Century'' (TV series) – creator, executive producer (6 episodes) * 1999–2000: '' Queer as Folk'' (TV series) – producer (10 episodes); Executive Producer (10 episodes) * 2001: ''Now You See Her'' (TV movie) – executive producer * 2001: ''Bob & Rose'' (TV series) – executive producer (6 episodes) * 2001–2002: ''Linda Green'' (TV series) – producer (6 episodes); Executive Producer (10 episodes) * 2000–2002: ''Clocking Off'' (TV series) – executive producer (21 episodes) * 2002: ''Sparkhouse'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (3 episodes) * 2002: ''Flesh and Blood'' (TV movie) – executive producer * 2003: ''Burn It'' (TV series) – executive producer * 2003: ''The Second Coming'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (2 episodes) * 2003: ''Indian Dream'' (TV movie) – executive producer * 2003–2004: ''Early Doors'' (TV series) – creative consultant (12 episodes) * 2004: ''Conviction'' (TV series) – executive producer (4 episodes) * 2004: ''Mine All Mine'' (TV series) – executive producer (5 episodes) * 2005: ''Dead Man Weds'' (TV series) – executive producer * 2005: ''Big Dippers'' (TV movie) – executive producer * 2005: ''Casanova'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (3 episodes) * 2005: ''Jane Hall'' (TV series) – executive producer * 2006: ''Magnolia'' (TV movie) – executive producer * 2006–2007: ''New Street Law'' (TV series) – executive producer (12 episodes) * 2007: ''The Mark of Cain'' – executive producer * 2009: ''Unforgiven'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (3 episodes) * 2010: ''Acid Burn'' (Short) – executive producer * 2010: ''A Passionate Woman'' (TV series) – executive producer (3 episodes) * 2010: ''Worried About the Boy'' (TV movie) – executive producer * 2010: ''Single Father'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (4 episodes) * 2011: ''Exile'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (3 episodes) * 2011–2012: '' Bedlam'' (TV series) – executive producer (12 episodes) * 2011–2016: ''

'' (TV series) – executive producer (30 episodes) * 2012: ''Life Stories'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (4 episodes) * 2012: ''Love Life'' (TV series) – executive producer (3 episodes) * 2012: ''The Syndicate'' (TV series) – executive producer (5 episodes) * 2012: ''Hit & Miss'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (6 episodes) * 2012: ''Blackout'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (3 episodes) * 2012: ''Blood'' – producer * 2012–2016: ''

'' (TV series) – executive producer (20 episodes) * 2013: ''Heading Out'' (TV series)– producer * 2013: ''The Last Witch'' (TV movie) – executive producer * 2014: ''The Driver'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (3 episodes) * 2014–2015: ''Prey'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (2 episodes) * 2014–2016: '' Happy Valley'' (TV series) – executive producer (12 episodes) * 2015: ''Tofu'' (TV series documentary short) – executive producer (8 episodes) * 2015: ''Cucumber'' (TV series) – executive producer (8 episodes) * 2015: ''Banana'' (TV series) – executive producer (8 episodes) * 2015: ''

Danny and the Human Zoo ''Danny and the Human Zoo'' is a British drama television film that first broadcast on BBC One on 31 August 2015. The ninety-minute film, written by Lenny Henry and directed by Destiny Ekaragha, is a fictionalised account of the former's life as ...

'' (TV movie) – executive producer * 2016: '' The Five'' (TV series) – executive producer (10 episodes) * 2016: ''

Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...

'' (TV mini-series) – associate producer (1 episode); Executive Producer (7 episodes) * 2016: ''

Ordinary Lies ''Ordinary Lies'' is a British television drama series that was first broadcast on BBC One on 17 March 2015. The six-part first series, written by Danny Brocklehurst, is set in a car showroom. The second, also in six-parts, is set in the warehouse ...

'' (TV series) – executive producer (6 episodes) * 2017: '' Trust Me'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (4 episodes) *2018: ''Come Home'' (TV series) – executive producer (3 episodes) *2018: ''The Detail'' (TV series) – executive producer (10 episodes) *2018: ''Butterfly'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (3 episodes) *2019: ''Years and Years'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer (6 episodes) *2019-2020: ''Traces'' (TV series) – executive producer (6 episodes) *2020: ''The Stranger'' (TV series) - executive producer (8 episodes) *2021 (post-production): ''It's a Sin'' (TV series) – executive producer (5 episodes) *2021 (post-production): ''Finding Alice'' (TV series) – executive producer (6 episodes) *2021 (filming): ''Ridley Road'' (TV series) – executive producer (4 episodes) *2021 (pre-production): ''No Return'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer *2021 (pre-production): ''Stay Close'' (TV mini-series) – executive producer *2022: ''Queer as Folk'' (TV series) - executive producer (8 episodes)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shindler, Nicola Living people British television producers People educated at Bury Grammar School (Girls) British television executives Women television executives 1968 births Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge WFTV Award winners British women television producers Officers of the Order of the British Empire