Richard Woolfe
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Joseph Richard Woolfe (born 14 August 1962) is a senior British broadcast figure. Until recently, Woolfe was the Creative Director of Prime Focus Productions, the UK arm of Prime Focus Group, a role created for him to help spearhead the post-production house's push into TV production, with a focus on high-end drama and entertainment formats. Woolfe was formerly channel controller of
Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
and Channel 5. According to
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 ...
, "''there is no one more noisy in UK TV management than Woolfe''".


Early life

He originates from
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
. He gained a
BEd A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...
degree from
Manchester Polytechnic 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 ...
.


Career

A self publicist, Woolfe's first major roles in the television industry were as Head of Entertainment at
Planet 24 Planet 24 is a television production company, which produced ''The Big Breakfast'' and '' The Word'' for Channel 4. It had an animation division called Impossible TV, founded in 1997. History Bob Geldof and Tony Boland (television producer) fou ...
, Editor of Entertainment Programmes 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 ...
and Entertainment and Features Producer at 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. ...
...
and at Real Television. He also served as Controller of
LivingTV Sky Witness is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts drama shows from the United States, aimed at the 18–45 age group. An Italian version of Sky Witness, named S ...
, Ftn and
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
.


BSkyB

Woolfe took up the role of Head of
Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
,
Sky2 Sky Replay is a British pay television channel operated by Sky as a sister channel to Sky Max and Sky Witness. The current channel began broadcasting (as Sky One Mix) in December 2002. The 'Sky 2' name and format had earlier been used for a si ...
and
Sky3 Pick (formerly Sky 3 and Pick TV) is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Sky UK. History Sky Three launched on 31st October 2005. It was essentially a barker channel for Sky's main entertainment channel Sky One and its other su ...
at
BSkyB Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
in January 2006.


Five

He moved to Channel 5 to become Channel Controller in April 2009. He worked as Creative Director of Prime Focus Productions for almost a year but now is a television consultant at his own company Richard Woolfe TV.


Credits and awards

Whilst at
LivingTV Sky Witness is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts drama shows from the United States, aimed at the 18–45 age group. An Italian version of Sky Witness, named S ...
, Woolfe was named "Industry player of the year" at the
MediaGuardian ''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 ...
Edinburgh International TV festival. Wrongly cited as the person who commissioned ''
Most Haunted ''Most Haunted'' is a British paranormal reality television series. Following complaints, the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, ruled that it was an entertainment show, not a legitimate investigation into the paranormal, and "should not be taken ser ...
'', it was actually Arch Dyson two weeks before Woolfe took the job. Whilst at
LivingTV Sky Witness is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts drama shows from the United States, aimed at the 18–45 age group. An Italian version of Sky Witness, named S ...
Woolfe oversaw some failures too, Cilla with high production values and a large ad campaign the audience stayed away. As Director of Programmes at Sky1, 2 & 3, Woolfe overhauled the entire channel brand, and oversaw the acquisition and development of award-winning US dramas, including ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' and ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial drama television show, television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purce ...
'', and home-grown entertainment and drama formats including ''
Ross Kemp on Gangs ''Ross Kemp on Gangs'' is a documentary series that was broadcast on Sky 1 from 21 September 2004, until 6 January 2009. Hosted by actor Ross Kemp, the series follows Kemp and a film crew around the world as they interview members of gangs, ...
''. The production of Terry Pratchett's ''Hogfather'' "marked a new era of domestically produced drama for Sky, entertaining audiences of over 2.8 million and securing
Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
its first ever BAFTA. In 2008, Sky1 was named Broadcast's Best Digital Entertainment Channel under Woolfe's leadership. Woolfe acquired a further BAFTA for ''
Ross Kemp on Gangs ''Ross Kemp on Gangs'' is a documentary series that was broadcast on Sky 1 from 21 September 2004, until 6 January 2009. Hosted by actor Ross Kemp, the series follows Kemp and a film crew around the world as they interview members of gangs, ...
''. Also at Sky, Woolfe resurrected Gladiators (UK TV series), which secured a total audience of over 1.6m for its launch show. Woolfe's producer credits include: ''
That's Life! ''That's Life!'' was a satirical TV consumer affairs programme on the BBC, at its height regularly reaching audiences of fifteen to twenty million, and receiving 10–15,000 letters a week. The series broadcast on BBC1 for twenty-one years, ...
'', ''
The National Lottery Live ''The National Lottery Results'' (previously ''The National Lottery Live'', ''The National Lottery Draw'', ''The National Lottery Stars'' and ''The National Lottery Draws'') is the television programme that broadcasts the drawing of the Natio ...
'', the first £1m '' Survivor'' final, ''
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy ''Queer Eye'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the cable television network Bravo in July 2003. Originally ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'', the title was later shortened to broaden the overall scope. The series was cr ...
UK'', ''
Extreme Makeover ''Extreme Makeover'' is an American reality television series that premiered on ABC on December 11, 2002. Created by television producer Howard Schultz, the show depicts ordinary men and women undergoing "extreme makeovers" involving plastic su ...
UK'', ''
Gladiators A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
'' (executive producer), ''
Don't Forget The Lyrics! ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' is an international game show in the United States. The American show originally aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, and after a year off the air, a third overall season, and first as a syndicated show ...
'' (co-executive producer) and the ill-conceived ''
Don't Stop Believing "Don't Stop Believin' is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, ''Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin'" shares writ ...
'' (executive producer). Richard did not survive at Channel 5 when Richard Desmond took over the channel. ''Don't Stop Believing'' became a media headline as Desmond didn't want to pay the full cost because of its failure to gain good audience figure.


Personal life

He married in 1988 and has a son and daughter.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolfe, Richard 1962 births Living people Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University British television producers Channel 5 (British TV channel) Sky Group