TONY JORDAN

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Tony Jordan was a market stallholder when he submitted an unsolicited script to the BBC. He has never looked back! Tony was taken on by EASTENDERS and over the next 18 years became lead writer and story consultant, creating some of the show’s best-loved characters and storylines.

With episodes of classic shows like MINDER and BOON under his belt, Tony went on to create BBC1’s long-running hit series HUSTLE, about a group of enterprising con artists. HUSTLE sealed his partnership with KUDOS and has won him two RTS awards.

With Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah, Tony also co-created and wrote the multiple award winning international hit, LIFE ON MARS.

In 2007, Tony was honoured for his work on EASTENDERS at the BRITISH SOAP AWARDS with a Special Achievement Award. In 2008, BROADCAST magazine listed him as the number one television screenwriter in the UK.

As much as Tony loved the shed at the end of the garden (or office as he liked to call it!), he was yearning for a new challenge, something that married his talents as a writer with his people skills, so he decided to set up his own indie, where he’s developing numerous projects of his own, working with established writers and nurturing new writers through the ranks. He now has a lovely office in an old mill, sans garden tools and spiders!

SIMON WINSTONE

HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT

Simon realised he wanted to tell stories at college. Unfortunately, due to the lack of ‘storytellers wanted’ adverts, he decided to get close to story and started at Virgin books. A chance on an EMMERDALE workshop led to two years storylining the Yorkshire soap where five episodes a week taught him to work at speed and really think on his feet. He then moved to EASTENDERS. He spent five years working in Walford, working closely with Tony Jordan. A dream opportunity on DOCTOR WHO took him to Cardiff to work with Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner, although he never forgot Tony, so when Mr Jordan asked him to join Red Planet in 2007, he jumped at the chance.

BELINDA CAMPBELL

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, DRAMA

Belinda's career started theatrically, as a director’s assistant at Riverside Studios. She then took a decidedly comic turn producing stand-up comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe and associate producing sitcoms for Channel 4.  She even helped launch the TV career of Graham Norton, researching both his debut Channel 5 show Bring Me The Head of Light Entertainment as well as the first series of SO GRAHAM NORTON on Channel 4.  But ever the drama queen, she’d soon wangled herself a job in BBC Radio Drama.  From Broadcasting House she moved to EASTENDERS where she met Tony and Simon.  Starting as a script-editor she rose through the ranks and was made Series Producer.   Before joining Red Planet in March 2011, Belinda spent five years as Executive Producer on CASUALTY and later on HOLBY CITY.

JULIE GISSING

HEAD OF FINANCE

Julie’s career as an accountant started over 20 years ago. She started out in Lincolnshire and then moved to Scotland, where she worked for an accountancy firm that specialised in sheep and cow farmers. Needless to say, Julie knows her Ayrshire from her Guernsey, and she also knows a bit about numbers too, which is helpful for us. Julie joined Red Planet in 2007.

ALEX JONES

PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE

Alex started his career on ITV’s THE BILL later moving on to Channel Five’s daily soap, FAMILY AFFAIRS as a production scheduler. But THE BILL was never too far away (down the corridor and first on the left to be precise!) and he returned as a production co-ordinator for a few years, where he co-ordinated a hair-raising live episode. Alex left THE BILL and went to Shed Productions to assist the Head of Production for a short while before joining Red Planet Pictures on their new police series for BBC1 - HOLBY BLUE. Alex has continued to work across all of Red Planet's projects and is responsible for overseeing production and managing business affairs.

GARRY TYLER

ASSISTANT TO TONY JORDAN & SIMON WINSTONE

Garry is Borehamwood born and bred. He had several jobs since leaving school, such as a carpenter, suspended ceiling fitter and playing centre forward for Arsenal... okay, he lied about the Arsenal bit... In 1999, Tony Jordan asked him to become his P.A. and Garry has never looked back. Garry wrote a script for EASTENDERS and it transmitted in 2003. It was a tremendous achievement but not really Garry’s cup of tea. He now happily works for Tony at Red Planet Pictures... until Arsenal ring him up to see if he’s available, of course.

JAMES HALL

DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE

Having left university with a degree in Theatre Studies, James soon realised that his heart actually lay in television drama. Since then he has story and series script edited, written and produced on shows including EASTENDERS, DOCTORS, EMMERDALE, THE BILL and HOLBY CITY. In addition, in 2007 James wrote the book for CHASING FATE, a new musical created for and performed by 'Youth At Risk' teenagers from across the West Midlands. More recently, he co-wrote the screenplay for a feature-length horror film called THE FORGOTTEN, which is currently in post-production and due to be unleashed on the world in 2013.