Dominic Treadwell-Collins
Dominic Treadwell-Collins is a British television producer, known for his work on the soap operas Family Affairs and EastEnders, and for creating the EastEnders spin-off series .
Early life
Treadwell-Collins' father was the son of an Irish farmer, Michael, who emigrated to London from his home near Skibbereen, in West Cork, in the mid 1960s whilst his mother, Linda, is from north London. At the age of fifteen, Treadwell-Collins' father died in a drowning accident whilst on holiday at the family home in Fort Lauderdale, USA. As a child, Treadwell-Collins had ambitions to work for the BBC, as he lived in Radlett, Hertfordshire, near the BBC Elstree Studios, and used to look in through the gates.Education
Treadwell-Collins attended St Christopher's primary school in Radlett, and Edge Grove School, an independent school in the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, followed by Harrow School, a boarding independent school in Harrow-on-the-Hill in north west London, and then the University of Oxford.Career
Early work
Treadwell-Collins' first job in television was for the ITV crime drama series Midsomer Murders, devising means of killing off characters. He moved to Talkback Thames for four years, working as a story producer on the Five soap opera Family Affairs, where he was taught to storyline by Ian Aldwinckle. In 2007, he named the show winning the 2005 British Soap Award for "Best Storyline" the biggest achievement of his career. Family Affairs was cancelled in 2005, which surprised Treadwell-Collins, who had expected that several award wins meant the show would be extended. He felt that viewers remained "incredibly loyal" to the series, and that it would have had greater longevity had it aired on a different channel, or been better publicised by Five.''EastEnders''
Treadwell-Collins began working on the BBC soap opera EastEnders in October 2005, as a senior story editor under Brigie de Courcy, before becoming story producer in January 2007. He was responsible for running the EastEnders story department, working with the show's writers to devise future storylines.In his first year on the show, he created the characters Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell, played by Samantha Womack and Rita Simons. In response to criticism of the show's lack of characters with disabilities, EastEnders producers planned to introduce several actors with disabilities in early 2009.
Treadwell-Collins felt such characters are often portrayed as being "noble or 'worthy'", and suggested that EastEnders subvert this stereotype by making the new roles flawed. He created the storyline in which the Muslim character Syed Masood struggled to reconcile his faith and sexuality, and his relationship with Christian Clarke, as well as The Secret Mitchell and the Who Killed Archie? whodunnit, which culminated in the show's first live episode in February 2010.
Treadwell-Collins stood down from his EastEnders role on 25 June 2010, becoming head of development at Kudos' Lovely Day production company. The company is run by former EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer, who commented: "Dominic is a brilliant and original talent, bursting with great ideas and gripping stories. Many of EastEnders best storylines and characters of the last few years have come directly from his imagination and design, and he played an integral part in conceiving and plotting the hugely successful 25th anniversary episodes. I'm delighted to be resuming our creative partnership at Lovely Day." Treadwell-Collins stated: "I have had an amazing time at EastEnders and I couldn't have dreamed of a better place to work. Working on EastEnders has enabled me to create some fantastic storylines and characters that have been received so well but after four-and-a-half years of life in Walford, I feel that it is time to move on and try something new."
As executive producer
On 29 July 2013, it was announced that Treadwell-Collins would be returning to EastEnders as executive producer, taking over from Lorraine Newman, who resigned from the role after sixteen months on the job. Treadwell-Collins assumed the position on 19 August 2013 and his first episode as executive producer aired on 9 December 2013.Treadwell-Collins' first major cast change was to introduce Shirley Carter's extended family, who took over The Queen Vic – her brother Mick Carter, sister Tina, Mick's common-law wife Linda and their children Lee, Nancy and Johnny. The family was later expanded to include Shirley and Tina's father Stan Carter, their maternal aunt Babe Smith and their estranged mother Sylvie, plus Shirley's son Dean Wicks who returned to the show after several years. Other major characters introduced by Treadwell-Collins include Dot Branning's grandson Charlie Cotton, Pam wife of established recurring character Les Coker, Donna Yates, Vincent Hubbard as Kim Fox's husband, Claudette Hubbard as Vincent's mother and Donna's adoptive Mother, and the Kazemi family - Kush, Carmel and Shakil Kazemi.
Treadwell-Collins also reintroduced several characters who had previously featured in the show, including Sonia Fowler Stacey Branning, Dean Wicks, Les Coker, Jane Beale, Kathy Beale, Honey Mitchell Jack Branning, and Steven Beale who all returned permanently, while the likes of Peggy Mitchell, Nick Cotton and Grant Mitchell returning for guest appearances. The characters of Shabnam Masood, Rebecca Fowler, Ben Mitchell, Martin Fowler, Louise Mitchell, Jordan Johnson and Belinda Peacock were also reintroduced, but the roles were recast to Rakhee Thakrar, Jasmine Armfield, Harry Reid, James Bye, Tilly Keeper, Joivan Wade and Carli Norris respectively.
Treadwell-Collins also created a spin-off for the EastEnders characters Kat Moon and Alfie Moon set in Ireland called , which started on BBC One and RTÉ One in May 2017.
Treadwell-Collins' decision to leave the show was announced on 18 February 2016. He described his choice as "not one I have taken lightly" and citied his reasons for leaving as wanting to "move on to other things". His final work on the show saw him produce the conclusion to the Who Killed Lucy Beale? storyline and produce the death of Peggy Mitchell. Of Windsor's request that he produce her exit storyline, Treadwell-Collins said "When Dame Barbara comes to you to produce her final episodes, you cannot say no." Treadwell-Collins' final day at EastEnders was on 6 May 2016.