Ken Riddington

Ken Riddington (8 May 1922 – 26 December 2014)[1] was a British television producer, who worked predominantly in BBC television drama from the 1970s onwards.

Riddington was born in Leicester.[1] Originally a stage actor, "truly dreadful" according to Riddington himself, he moved to a back stage role managing the Adelphi Theatre from 1950 and then directing the musical Rendezvous at the Comedy Theatre in 1952.[1] Later, he managed the London Palladium and Palace Theatres in London's West End.[2] 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).[2]

Subsequently Riddington produced several high-profile television series and serials, including Tenko (1981), The Citadel (1983), The House of Eliott (1991) and Andrew Davies's adaptations of Michael Dobbs' 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 (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 enjoyed twelve years of retirement before Ken moved to a London nursing home, where he was treated for dementia.[3]

Riddington died on 26 December 2014.[2][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Simon Farquhar "Kenneth Riddington: Television drama producer best known for the original House of Cards as well as A Very Peculiar Practice", The Independent, 12 March 2015. Some sources give his year of births as 1920.
  2. 1 2 3 "House of Cards producer Ken Riddington dies", Ariel, 8 January 2015
  3. ↑ Jane Elliott "Technology is helping unlock Ken's dementia memories", BBC News, 4 April 2010
  4. ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/kenneth-riddington-television-drama-producer-best-known-for-the-original-house-of-cards-as-well-as-a-very-peculiar-practice-10101795.html

External links

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