Mark Gorton

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT MARK GORTON

I was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, and educated at the local grammar school and University of Durham where I read English Literature. I then endured four years as a widely unpublished novelist before beginning my TV career as a Researcher for Granada Television. I became a Reporter and Presenter and went on to anchor Granada Reports and other regional and network programmes - including On the Market, for which I masqueraded as a TV Chef. Delicious!’ Well, it would be - the Home Economist had made it. Returning behind the cameras I produced news and current affairs before moving to Daytime and This Morning. Here I wrote my unmade screenplay: Daytime - It\'s Darker Than You Think. In the Entertainment Department in Manchester I became Producer and Exec of well-known series like You\'ve Been Framed! and Cluedo. I was also Editor of Tonight with Richard and Judy, coming in for criticism when O. J. Simpson refused to confess to Britain\'s Golden TV Couple. Nevertheless, I was appointed Granada\'s Head of Entertainment Development, devising Name That Toon for CITV and Mad Science for ITV. During this period I also produced The Mrs Merton Show and what became known as the pilot of The Royle Family, winning a BAFTA award for the former. In 1997 I left Granada to co-found Multi Media Arts. The company made more than 400 hours of television for all major UK broadcasters and some overseas. In 2012 I joined the BBC for a three year stint and then returned to independent production. I turned my hand to creating content for children and young people, which was fun and rewarding. I have a strong track record in development and production across genres and platforms, having devised and made television content for broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, CITV, CBBC, C4, five, and RTE. I play golf - not particularly well - and write about the game. In my spare time I write fiction, and may well have entered another four year period as a widely unpublished novelist.