International Disruptors: Simon Heath, CEO Of ‘Line Of Duty’ Producer World Productions, Talks Landing Hits, THAT Ending And The Future Of British Broadcasting

deadline.com:

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S.

shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we present Simon Heath, World Productions CEO and exec producer of Line of Duty, the biggest UK TV drama of the decade.Line of Duty, Vigil and The Pembrokeshire Murders.

The three most-watched dramas in the UK last year were all united by one common denominator: World Productions.By World’s own standards, the ITV Studios-backed drama powerhouse had a phenomenal year during what was a difficult 12 months for the industry, with Covid never far from the mind and a highly-publicized skills crisis making TV production trickier than ever.“You couldn’t really ask for more than having the biggest shows on BBC1 and ITV,” Heath tells Deadline during a rare in-person interview at his Central London offices, although he acknowledges the trio of shows only aired in the same calendar year due to Covid delays.“You don’t want a big hit like Line of Duty to become an albatross so the fact we were able to follow up with Vigil was really important and we did it with a completely different creative team, and I had no idea Pembrokeshire was going to rate like it did.”Heath struggles to identify the secret behind World’s hit-generating success (“If I knew the formula, I’d sell it”) but he points to the need to pay close attention to feedback as a show develops through the seasons, focus on the best writing talent (not necessarily those in front of the camera) and the growing importance of marketing.He heaps praise on the BBC for the way in which it promoted Vigil, for example.