Paul Marquess

Paul Marquess
Born	23 June 1964 (1964-06-23) (age 52) Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Occupation	TV Producer
Years active	1997-present
Television	Hollyoaks The Bill Brookside Family Affairs Footballers' Wives Suspects (TV series)

Paul Marquess (born 23 June 1964) is a television producer from Belfast, Northern Ireland. His credits include Brookside, The Bill, Family Affairs, Hollyoaks, Crime Stories, and more recently Suspects for Channel 5. He also originated the idea for the series Footballers' Wives. He currently holds the post of managing director of Newman Street, a label of Fremantlemedia.

Marquess began his career in 1996 as a storyliner on Coronation Street before developing and producing various other dramas for Granada television. He then landed a job as series producer on Brookside, working alongside Phil Redmond. It was during this time that Marquess conceived the idea for Footballers' Wives; originally entitled 'Cheshire Wives', Marquess felt it lacked a hook until he saw Victoria Beckham on TV.

In 2002, Marquess took over as executive producer of The Bill with a clear brief from network bosses at ITV to shift the series away from stand-alone episodes to a more serialised format in an attempt to attract a younger demographic. The move caused controversy amongst many die-hard fans after Marquess fired a number of veteran actors and introduced more sensational storylines that explored issues such as serial murder, gang rape and domestic violence.

For the first time, the show also focused on the regulars’ private lives, including the contentious screening of a gay kiss between two uniformed officers, drug addiction and corruption within the police service. However, Marquess also remained true to the spirit of The Bill’s original 1983 pilot “Wooden Top”, returning to an over-the-shoulder filming style. Ratings climbed from 5 million to a regular audience of 8 million, and earned the show a Television Bafta and Rose d’Or nomination in 2003.

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