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Thread: Sean O Connor

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    Exclamation Sean O Connor

    EastEnders' master of surprise Dominic Treadwell-Collins has done it again - shocking fans by announcing that he's leaving his post as executive producer after two and a half years in charge.

    Sean O'Connor, who's currently editor of The Archers, will be taking over the top job after Treadwell-Collins oversees the Mitchells' much-anticipated reunion and Peggy's final farewell. But if you're wondering who Sean is and what he might bring to the wonderful world of Walford, here's 7 facts you should know...

    1. He's worked on some of EastEnders' greatest hits

    EastEnders fans don't need to worry about the new guy not knowing Phil Mitchell from Ian Beale. O'Connor is actually returning to the show after an 11-year gap, having previously worked in Walford as a director, producer and story producer.

    During his last Albert Square stint, he storylined some of the most memorable plots ever, including Trevor's domestic abuse of Little Mo, and Zoe being Kat's secret daughter. And those who like things a little bit gentler shouldn't worry - he also helped to craft the touching relationship between Dot and Jim.

    2. Dominic Treadwell-Collins reckons he'll be great

    Sure, we'll have to wait and see whether O'Connor can work the same magic in his new role. But one thing's for sure - he already has the golden seal of approval from current exec Treadwell-Collins, who's openly said that he helped to bring his successor on board.

    "I needed to find the right person to take over from me," Treadwell-Collins explained today. "This is an incredible, all-consuming show and in Sean, I know that we have found someone who already has Albert Square in his bones and who adores EastEnders as much as I do."

    3. He's worked all over Soapland too

    O'Connor hasn't just been involved in EastEnders and The Archers - he has a wealth of other soap experience too, having previously produced Family Affairs and Hollyoaks.

    He was also in charge of series three of Footballers' Wives in 2004 and the rebooted version of Minder in 2009, which starred Shane Richie. Assuming the two of them got along, maybe Alfie Moon doesn't need to worry too much about that brain tumour after all...

    4. He was accused of sexing up The Archers (but denied it!)

    O'Connor's stint on The Archers has seen a number of compelling storylines hit the airwaves, including the flooding of the village and the dark relationship between villain Rob Titchener and his wife Helen.

    But his time in charge of the rural show has proved slightly controversial too, with some loyal listeners claiming that he'd turned it into "Farmaggedon" or "EastEnders in a field".

    One accusation in particular was that he'd sexed things up too much with an affair between the characters of Roy Tucker and Elizabeth Pargetter. Denying that charge in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, O'Connor said: "They have only had sex twice. That's hardly sexing up." Just twice?! We dread to think what lothario Max Branning will say if that's what the new regime is going to be like...

    5. He's not afraid to stand up for himself... even to the BBC's big boss

    The row over O'Connor's racier storylines on The Archers even led to the BBC's director-general Tony Hall (pictured above) wading in, admitting that he hoped the show's team would be "thinking about what is happening and making sure that we don't lose what is precious". Ouch.

    But when Hall's comments fanned the flames in the press and he decided to backtrack, no-nonsense O'Connor wasn't shy of admitting that he wasn't too pleased with the Beeb's boss.

    "I was a bit annoyed," O'Connor told the Radio Times last September. "But [Tony] rang me at 7.30 in the morning and said that he was terribly sorry. And I said: 'You do know it's getting an extra 3.5 million listeners on the podcast? That it's doing as well as it did in the '50s?' And he said he apologised and we were doing a wonderful job." Sounds like you won that round, Sean!

    6. He's confident about his vision... but is keen to respect the past

    In another sign that O'Connor could be a formidable force, he was actually unsure about whether to take on the job at The Archers as he feared there'd be too much meddling from higher up.

    "I hesitated a little," he told ​The Daily Telegraph. "I wanted to be sure that if I took it on - given that it is such a special thing, and so important to Radio 4's identity and the BBC's identity and perhaps even to Britain's identity - I could do what I wanted to do with it, and that the BBC executives would support my vision."

    But, despite some grumblings about life in Ambridge getting just a little bit too eventful, O'Connor has been credited with placing farming back at the show's heart and giving the older cast more to do - a sign that he does respect the roots of whichever show he's working on. "I don't think of it as shaking it up," he said. "I've been trying to refresh it by looking at its history."

    7. He's fond of a soap surprise

    Does the departure of Treadwell-Collins mark the end of the 'OMG moments' of unannounced returns and shock deaths we've seen in the past few years? Well, apparently not. On the contrary, O'Connor is on record saying that he hates it when the biggest storyline twists are spoiled in advance.

    He was also notoriously coy when promoting The Archers' recent 65th anniversary episode, so much so that he'd only tell Radio Times: "I'm ruling nothing in and ruling nothing out." In the end, the birthday edition was slated by some fans as "boring", as the Archer family spent the whole episode debating whether dairy farming had a future at Brookfield farm. Hmm - so much for him turning it into EastEnders!

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    It's been all change at EastEnders this year with a switchover of producers - and it's now been revealed that new boss Sean O'Connor will be credited for the first time from next month.

    O'Connor has taken over from Dominic Treadwell-Collins in the post of executive producer and his first credited episode will air on Monday, July 11.

    However, EastEnders fans who are keen to see O'Connor put his own stamp on the show will have to wait a little longer.

    Digital Spy can confirm that the changeover of credit only represents when O'Connor first took charge of EastEnders from a senior management perspective.

    Creatively, the episodes on screen still reflect the work of the previous regime for another two and a half months.

    An EastEnders insider told Digital Spy: "With episodes storylined and scripted so far in advance, Sean's own work won't start appearing on screen until mid-September."

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    Quote Originally Posted by Perdita View Post

    An EastEnders insider told Digital Spy: "With episodes storylined and scripted so far in advance, Sean's own work won't start appearing on screen until mid-September."
    Just in time for Max's return. Hopefully it will herald a change in attitudes towards the loathsome Ian and Jane!

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    Why EastEnders’ low key drama and return to roots will be a good thing for the show

    In a week where Emmerdale and Coronation Street are airing massive action packed stunts and Hollyoaks is building up to do the same, it isn’t totally unreasonable for fans of EastEnders to be getting a little frustrated around cliffhangers focusing on Kim Fox threatening not to take her driving test and long running strands around bins.

    However, I can see exactly what new producer Sean O’Connor is doing and while an approach of making storylines and dialogue more believable and low key may seem jarring so soon after episodes at Gavin’s horror mansion and the return of Grant Mitchell, it can only be a good thing in the long term for the show.

    We may have to be a little bit patient – I don’t think it is Sean’s intention to eradicate drama from the show. Whitney Dean’s miscarriage was utterly heartbreaking, for example and the ending for Les and Pam Coker was beautifully handled.

    He is making big changes and at the moment, a few fans who are fairly newer to the show are claiming that it is not the EastEnders that they recognise. A fair point – for a long time, EastEnders has relied on big twists, shock endings and misery. Which are all great until they are overused and become diluted.

    Before long, the things that shock viewers now will no longer be surprising and if the show wanted to keep up with the pace of constant OMG moments, it would have to keep trying to surpass itself. Before long, viewers expect the shocks and they are therefore no longer shocking. EastEnders would have to bring back Max Branning with two heads after a while to have a chance at trending on Twitter.

    Sean, who has worked on EastEnders during some of its best years and has also just been at the helm of one of the most hard hitting and talked about storylines on The Archers ever, isn’t trying to turn EastEnders into Last Of The Summer Wine.

    It’s quiet at the moment, granted, but to get the right mix, it first needs to be stripped back to basics and we need to start relating to the characters. It’s hard to relate to Claudette who killed her husband, bunged Fatboy into a boot to be killed and then escaped her own grave made for her by her son and the man she is now in a relationship with.

    It’s easy to relate to people getting stressed over bin collections or being in debt or finding it a struggle to pay the rent. What Sean is doing now is ensuring the characters he wants us to continue to invest in remain believable so that when something dramatic does come their way, we care about it.

    It’s a long road. A new producer is often tempted to start their reign with a massive stunt and a controversial story or two. Great for the short term ratings and an easy way to clear out the cast they don’t think are working. But it sets the tone for their whole tenure and they constantly have to play catch up and aim to surpass how they started.

    Kate Oates is taking a different but at the same time, not dissimilar route at Corrie. Known for her helicopter crash in Emmerdale and her big stories, everyone expected her reign at Corrie to start with a bang and some have thought she is playing things a little too safe. But the two main soaps are actually building solid building blocks so that they can become what the fans want them to be.

    Let’s not forget EastEnders’ roots. Not every episode ended with a jaw dropping moment. There were plenty of shock storylines along the way with murder, drugs and infideltity playing a part from day one but they were laced through the every day, kitchen sink aspects that kept the show grounded.

    That seems to be Sean’s eventual aim with EastEnders. Step one, bring the show back to its simplest form. Step two is when he will then start weaving the drama in and finding the right mix. We have the return of Max, the exits of the Mitchell sisters and Lee and Whitney’s wedding right ahead. But along the way, it’s a given that we will also see family bickering, money problems, bin dramas and, believe it or not, people being nice to each other too.


    People being nice to each other. Yep, this IS EastEnders (Picture: BBC)

    And that’s how soaps always used to be when there was less competition and less channels to choose from. Hardened soap fans want a bit of realism as much as they want their drama and the path Sean is taking may seem to be shaky right now – but it is the path to what EastEnders should be and always has been in its strongest eras.

    Let’s stick with EastEnders and go along with the ride. The community feel, the writing, the characterisation is all spot on. And when we’re less desensitised to shocks, that will be when they affect us the most.

    At the moment, there are storylines affecting a huge number of the cast with Denise’s baby dilemma, Kim’s driving disasters, Dot’s vulnerability (a story which is really striking a chord), Steven secretly embezzling the Beales, Dennis’ behaviour, Ben wanting to donate his liver to Phil, Jay getting back on his feet, Claudette’s jealousy, Lee and Whitney’s wedding preparation and Belinda’s debt to name a few of many. It’s wrong to say that nothing is going on and these could well be the groundwork for something bigger.

    At the end of the way, what should a soap be? Smaller and relatable storylines that sometimes, when appropriate, become a bit more outlandish. Occasional dramas happening to everyday people = soap. Let’s give the new era of EastEnders a chance.

    http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/19/why-ea...-show-6201690/



    I agree with this article, especially the following quote:

    It’s easy to relate to people getting stressed over bin collections or being in debt or finding it a struggle to pay the rent. What Sean is doing now is ensuring the characters he wants us to continue to invest in remain believable so that when something dramatic does come their way, we care about it.
    SOC is doing a very good job in getting me to care again about characters I'd lost all interest in under DTC.

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    Interesting article, Dazzle, and to that extent I applaud what Sean OConnor is doing, but, for me, I'm afraid I still can't get over Ian and Jane.......

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    Quote Originally Posted by parkerman View Post
    Interesting article, Dazzle, and to that extent I applaud what Sean OConnor is doing, but, for me, I'm afraid I still can't get over Ian and Jane.......
    I've more or less written it off as ridiculous and out of character writing in my head. I'm hoping Max's return will put the whole thing to bed once and for all so I can pretend to myself the cover up never happened.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dazzle View Post
    I've more or less written it off as ridiculous and out of character writing in my head. I'm hoping Max's return will put the whole thing to bed once and for all so I can pretend to myself the cover up never happened.
    how max return and revenge against not only ian and jane but phil sharon and lauren too is written i think will prove what a success soc is for me

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dazzle View Post
    I've more or less written it off as ridiculous and out of character writing in my head. I'm hoping Max's return will put the whole thing to bed once and for all so I can pretend to myself the cover up never happened.
    how max return and revenge against not only ian and jane but phil sharon and lauren too is written i think will prove what a success soc is for me

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    DTC really snookered poor Sean by the ending of Lucy killer being Bobby and not showing any punishment by Max's family or the even the law on all the guilty not just Bobby

    I don't like Sean's decision to get rid of the Cokers

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    I hope his revenge is built up slowly, with things happening to the Beales very subtly before we realise Max is behind it all.

    I don't want him to come back with megabucks though, he's supposed to be destitute having lost everything because of the Beales and Mitchells.

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