Just to clarify for some FMs who have asked, in terms of the Coronation Street management structure, the Producer (Blackburn, Oates, Collinson) is responsible for the day-to-day running of the show. The Executive Producer (Kieran Roberts) is more 'hands off' and has a strategic and overarching view of the show. KR is ultimately responsible for the 'feel' of Coronation Street, its general direction as well as being the main link with the ITV network and its senior management. The demands of the ITV network come to Corrie via KR. Expectedly, since he has executive power, he has the final say in whatever we see on screen and can choose whether he gets involved with a certain aspect of production or not.
In an ideal world, the EP would take a back seat and allow the Producer to get on with the task of running the show, only getting involved should serious issues arise that require an 'executive' decision. This is standard practice in most management structures across the world. However, in my opinion, KR is the worst kind of micro-manager. He gives his subordinate (the Producer) "total" independence and "freedom" to run the show as they wish, but then meddles, questions and imposes his own views during every step of the production process. James J puts KR's general approach to the show so nicely: KR is the one who decides "that's how Corrie should be". And that is the problem.
It is interesting to note that Corrie hasn't always had an Executive Producer. It's a job role that appears and disappears with different personalities. It's also interesting that during the biggest periods of change (1964, 1976, 1989, 1997) there has been no EP or the EP has taken over the day-to-day running of the show. In the case of David Liddiment in 1989, he used the EP position to directly influence much of the day-to-day work the producer (Mervyn Watson) carried out. Liddiment brought Corrie out of its late 80s stupor by radically redeveloping the set to include new homes and businesses, introducing changes to production that improved the look and pace of the show and worked to introduce the third weekly episode. During Brian Park's tenure, there was no EP, giving him the freedom to do as he wished, axing many characters, introducing newcomers and generally bringing Corrie kicking and screaming into the late 90s period. The same pattern goes for Tim Aspinall's 1964 'blood bath' and Bill Podmore's arrival in 1976 which heralded what many consider to be Corrie's Golden Era.
Bill Podmore is an interesting comparison, because, like KR, he stayed around for many years, over a period that was marked by dizzying success and painful failure. From 1976 through to 1984, he was lauded as the man who had saved Corrie from its early 70s rut of low ratings, cheap production values, naff storylines and a loss of realism. A few years into Podmore's producer-ship, ratings were higher than ever and the show gained critical and public acclaim. However, with the arrival of Brookside and EastEnders and the loss of the core members of the original cast (Ena, Elsie, Annie and others) by 1985 Corrie entered a period of slow and gradual decline. In spite of the issues, Podmore stayed in his powerful role until 1989 when he finally retired and Liddiment was brought in to bring the show up to date. The man who had radically changed the show in 1976 was also the man who brought about the show's deterioration a decade later. Sound familiar?
