NIRA PARK (Producer)

After running The Comic Strip for many years, Nira left to set up her own production company, Big Talk Productions, with Keith Allen in 1995. Nira has produced numerous documentaries and comedies, both for her own company and as a freelance producer - including the first and second series of the critically acclaimed comedy, Spaced.

Nira is currently developing two feature films through Big Talk for Film Four as well as working with Dylan Moran on the scripts for the third series of Black Books.

WILLIAM BURDETT-COUTTS (Executive Producer)

Since 1981, William has been Artistic Director of Assembly Theatre, which runs the Assembly Rooms at the Edinburgh Festival, one of the Fringe's most successful venues. Every year he is responsible for putting on over 60 different productions with an audience in the region of 120,000.

William was Artistic Director of Glasgow's International Festival Mayfest between 1987 and 1990. Between 1989 and 1993, William was Head of Arts at Granada Television and was responsible for the network show Celebration, for which he made over a hundred arts programmes. He also created Manchester's Festival of Arts and Television, which he ran between 1991 and 1993.

In 1993, William became Chairman of Faze FM that won the licence for Manchester's radio station Kiss 102 and for Yorkshire's Kiss 105 in Leeds.

William became Artistic Director of Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London in October 1993, a multi-complex arts centre comprising three studios, a cinema and gallery space. He also set up his own independent television production company, Assembly Film and Television, which is based at Riverside.

GRAHAM LINEHAN (Co-Writer and Co-Director - series 1)

Graham Linehan was born in Dublin and came to London at the start of the '90s. He started writing with Arthur Mathews for shows such as Smith and Jones, The Day Today and The Fast Show (for which they created the characters Ted and Ralph), The All New Alexei Sayle Show, Coogans Run, Never Mind The Horrocks, Brass Eye and Jam. Their best-known work, however, remains Father Ted, which counts three BAFTAS and a Silver Rose of Montreux amongst its many awards. They went on to write Big Train, a sketch show, the first series of which Graham also directed (having already co-directed the final series of Father Ted). Graham, like Woody Allen, wishes he was someone else, preferably Woody Allen.

Chat with Graham Linehan October 13, 2000 transcript

MARTIN DENNIS (Director - series 2)

Martin Dennis has had a vast amount of experience directing sitcoms. His extensive credits include directing all six series of Men Behaving Badly, both series of Coupling both series of Beast, Hippies, Baddiel's Syndrome and Savages.

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