Knighthood is awarded to Phil Redmond, creator of Hollyoaks, Brookside and Grange Hill
Hollyoaks producer Phil Redmond has been included in the list of knighthoods in honor of the latest Queen's birthday.
The TV boss, who also produced Brookside and Grange Hill, began working in the industry in the 1970s and acquired a reputation for covering 'gritty' subjects rarely touched upon in his work.
Phil Redmond - producer of Brookside, Hollyoaks and Grange Hill - is knighted as one of the Queen's birthday actors.
Redmond famously ventured out of making dramas about Northern towns to work on Emmerdale when it was struggling, and ended up being responsible for that plane crash in 1993 which killed multiple villagers (and some sheep) and helped retool the show into a contender. That episode remains the soap's most viewed and helped save it from cancellation.
Previously made a CBE in 2004, Redmond is also an honourary Professor of Media Studies in Liverpool, a chair of National Museums Liverpool and was involved in the city being the European Capital of Culture back in 2008.
In 2016 he released his debut novel, and told Digital Spy that he very much enjoyed not having to worry about budget, actor availability, broadcast standards and practices, changing audience demands, and everything else that comes with making a TV show.
Today, he told the ECHO: "I am thrilled, delighted and humbled to receive this honour.
"To everyone involved in my nomination I say thank you for putting such a huge smile on my face."
Born in Liverpool in 1949 as the son of a cleaner and a bus driver, he was educated at St Kevin's RC School in Northwood, Kirkby, and later said he based his first ideas for Grange Hill on his time there.
The series about life in a London comprehensive school ran from 1978 to 2008 and made headlines for its gritty social realism, tackling issues such as racism, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, mental illness and HIV and Aids.
He said he wanted to move away from the "Enid Blyton, middle-class drama" that the BBC had previously been showing.
The soap was different to others because it was filmed in real, brand-new homes in a real crime-de-sac in the West Derby.Sir Phil's production company bought 13 houses, of which six would be seen as on-screen sets, the rest to be used for administration, post-production and canteen facilities.
In 1993, he was brought in to shake up the ITV soap Emmerdale and devised a storyline that involved a plane crashing into the sleepy rural village, killing and wounding many of the inhabitants and giving the show its highest-ever viewing figures of 18 million.
He turned his attention back to youth drama with the launch of Hollyoaks in 1995, and the show's gritty storylines are still going strong today.
The show has tackled a raft of issues including self-harm, eating disorders and male rape.
He also created the daytime legal drama The Courtroom.
An honorary professor of media at Liverpool John Moores University, he has since turned his hand to novel writing, releasing his debut effort Highbridge in 2016, and is the chair of the UK City of Culture Independent Advisory Panel.
Two years after Brookside finished, he sold his independent production company Mersey Television, established in 1981 to produce his TV projects, to Lime Pictures.
He previously received a CBE in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to drama.
He also leads a major national Covid-19 research study and has appeared regularly as an expert in the media throughout the pandemic.
Also recognised today is the University of Liverpool’s Professor Calum Semple, given an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to the Covid-19 response.
As a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), Professor Semple has played a role in advising the UK Government on coronavirus.
He said: "I am delighted to be honoured by this award and wish to express my profound gratitude for the support of my clinical research colleagues.
“It is sobering to reflect on the impact of HIV, Ebola and now Covid-19 on people’s health, societal wellbeing and the economies of affected countries.
"They include dedicated research nurses, volunteer medical students and my collaborators at our great hospitals and universities.
"This has driven my work with the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) to prevent illness and death from infectious disease outbreaks.
"This award suggests we have succeeded in some measure.”
Other famous faces to get birthday honours this year include former The Great British Bake Off judge Mary Berry, Sir David Attenborough and Lorraine host Lorraine Kelly.
Hollyoaks currently airs new episodes from Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first look screenings at 7pm on E4. Classic episodes, titled Hollyoaks Favourites, air on Fridays at 7pm on E4.
This year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list recognises doctors, nurses, fundraisers and volunteers who have made outstanding contributions to the UK’s coronavirus response.
The list, which was due to be published in June, was postponed in order to consider nominations for people playing crucial roles during the first months of the COVID-19 effort.
