ANGEL STATION
About John Yorke’s media production company
As Managing Director of Angel Station, John works as a drama producer, consultant and lecturer on all forms of storytelling.
To contact John about Angel Station, please email: john@angelstation.co.uk
RED ROCK
Red Rock was the first new Irish soap opera for 20 years which launched on TV3 in January 2015 to critical acclaim. It is a co-production between Angel Station and Element Pictures. The series was sold to Amazon Prime, after being broadcast daily on BBC Daytime from 2016.
Red Rock was the big winner at the Irish Film and Television Academy awards 2015. It won Best Director (soap/comedy), Best Soap and Continuing Drama and The People’s Choice TV Show of the Year.
REVIEWS of RED ROCK
Irish Times: “Red Rock is fast-paced and looks great, with top-notch acting from a huge cast, Everyone seems to be sleeping, fighting or working with each other, or in some cases all three, as it should be in soapland. There’s melodrama with the two warring families, balanced by a comic thread. Red Rock is very good; let’s hope it catches on.”
January, 2015
Sunday Times: “With its love triangles and hate spirals, tangled webs and twisted mindsets, Red Rock has the geometry of a classic soap.There is a much to like about Red Rock. These episodes were well-written and pacily directed. The tricky chores of plot-exposition and character-introduction were handled with dexterity and wit.”
January, 2015
Daily Mail: “A thumping good plot.”
July, 2016
EASTENDERS
John worked as temporary Executive Consultant on the BBC’s flagship soap opera EastEnders until February 2019. He was drafted in to revive the soap after years of tumbling ratings and criticism of dull storylines.
EastEnders won a BAFTA for Best Continuing Drama during this time – watch John’s acceptance speech below.
REVIEWS of EASTENDERS
Digital Spy: How EastEnders got its mojo back
December, 2017
Metro: How EastEnders boss John Yorke saved the show
December, 2018
STORY ADVICE from JOHN YORKE
Does your central character have an internal desire that drives your story?
Writers should always define their central character’s ‘want’ and ‘need’ – but the latter can often be missed. So how do you establish a character’s need / internal desire? BAFTA-winning producer John Yorke explains.
10 questions every writer should ask their story
You’ve written your story, now how can you test whether or not it’s as good as it can be? John Yorke recommends asking 10 questions to check you’ve got your story straight: an approach as relevant to business stories as it is to dramatic narratives.
LONG READ – John Yorke breaks down the narrative shape of HBO series Chernobyl
In this premium article John Yorke explores how Chernobyl’s makers ‘took something complex, grey, difficult and un-heroic and turned it into a classic Hollywood narrative shape’.