Ken Riddington

Ken Riddington (8 May 1922 – 26 December 2014)^[1] was a British television producer, who worked predominantly in BBC television drama from the 1970s onwards.

Riddington was born in Leicester.^[1] Originally a stage actor, "truly dreadful" according to Riddington himself, he moved to a back stage role managing the Adelphi Theatre from 1950 and then directing the musical Rendezvous at the Comedy Theatre in 1952.^[1] Later, he managed the London Palladium and Palace Theatres in London's West End.^[2] After a period as a BBC television floor manager in the early 1970s, he became a producer. His first project as a producer to gain recognition was the 10 part serial adaptation of Anna Karenina (1977).^[2]

Subsequently Riddington produced several high-profile television series and serials, including Tenko (1981), The Citadel (1983), The House of Eliott (1991) and Andrew Davies's adaptations of Michael Dobbs' House of Cards trilogy — House of Cards (1990), To Play the King (1993) and The Final Cut (1995). Riddington was involved with several other projects scripted by Davies, including A Very Peculiar Practice (1986–88), a black comedy set in a university medical centre.

For a time during the 1980s, he was the acting Head of Series & Serials in the BBC drama department, before returning to front-line producing work. Ending his period at the BBC at the age of 75, he and his wife Liz Riddington enjoyed twelve years of retirement before Ken moved to a London nursing home, where he was treated for dementia.^[3]

Riddington died on 26 December 2014.^[2][4]

References

External links

• Ken Riddington at the Internet Movie Database.