Reg Watson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Reg Watson
|
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Reginald James Watson
27 August 1926 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
|
| Died | 8 October 2019 (aged 93) |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1942–1992 |
| Known for |
|
Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and writer. He was a very important person in creating popular TV shows, especially soap operas.
Reg Watson was a top manager for the British soap opera Crossroads. He also created many famous Australian TV series. These include Prisoner (also known as Prisoner: Cell Block H), Neighbours, The Young Doctors, and Sons and Daughters.
Contents
Reg Watson's Amazing TV Career
Reg Watson was born on August 27, 1926, and grew up on a sugar farm in Queensland, Australia. He started acting on Australian radio when he was just 16 years old. He was an actor and also announced shows.
In 1955, he moved to the United Kingdom. He soon got a job at a TV company called ATV. In 1956, he helped set up ATV Midlands in Birmingham. His job was to be in charge of light entertainment shows.
Creating Hit Shows
Reg Watson created many popular programs for ATV. His first big success was a live daily chat show called Lunchbox. This show ran from 1956 to 1964 and had over 3,000 episodes! The host, Noele Gordon, became very famous in the region.
In 1958, Watson suggested making a new soap opera based in the Midlands. It took a few years, but in 1964, the head of ATV, Lew Grade, said yes to the idea. The show was first called The Midland Road. But Reg Watson changed its name to Crossroads just before it started. This show was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling. It became hugely popular, with 18 million people watching it.
Return to Australia
After working on Crossroads for ten years and being at ATV for 18 years, Reg Watson decided to go back to Australia in 1973. When he returned, he became the head of drama at Reg Grundy Productions.
Because of his success with Crossroads, he was able to create many more TV series in Australia. Some of these include:
- Until Tomorrow (1975)
- The Young Doctors (1976)
- The Restless Years (1977)
- Prisoner (1979)
- Sons and Daughters (1982)
Some of these shows, like Prisoner and Sons and Daughters, also became popular in the UK. Prisoner was known as Prisoner: Cell Block H in Britain to avoid confusion with another show.
The Success of Neighbours
Reg Watson's success with Sons and Daughters helped him get his idea for Neighbours picked up by the Seven Network in 1985. At first, the show didn't get high ratings and was cancelled by Seven that same year.
However, Neighbours then moved to the Ten Network in early 1986. Slowly, more and more people started watching it. The show ran for 37 years, ending in 2022. It is the longest-running drama series in Australian television history! In 2005, Neighbours was added to the TV Week Logie Hall of Fame.
Reg Watson also worked on TV in the United States. He produced Dangerous Women, a short-lived soap opera based on his Australian series Prisoner.
Reg Watson's Later Life
Reg Watson was a very private person and rarely gave interviews. He stopped producing new television dramas in 1992.
On January 26, 2010, Reg Watson was given a special award. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia. This was for his great work in creating and producing TV drama series.
Reg Watson passed away on October 8, 2019, at the age of 93, after a short illness. The TV show Neighbours announced his death on their official Twitter page. The show's executive producer, Jason Herbison, called Watson a "pioneer of drama." A writer named Bevan Lee said he was a "trailblazer" in Australian TV. Many people believe he should be honored in the Logie Hall of Fame.
