The Special Award: Alison Barnett

THE SPECIAL AWARD : ALISON BARNETT

As head of production at kudos, Alison Barnett has been an unseen creative force behind some of the UK’s best television.

Kudos’ website points out that its head of production, Alison Barnett, has worked on more than 400 hours of television.

“Hours? Try years – 40 years!” she merrily asserts, whose four decades of exceptional service to television has earned her one of BAFTA’s highest honours, the Special Award.

Since taking the traditional late-1970s route from theatre to studio floor at the BBC, Alison Barnett climbed the ranks of location scouting, assistant directing, line producing and production management to become one of the UK’s first heads of production in 2005. Along the way, she’s been part of more than 80 BAFTAnominated shows and 14 winning productions. Yet, she’s never won a BAFTA herself –until now.

BAFTA portrait: Alison Barnett

BAFTA/Rachell Smith

“[When] I got the letter I thought it was a joke,” she laughs. “I was surprised, both for myself, having worked in the industry for such a long time, but also because the production office team never get recognised... I’m so thrilled that BAFTA has recognised the production office... It will help enormously because it’s difficult to recruit and keep hold of young people in production. The production office can be miles away from set, working independently and way after the set has wrapped. To work in the production office, you really have to love TV. Luckily, we do.”

Her own passion for the artform emerged through an enviable roster of shows: Doctor Who (1979), Grange Hill (19801981), All Creatures Great and Small (1983, incidentally where she met her husband), Edge of Darkness (1985), Lipstick on Your Collar (1993), The Lakes (1999), Spooks (2003-2011), Bleak House (2005), Hustle (2005-2011) and Life on Mars (2006-2007), to name a few.

More recent Kudos hits have included such popular series as Utopia (2013-2014), Grantchester (2014-2017), Broadchurch (20132017), SAS: Rogue Heroes (2022) and The Rig (2023) and more.

Her passion comes from a fundamental source of joy: “A script landing on your desk is so exciting. You go, ‘How are we going to make it?’ I still get a great kick out of that.”

Her enthusiasm has remained constant even while the work itself has changed dramatically. “The day-to-day paperwork is huge now,” she says. “Production in all its guises is still a huge learning process. You take all the knowledge gained from one show onto the next... You have to wake up in the morning and think, ‘I’m going to work hard but I’m going to enjoy it.’ That’s my life, it’s my makeup and I hope I instil that in others.”

She is quick to point out that while many aspects have become more intense, this is balanced out by improved employee support, especially for women. “When I had my first child, there was no real maternity care and you were still frowned on if you had to pick them up from nursery,” she says. “There is better awareness now for work-life balance, but still a lot needs to be done. It isn’t a 9-to-5 job, which is why you have to have a laugh... What we create is magic. Enjoy it!”

So, can the industry and the avid television hungry public look forward to another decade of magic from her? “I’m so lucky to have had a wonderful career, and half of it at Kudos. However, I’m looking forward to my retirement in the future,” she laughs. “I have a granddaughter and I think about my poor husband, who I hardly ever see.”

Fortunately, before that landmark event happens, there’s still many more hours of television in the pipeline to add to that groundbreaking 400 statistic on the Kudos website – all from the back office that is, thanks to Alison Barnett, getting its moment in the spotlight.

WORDS: Rich Matthews

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