Just Can't Get Enough by Matthew Robinson

Every minute of every day was crammed with problems to solve, creative and managerial, constantly in the eye of the public, press, politicians and broadcasting fraternity. When interviewed on radio or TV, I used to say that running EE was like being at the centre of the universe and that, if one wanted to work in British TV drama, there couldn’t be a better job. Looking back now, do you remember any personal highlights and how do you view this period of the show?Īs an exciting rollercoaster. You were Executive Producer at EastEnders for 2 years which is a long time. Today, KMF’s permanent staff is 40, 39 of them young Cambodians, trained to professional broadcast standards. We’re now busy with all-sorts – dramas, comedies, documentaries, commercials, quiz shows, reality TV shows, corporate films and videos. The project ended in 2006 and, discovering I’d fallen for Cambodia in a big way, I moved lock stock and barrel from the UK to Phnom Penh, selling my London house, to set up a TV & Film production company, Khmer Mekong Films ( ). (Details of this show, Taste of Life, can be seen on at this website) The three-year contract meant moving to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, and self-immersion in the history and culture of a far-off country about which I knew little. British Government funded, it was managed by BBC World Service Trust, the BBC’s charitable arm. That deficiency set me up nicely for my next assignment to devise and produce a Khmer-language 100-episode soap opera for Cambodian TV about health issues, particularly HIV. I was also Executive Producer of the 5-day-a-week Welsh-language soap opera, Pobol y Cwm without understanding a syllable. My team produced several memorable dramas for both BBC1 and BBC2, and innovative dramas and comedy for BBC Wales. I spent three years as Head of Drama, BBC Wales. What have you been up to in the ten years since leaving EastEnders? Ellie recently caught up with Matthew to reflect on his time with the show and to talk about what he’s been up to since leaving. Matthew Robinson was Executive Producer of EastEnders from 1998 until he stepped down from the role in 2000. Matthew Robinson with the Cambodian team trained from scratch to produce quality Soap Opera (2003)

Just Can't Get Enough by Matthew Robinson