Paul Marquess (born 23 June 1964) is a television producer from Belfast, Northern Ireland. His credits include Brookside, The Bill, Family Affairs, Hollyoaks, Crime Stories, Suspects and Hope Street. He also originated the idea for the series Footballers' Wives. He currently holds the post of managing director of Newman Street, a label of Fremantlemedia. TV career Early stages Marquess began his career in 1996, as a storyliner on Coronation Street, before developing and producing various other dramas for Granada television including Revelations from 1996, and Springhill in 1997. In 1999, he landed a job as series producer on Brookside, working alongside Phil Redmond. During that time, Marquess conceived the idea for Footballers' Wives, originally entitled "Cheshire Wives". Marquess felt it lacked a hook until he saw Victoria Beckham on TV. The Bill In 2002, Marquess took over as executive producer of The Bill, with a clear brief from network bosses at ITV to shift the series away from stand-alone episodes to a more serialised format, in an attempt to attract a younger demographic. The move caused controversy amongst many die-hard fans after Marquess fired a number of veteran actors and introduced more sensational storylines, which explored issues such as serial murder, gang rape and domestic violence. For the first time, the show also focused on the regulars' private lives, including the contentious screening of a gay kiss between two uniformed officers, drug addiction, and corruption within the police service. However, Marquess also remained true to the spirit of The Bill’s original 1983 pilot, "Woodentop", returning to an over-the-shoulder filming style. Ratings climbed from 5 million to a regular audience of 8 million, and earned the show a television BAFTA and Rose d’Or nomination in 2003. In 2005, the show's consistently high ratings led to commercial interest from Channel 5, prompting ITV to offer an unprecedented five-year recommission until 2010, guaranteeing its place in the TV schedules long after Marquess had departed TalkBackThames. It was also during this time that Marquess created The Bill spin-off series MIT: Murder Investigation Team, which ran for two series. Family Affairs In 2003, Marquess was promoted to Head of Drama at TalkbackThames and took over as executive producer of Channel 5's tea-time soap, Family Affairs. The show won best storyline at The British Soap Awards in 2005, for the sexual abuse of Chloe Costello by a young family friend, and best dramatic performance for Kazia