Description: These forty stories trace Matthew Robinson's two periods working on EastEnders, once the BBC's top-rated show. They cover his role in the run-up to, and aftermath of, the programme's launch on 19 February 1985. Appointed 'Lead Director', he oversaw dozens of the show's earliest episodes, including Episodes 1, 2 and 4. A decade later, Robinson returned as Executive Producer with a clear mandate: get the show - then suffering dismal ratings - back on its feet. His two years restoring EastEnders to form earned him the long-running tabloid nickname 'The Axeman of Albert Square'.
Brief description: Double BAFTA-winner Matthew Robinson spent three decades directing, producing and writing British television drama, contributing hundreds of episodes to series such as Coronation Street, Brookside, Crossroads, Emmerdale, Doctor Who, Bergerac, Howards' Way - and, of course, EastEnders. In 1989 he set up and shaped Byker Grove, running the series for nine years and discovering Ant and Dec - launching their remarkable post-Byker Grove careers. Since 2003 he has lived in Cambodia, where he created and produced a 100-episode BBC-backed, British-government-funded TV drama enhancing public awareness of issues such as HIV prevention and maternal and child health. Now a Cambodian citizen, he runs his own successful production company, Khmer Mekong Films, from the heart of the country's capital, Phnom Penh.