Pippa Harris
Dame Philippa Jill Olivier Harris (born 27 March 1967) is a British film and television producer/executive. She co-founded Neal Street Productions in 2003 with Sam Mendes and Caro Newling. Harris was a script editor at ITV and Channel Four before becoming a development executive at BBC Films and then an executive producer for BBC Drama Serials. In that role her projects included "Warriors" and "Love in a Cold Climate". Harris became Head of Drama Commissioning for the BBC in 2001. Commissions during her time there included "Daniel Deronda" and "The Lost Prince". Harris has executive produced  several films including "Things We Lost in the Fire" and "Revolutionary Road" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. For TV Harris produced "" featuring Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch and executive produced "Call the Midwife", "Penny Dreadful" and "The Hollow Crown" and "Britannia". Harris served as Adviser to the former leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg MP, with whom she had studied at Robinson College, Cambridge. For the film "1917" directed by Sam Mendes, Harris received various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 2018, Harris was appointed Chair  of BAFTA, after a year as the Deputy Chair and is a board member of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Early years. Harris is the granddaughter of medical doctor Noël Olivier. She was educated at Oxford High School for Girls and Robinson College, Cambridge, where she graduated with a degree in English in 1989. Career. Pippa Harris started her career as a production assistant at Jacaranda Productions in 1989 and progressed quickly through roles as a script editor for ITV and Channel 4 before becoming development executive at BBC Films. She was then promoted to Executive Producer , BBC Drama Serials. Harris worked on "Warriors" (1999), "Care" (2000), "The Sleeper" (2000) "The Way We Live Now" (2001) and "Love in a Cold Climate" (2001). In 2001, Harris became Head of Drama Commissioning for the BBC, working with Jane Tranter. Her BBC commissions included "Cutting It" (2002), "Flesh and Blood" (2002), "Daniel Deronda" (2002), "The Lost Prince" (2003) and "State of Play" (2003). In 2003, Pippa Harris co-founded Neal Street Productions with partners Sam Mendes and Caro Newling. Since forming the company, Harris has produced several films, including "Jarhead" (2005), "Starter for 10" (2006) and "Blood" (2012). She  has executive produced "Things We Lost in the Fire" (2007), "Revolutionary Road" (2008) and "Away We Go" (2009). For television, Harris has produced "" (2007) as well as the frightening psychological thriller, "Penny Dreadful" created and written by John Logan for Showtime / Sky Atlantic. She also executively produced the critically acclaimed, BAFTA nominated Shakespeare film series, "The Hollow Crown" (2012) and "" (2016), as well as "Britannia" (2018) which was the first co-production between Sky and Amazon Prime Video in 2018, starring Kelly Reilly, David Morrissey, Zoë Wanamaker, Liana Cornell and Stanley Weber. Harris continues to executive produce the hugely successful , BAFTA- and NTA-winning "Call the Midwife" which has returned for a ninth season in 2020. She is the editor of her grandmother's correspondence with poet Rupert Brooke between 1908 and 1915. Damehood. Harris was elevated to a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2015 Dissolution Honours Lists on 27 August 2015. Board memberships. Pippa Harris is Chair of BAFTA, and sits on their board as well after having previously chaired the film committee. Since 2021, Pippa Harris has been Chair of Trustees at Charleston. She is also a governor of Central School  of Speech and Drama, and a Trustee of the Creative Society.