Reg Watson

Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and screenwriter and executive. Watson was executive producer on the British soap opera Crossroads and created Australian media exports serials such as Prisoner, Neighbours, The Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters. Career Watson was born on 27 August 1926, and grew up on a sugar farm in Queensland. He began his career as an actor at the age of sixteen on Australian radio firstly as an actor and then as an announcer, before moving to the UK in 1955. He was soon hired by ATV and in 1956, joined Ned Sherrin and Noele Gordon in Birmingham to establish the base of ATV Midlands where his job was as head of Light Entertainment. In this role, he created many programmes for the station with his first big hit being the live daily chat show, Lunchbox. It ran from 1956 to 1964 to over 3,000 editions with its presenter, Noele Gordon, becoming a regional celebrity. In 1958, Watson submitted a proposal to ATV for a new Midlands based soap opera; however, it was not until 1964 that Lew Grade, head of the company, granted approval for a series. Initially called The Midland Road, the project was renamed Crossroads by Watson just before its run began. Created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, it achieved audiences of 18 million.