Simon Shaps
{{Short description|British television executive and producer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{infobox person
| name= Simon Shaps
| birth_place = England
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|10 September 1956}}
| education = Magdalene College, Cambridge
| occupation = Television executive, television producer, former reporter
| employer = Thames Television, Granada Television, ITV
}}
Simon Shaps (born 10 September 1956) is a British television executive and producer, and former ITV director of television.
Early life and career
Shaps attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Elstree, Hertfordshire and studied English at Magdalene College, Cambridge.{{cite web |title=Profile: Simon Shaps, chief executive of Granada |date=8 June 2004 |website=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325125808/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/jun/08/itv.television |archive-date=25 March 2020 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/jun/08/itv.television}}
He began his career as a reporter on the Cambridge Evening News in 1979; in a speech to the Royal Television Society (RTS) he described this time as "a two-year stint in Siberia".
In 1982 he joined Thames Television as a researcher, having been turned down by the BBC for a job as a graduate trainee. As a television producer he produced Strange but True? and The One That Got Away.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
In 1997 he became director of programmes at Granada Television in Manchester. In 2001 he became Managing director of Granada content. In November 2003 he became chief executive of Granada Television.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
He became ITV director of television on 21 September 2005,{{cite web |title=Shaps' ITV recipe for success |date=21 September 2005 |website=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325125809/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/sep/21/itv.television2 |archive-date=25 March 2020 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/sep/21/itv.television2}} leaving in 2008. Under his leadership, ITV revived its programme line-up, unceremoniously dispensing with many long-running programmes.
Personal life
He is married with three children.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0788431}}
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{{Succession box|title=ITV Director of Television|before=|after=Peter Fincham|years= September 2005- February 2008}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaps, Simon}}
Category:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Category:British television executives
Category:British television producers