Liverpudlian Phil Redmond is the creator of the ground-breaking children's TV drama Grange Hill, which began on the BBC in 1978, and Channel 4's Brookside.

Born in 1949, Redmond is proud of his comprehensive schooling and trained as a quantity surveyor, but gave this up to concentrate on forging a TV career.

He later returned to education, attending Liverpool University as a mature student, taking a degree in social studies.

In 1982, he set up Mersey Television and began producing Brookside. The soap was one of the first programmes seen on Channel 4.

In 1995, Redmond launched a youth soap, Channel 4's Hollyoaks. The show has gone from twice weekly to five nights a week.
In 1996, Redmond was elected as Fellow of Royal Society of Arts and the following year he was appointed vice chair of the newly created North West Film Commission and became a patron of the commission two years later.

His Mersey Television boasts of being one of the biggest employers in the independent production company sector, with 300 permanent staff and 150 freelancers.

Causes close to his heart are The Samaritans, the Liverpool Bone Marrow Trust and drug awareness.