Acclaimed creative executive Harriet Spencer has joined Neal Street as Executive Producer in a newly created senior role, with immediate effect. Harriet will help build the company’s slate of original TV projects, bringing with her over 20 years of experience in high-end scripted content across both TV and film.
The appointment marks a significant addition to the leadership team at Neal Street, the BAFTA, Academy Award, Golden Globe and Tony-winning production company behind acclaimed titles such as 1917, Call the Midwife, The Franchise, Penny Dreadful, Informer, The Hollow Crown and The Lehman Trilogy.
Harriet joins Neal Street from House Productions, where she served as Executive Producer. There, she led some of the company’s most high-profile projects, including both series of James Graham’s Sherwood for BBC, and The Good Mothers for Disney+, which premiered at the Berlinale to international acclaim and won the Berlinale Series Award. She also served as Development Producer on Daniel Kokotajlo’s Starve Acre, which premiered at the BFI London Film Festival.
Harriet began her career at Working Title Films, where she spent over a decade. During her tenure, she worked on a slate of critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, including Baby Driver, Bridget Jones’s Baby, Mary Queen of Scots, Darkest Hour, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Les Misérables.
In her new role at Neal Street, Harriet will work closely with the senior management team to identify new voices, nurture original ideas, and continue the company’s legacy of producing compelling, globally resonant stories for the screen.
2025 is already shaping up to be a landmark year for Neal Street. The BBC and Neal Street have recently announced that production has commenced on series 15 of Call the Midwife, in co-production with PBS. A two-part Christmas Special will be followed by eight new hour-long episodes for transmission in 2026 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The award-winning series remains one of the UK’s highest rating dramas.
The world of Nonnatus House will also be expanding with a prequel TV series set in Poplar during World War Two being made for the BBC and PBS in 2026.
In addition, Neal Street, in development with BBC Films, are developing a Call the Midwife movie. This will be set overseas in 1972, and feature iconic characters from the existing TV show. Two other films, The Magic Faraway Tree and Hamnet, are currently in post-production, and a groundbreaking series of Beatles biopics - announced in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment - is set to bring the story of the world’s most iconic band to life in four distinct theatrical feature films.
On the theatre side, the company has just finished record runs of both The Lehman Trilogy in the West End and The Hills of California on Broadway. David Ireland’s The Fifth Step starring Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman has just opened in the West End, and in the summer James Graham’s Make It Happen will premiere in Dundee before transferring to Edinburgh International Festival.
“Harriet’s exceptional taste, passion for story, and track record of championing bold, original work make her an ideal addition to the team.” said Pippa Harris, Co-founder of Neal Street.
Director of Film and TV Nicolas Brown said: “With so much production across both film and tv this is an incredibly important time for our company. Having someone with Harriet’s qualities to support us throughout this busy period and beyond will help us grow our slate further and shepherd Neal Street into the future.”
Harriet said: “I’ve long admired Neal Street’s work - it’s commitment to creative excellence and its ability to tell stories that resonate both intimately and expansively. I’m incredibly excited to join the team at such a creatively rich moment.”
Harriet joins the film and TV senior creative team at Neal Street alongside Julie Pastor and Lola Oliyide contributing to the company’s development and production activity in film and television.
