John Yorke is widely acknowledged as the UK’s foremost expert on story, and winner of numerous awards, including BAFTAs and a Golden Globe. His book Into The Woods has sold more than 250,000 copies around the globe.
As former Controller of BBC Drama Production, Head of Channel Four Drama, and MD of Company Pictures, John has shaped stories that have attracted some of the biggest audiences for drama in UK TV history, and he is responsible for some of the most lucrative and critically acclaimed shows, from Eastenders to Shameless, Life on Mars and Wolf Hall.
His bestselling book on story, Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them, is the basis for our John Yorke Story online training courses. Its follow-up Trip to the Moon: Understanding the True Power of Story was published by Penguin in 2026.
John is founder of the BBC Studios Writer’s Academy, set up to train a new generation of UK screenwriting talent, who work on some of the world’s most successful shows, including The Crown, Killing Eve, Father Brown and Doctor Who, with nominations and wins for BAFTA, RTS, Golden Globe, Emmy and Oscar Awards.
John has worked as a narrative trainer and consultant with production companies, broadcasters and streamers, while lecturing on narrative at universities and film schools across the globe. He still makes shows, currently Exec Producing for Netflix, and you can hear him weekly on his radio series Opening Lines, dissecting the stories dramatised each week on the BBC. Find out more at johnyorkestory.com
