Executive producer

You may be looking for co-executive producer, a junior, and not co-equal, title.

An executive producer is the senior above the line talent on an episode, and is in overall charge of any episode's production.

Overview

In the 1963 version of Doctor Who, executive producers were largely uncredited, because the Head of Serials (or the Head of Series and Serials) was the uncredited executive producer of not only Doctor Who, but all programmes in the department. The only exception was season 18. For that year, the incoming Head of Serials asked Barry Letts to do the job for him on Doctor Who and oversee John Nathan-Turner's first year as producer. (REF: The Fourth Doctor Handbook) Hence, for that year only, an executive producer was credited on BBC-produced Doctor Who.

Since the 1996 tele-film, executive producers have been routinely credited on all DWU episodes. There have always been multiple executive producers on each episode of Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, Class, and K9 — except for the official BBC parody, The Curse of Fatal Death.

Different executive producers have traditionally had different production emphases. Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat, for instance, have been primarily focussed on the writing, though they have had the authority to make decisions on any production matter they chose. Julie Gardner and Piers Wenger have held an executive producer credit largely because they held a senior position at BBC Wales. In this way, they weren't too different from the un-credited executive producers of the past, like Shaun Sutton.

In contrast to the classic series, they have been much more involved with the workaday production of the show. They have made direct contributions to narrative and storytelling, as well. Gardner overrode RTD and insisted that the Tenth Doctor should leave Earth for the last time from the Powell Estate, to narratively "bookend" his first appearance on Earth in The Christmas Invasion. (PCOM: The End of Time, part 2) The "BBC Wales executive producer" has also had an active role in major casting; Wenger was directly involved in choosing Matt Smith (CON: The Eleventh Doctor) and Julie Gardner negotiated for the series 4 return of Catherine Tate largely without RTD's assistance. (REF: The Writer's Tale)

Executive producers of Doctor Who by series

Season 18

• Barry Letts

Series 1

• Russell T Davies
• Julie Gardner
• Mal Young

Series 2

• Russell T Davies
• Julie Gardner

Series 3 and 4

• Russell T Davies
• Julie Gardner
• Phil Collinson

Series 5 and 6

• Steven Moffat
• Piers Wenger
• Beth Willis

Series 7

• Steven Moffat
• Caroline Skinner

2013 Specials

• Steven Moffat
• Faith Penhale
• Brian Minchin

Series 8 to 10

• Steven Moffat
• Brian Minchin

Series 11

• Chris Chibnall
• Matt Strevens
• Sam Hoyle

Series 12

• Chris Chibnall
• Matt Strevens

Executive producers of Torchwood by series

Series 1, 2, 3 Children of Earth

• Russell T Davies
• Julie Gardner

Series 4 Miracle Day

• Russell T Davies
• Julie Gardner
• Jane Tranter

Bharat Nalluri directed The New World, on which he was credited as a full executive producer.

Executive producers of The Sarah Jane Adventures by series

Series 1

• Phil Collinson
• Russell T Davies
• Julie Gardner

Series 2

• Russell T Davies
• Julie Gardner

Series 3

• Russell T Davies
• Julie Gardner
• Piers Wenger

Series 4 and 5

• Russell T Davies
• Nikki Wilson

Executive producers of Class by series

• Brian Minchin
• Steven Moffat
• Patrick Ness