John Yorke

Consultant / Course Director , Narrative expert

John Yorke is one of the world’s leading experts in narrative.

He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and his book, Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them, is the bestselling book on narrative in the UK and Europe.

John is the winner of numerous awards, including BAFTAs and a Golden Globe. As former Controller of BBC Drama Production, Head of Channel4 Drama and MD of Company Pictures, John has written and produced some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama, from EastEnders to Shameless, Life on Mars to Wolf Hall.

He is founder of the BBC Studios Writers’ Academy – which he set up to train new screenwriting talent in the UK in 2005, and which has produced a generation of successful screenwriters – with nominations and wins for BAFTA, RTS, Golden Globe, Emmy and Oscar Awards for shows from Killing Eve to Man In the High Castle, The Crown to Doctor Who, Father Brown to Sweetpea.

Alum have received more than 70 greenlights and 80 percent are still working in the industry 20 years after the inception of the Academy.

You can hear him weekly on BBC Radio 4 in his series Opening Lines, dissecting the stories dramatised each week on the BBC Classic Serial.

John’s approach to story

As outlined in Into the Woods, John’s premise is that a universal structure underpins all successful stories, whatever their genre, format or content. Once we recognise why all narratives share a common act structure, we become able to tell any story – and communicate any message – more successfully.

Into the Woods appears on the reading list of every university writing course in the UK and is a highly regarded read among TV, film, radio and podcast, video games, publishing and advertising professionals.

Speaker and consultant

John’s a keynote speaker, appearing at conferences and symposiums around the world including VAF Story Conference, Game Developers Conference, London Screenwriters’ Festival, and the ScreenCraft Writers Summit.

He works as a story consultant for organisations including Ogilvy, The European Speechwriters Network, The Market Research Society, Verizon, Freemantle Media and the BBC.

Throughout 2023, John is hosting the BBC Radio 4 series Opening Lines and unpacking popular stories.

Listen to John’s Spotify playlist

Angel Station

As Managing Director of Angel Station, John works as a drama producer, consultant and lecturer on all forms of storytelling.

Award-winning Irish soap opera Red Rock, co-produced by Angel Station and Element Pictures, launched on TV3 in January 2015 to critical acclaim. The series was sold to Amazon Prime, after being broadcast daily on BBC Daytime from 2016.

To contact John about Angel Station, please email: [email protected].

Working with John

What people say

Martin Lee

Acacia Avenue

“John is one of those rare speakers who has deep expertise but wears it lightly. He held our audience spellbound with great insight and superb examples, delivered with a mixture of intelligence and humour that was exactly what our event needed.”

Sandra Hebron

Head of Screen Arts, National Film & Television School

“Story lies at the heart of everything we do at the NFTS. John’s witty, wide ranging and informative talks, tailored to our students’ needs, are unmissable events in our Screen Arts calendar.”

Steve Gerry

Secretary, Plymouth Manufacturers' Group

“I knew when I saw John’s slides the night before that we were in for a treat and he didn’t disappoint. It was a fascinating insight into the way in which storytelling applies to the business world.”

Amy Flanagan

Deputy Head of Documentaries, Channel 4

“John ran a session for the Channel4 Cutting Edge Directors’ scheme. It was fascinating, and he used an extraordinarily broad range of cultural references in a brilliantly accessible way. We would jump at the chance of working with him again.”