Will Trotter is an English television producer, known for his work as an executive producer on the BBC soap opera Doctors. He has executive produced numerous television series for the BBC, including The Afternoon Play, Land Girls, Father Brown and its spin-off series, Sister Boniface Mysteries, Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators and The Hairdresser Mysteries, amongst others.
Life and career Trotter was born in Manchester, where he attended drama school. He subsequently played in a punk bank that supported the Buzzcocks on tour. He wrote to numerous television producers but received no reply. Due to his working class background, Trotter feared he did not stand out amongst Oxbridge graduates and decided to instead write to the head of regional news in Birmingham. He was hired after spending a week shadowing the production team on BBC Midlands Today. He has recalled falling in love with a trainee vision mixer, Alex, whilst directing the show; he became distracted and forgot to push a button which switched the conclusion of national news to regional output, meaning viewers in the Midlands accidentally watched BBC South East Today.
After switching from regional news to drama and attaining various production credits, Trotter began working on the BBC daytime soap opera Doctors from its inception. He initially worked in the role of associate producer, before stepping up to a producer and eventually executive producer. He stayed in his position as executive producer on Doctors until 2015. During his tenure on the soap, he was responsible for castings including Jimmi Clay (Adrian Lewis Morgan), Daniel Granger (Matthew Chambers), Karen Hollins (Jan Pearson), Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh) and Mrs Tembe (Lorna Laidlaw), amongst others. He also oversaw storylines including the rape of character Vivien March (Anita Carey), which received numerous accolades at the British Soap Awards, as well as Ruth Pearce's (Selina Chilton) mental breakdown, which garnered acclaim from critics and mental health professionals.
Whilst working on Doctors, Trotter executive produced The Afternoon Play and Land Girls for BBC's daytime programming. In 2013, he began working on Father Brown, a period detective series that aired after episodes of Doctors. He has also executive produced for WPC 56, The Coroner, Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators and Sister Boniface Mysteries, the latter of which serves as a spin-off series to Father Brown. In 2025, alongside Oliver Kent, the former Head of Continuing Drama at BBC Studios, he co-founded Mill Bay Media, a scripted media label. Upon its inception, they announced plans to adapt broadcaster Jeremy Vine's novel Murder on Line One into a series, as well as plans for a "cosy crime" series. This was later revealed to be The Hairdresser Mysteries, which premiered in 2026. Funding for the series came from Doctors, which was cancelled in 2023; at the time of its cancellation, the BBC pledged to reinvest the funding into new drama in the Midlands.
Filmography As cast Year Title Role 1983 Coronation Street Undertaker 1985 Affairs of the Heart Ambulance Driver 2010 Decade of Doctors Self 2012 Adventurous Detectivous Officer Jonson
As crew Year Title Role 1989 Nice Work Assistant floor manager 1989 First and Last Assistant floor manager 1990 Screen One Assistant floor manager 1991 Kinsey Second assistant director 1992 Witchcraft Location manager 1994 All Quiet on the Preston Front Location manager 1995 Blood and Peaches Location manager 1995 Dangerfield Location manager 1996 Cruel Train Location manager 1997 Dangerfield First assistant director 2000 Doctors Associate producer 2000–2002 Doctors Producer 2003 Grease Monkeys Producer 2004–2015 Doctors Executive producer 2005 Brief Encounters Executive producer 2006 Banglatown Banquet Executive producer 2006 The Gil Mayo Mysteries Executive producer 2004–2007 The Afternoon Play Executive producer 2009–2011 Land Girls Executive producer 2013–2023 Father Brown Executive producer 2013–2015 WPC 56 Executive producer 2015–2016 The Coroner Executive producer 2018–2019 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Executive producer 2021 The Canterville Ghost Executive producer 2022–2023 Sister Boniface Mysteries Executive producer 2026 The Hairdresser Mysteries Executive producer
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2006 British Soap Awards Best Storyline Dr. Kendrick's suicide 2008 Nick in a wheelchair, George's guilt 2009 Vivien's rape 2010 Zara's revenge 2011 Karen's abortion 2012 A Perfect Murder 2012 Best Episode "Last Words" 2013 Best Storyline Sam's assisted suicide 2014 Jas' stalking 2018 Greatest Moment Vivien's rape
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