The Team
Paul Abbott
Founder, Executive Producer and Writer
Paul Abbott is a multi-award-winning English television screenwriter and producer, acclaimed for his work on many popular series including Coronation Street, Cracker, Children’s Ward, Touching Evil, Linda Green and Clocking Off.
He is perhaps best known for Shameless, a hugely successful black comedy he created for Channel 4, which aired from 2004 to 2013. The show won Best Drama Series at the BAFTA TV Awards and Best TV Comedy Drama at the British Comedy Awards. Abbott was also the writer behind State of Play, a British political thriller first broadcast on BBC One in 2003.
Paul has won Royal Television Society awards for his writing work on No Offence, Instinct, Shameless and Clocking Off, as well as being recognised with countless other awards, including at the Primetime Emmy Awards, the BAFTAs and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards.
Martin Carr
Partner, Executive Producer
Martin Carr joined AbbottVision in 2012 and has played a key role in developing the business into a profitable and truly independent production company. Martin worked as Executive Producer on all three series of No Offence, winning an RTS Award for Best Drama Series and scooping a BAFTA nomination, and was Executive Producer on the team’s latest production, the Sky Max police drama Wolfe.
Martin has been working in film and TV his entire career and brings a wide range of experience gained in commercials, television, cinema, interactive, IMAX and distribution, for companies including the BBC, Formosa Films, Route One Releasing and Destiny Films. His producer credits include work on films Twenty8k and Clubbed, documentary The Human Body and TV movies Strumpet and Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise, which he worked on with acclaimed writer Jim Cartwright and renowned director Danny Boyle.
Paul Coe
Head of Production, Executive Producer
Paul Coe joined AbbottVision in 2012 and was Executive Producer on the team’s most recent production Wolfe for Sky Max. He also played a key role overseeing three series of No Offence as Executive Producer and Head of Production. Paul has been involved in film and TV for nearly 15 years, carving out a career in the industry after first working on the movie Clubbed with Formosa Films in 2007.
Paul has production experience across film, TV, commercials and music videos, with highlights including his work for stars including Take That, Mika, Stereophonics and on the BBC TV comedy series The Mighty Boosh. He produced his first short film, The Odds, in 2009, starring Mark Strong and Ian McDiarmid, and also worked as Associate Producer on Formosa Films’ 2012 movie, Twenty8k.
Henry R Swindell
Head of Development
Henry R Swindell is a highly experienced freelance producer and script editor who is currently Head of Development for AbbottVision, working across Paul Abbott’s slate of projects as well as on developments with other writers.
Henry previously worked as Script Producer on Torvill & Dean by Billy Ivory with DSP for ITV and was Script Producer on No Offence with AbbottVision for Channel 4. He has also developed high-end TV drama series and serials for all the major UK broadcasters, including AbbottVision’s latest production Wolfe for Sky Max.
Henry was formerly Senior Script Executive, BBC Northern Ireland Drama, where he worked across commissioning and development for all BBC channels. He was involved in shows including Line Of Duty, The Fall, Paula and Come Home. For many years he ran BBC Writers Room North, where he developed writers and projects for all BBC fiction departments across the UK.
Sara Langton
Business Affairs
Sara Langton is a lawyer with 40 years’ experience working in film and television production and distribution who now works as a business affairs executive. She started her career with London Weekend Television and has worked for several broadcasters including the BBC and Central TV, as well as distributors and independent production companies including September Films and Mainstream TV.
Since 1997, Sara has run her own consultancy offering contract negotiation services to small independent production companies and onscreen talent in the UK, France and the United
States. Her clients have included Objective Productions, Endemol-Shine, DLT Entertainment, Maia Pictures and Vera Productions, as well as a number of comedians and TV presenters. Sara has been part of the AbbottVision team since 2013.
