Creative Team
Stephen Garrett
Carly Conway
Diana Aurisch
Diana took a circuitous route into TV production, having previously studied politics in the US and Germany and worked as a translator and researcher in journalism and academia.
Prior to joining Character 7, she worked for the News & Current Affairs commissioning team at Channel 4. She holds an MA in Text & Performance from RADA and Birkbeck University and brings 15 years of experience in theatre and screen performance and production to her current role.
Carly Conway oversees and nurtures Character 7’s eclectic and ambitious slate for the UK, US, and European markets.
Prior to joining Character 7, Carly was Head of Development for Acme Films, where she worked across a truly diverse drama slate and with a broad host of writing talent. Following Acme’s success with award-winning Channel 4 series, RUN, Carly was responsible for spearheading Studio4, an initiative with Channel 4 and Creative Skillset, to nurture and develop writers from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds, consequently securing a number of script commissions with the broadcaster. During her time at Acme, Carly also developed and was Executive Producer on BBC Films/BFI award-winning short film, CLA’AM by Nathaniel Martello-White.
Carly began her career with Wall to Wall TV in 2005, as Assistant Script Editor on prime-time BBC1 drama, NEW TRICKS. From there, she moved to Tony Jordan’s Red Planet Pictures as Development Executive, bringing new writing talent and projects to the company slate. Production called again and Carly took up the post as Script Editor on continuing drama series, CASUALTY.
Following this, in 2010, Carly had the opportunity to develop and run the writers' room on brand-new drama series THE SPARTICLE MYSTERY as Script Executive with showrunner Alison Hume, producer Stephen Smallwood and director Jon East for CBBC. The same year, Carly was named a Broadcast Hot Shot.
More recently Carly worked across new Character 7 series for Disney+, CULPRITS, alongside Stephen Garrett, in the role of Co-Executive Producer.
Stephen Garrett, founder and Executive Chairman of Character 7, has a long and distinguished track record for making award-winning, high-end dramas that resonate with audiences around the globe.
Character 7’s first venture, THE NIGHT MANAGER, was produced in association with The Ink Factory for AMC and the BBC. The series garnered rave reviews and audience responses, receiving 12 Emmy® nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series, and winning an Emmy® award for director Susanne Bier. In addition, the HFPA honoured Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman and Hugh Laurie, who won Golden Globes® for their performances in the series. Season 2 is currently in production for Amazon and the BBC, with Tom Hiddleston returning in the role of Jonathan Pine.
Garrett and Character 7 have followed the success of THE NIGHT MANAGER with three high-profile series: THE ROOK, a supernatural spy series, in partnership with Lionsgate and Starz, and HBO’s series, THE UNDOING, which reunited Garrett with Bier, who directed the thriller. It was written by David E. Kelly and starred Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland. THE UNDOING launched late in 2020 and became the most viewed show for the network in that year. It was also the first HBO show to grow its viewership every week over the course of the season. THE UNDOING then became the biggest U.S. show to launch on Sky in the UK, beating the record previously held by GAME OF THRONES.
For his most recent project, Garrett and Character 7 produced CULPRITS for Disney+. Written and directed by film-maker J Blakeson, and starring Gemma Arterton, Eddie Izzard, and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, the eight-part thriller was named one of the best British TV series of 2023 by the BFI. CULPRITS follows what happens three years after a heist, when the crew have gone their separate ways but suddenly find themselves being targeted by a killer who’s going after them one by one. “An exciting, fast-paced watch that puts it at the top of its genre,” said The Guardian. CULPRITS will launch on ITVX in the UK in late 2024.
Prior to Character 7, Garrett was founder and Executive Chairman of Kudos, the UK’s leading independent producer of TV drama for much of the “noughties.”. With his business partner Jane Featherstone, Kudos’ TV drama arm galvanized British television with such popular and acclaimed series as HUSTLE, LIFE ON MARS, and the BAFTA® award-winning SPOOKS. Garrett also led Kudos’ (then Shine’s) stand-alone filmmaking entity. Under this banner he was executive producer for a number of movies, including the Simon Beaufoy-penned SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, and MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY, starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams.
Garrett and Featherstone sold Kudos to Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine Group in 2006.
Outside of production, Garrett and Character 7 sponsor the Verity Bargate Award for new writing at London’s Soho Theatre. Now in its forty-second year, the competition has launched the careers of some of Britain’s best-known playwrights and screenwriters. The most recent winner, “Boys on the Verge of Tears” by Sam Grabiner, won over both audiences and critics, with The Times praising “Grabiner’s depiction of the bumpy journey from boys to men” as “a prime piece of entertainment and an impressive calling card from a new young talent.” Garrett is also on the Board of Scenario Two, a theatre company whose new work about the life and music of Luciano Pavarotti will premiere in 2025.
Garrett has written about film and television for a range of publications including The Financial Times, The Guardian, and The Independent. In 2010, he was the News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media at Oxford University, giving a series of lectures about the intersection of creativity and commerce, and the future of storytelling.
Stephen Garrett
Stephen Garrett, founder and executive chairman of Character 7, has a track record of making high-end dramas that resonate with the expanding global audience.
Character 7’s first venture, THE NIGHT MANAGER, was produced in association with The Ink Factory for AMC and the BBC. The limited series garnered rave reviews and audience responses, receiving 12 Emmy® nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series, and winning 2 Emmy® awards for director Susanne Bier and composer Victor Reyes. In addition, the HFPA honoured Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman and Hugh Laurie, who won Golden Globes® for their performances in the series.
Garrett and Character 7 have followed the success of THE NIGHT MANAGER with two current high-profile series. THE UNDOING for HBO reunited Garrett with Bier, who directed the series. It was written by David E. Kelly and stars Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland. THE UNDOING launched late in 2020 and became the most viewed show for the network in that year. It was also the first HBO show to grow its viewership every week over the course of the season.
THE UNDOING then became the biggest U.S. show to launch on Sky in the UK, beating the record previously held by GAME OF THRONES. THE ROOK, created in partnership with Lionsgate and Starz, is a supernatural spy series adapted by Sam Holcroft and Al Blyth and starring Adrian Lester, Olivia Munn, and Joely Richardson.
Soon to launch is CULPRITS, a new eight-part thriller for Disney+, written and directed by J Blakeson. Starring Gemma Arterton, Eddie Izzard, and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, CULPRITS follows what happens three years after a heist, when the crew have gone their separate ways but suddenly find themselves being targeted by a killer who’s going after them one by one.
Prior to Character 7, Garrett served as Founder and Executive Chairman of Kudos, the UK’s leading independent producer of TV drama. With his business partner Jane Featherstone, Kudos’ TV drama arm galvanized British television with such popular and acclaimed series as HUSTLE, LIFE ON MARS and the BAFTA® award-winning SPOOKS. Garrett also led Kudos’ (then Shine’s) stand-alone filmmaking entity. Under this banner he was executive producer for a number of movies including the Simon Beaufoy-penned SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES and MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY, starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. Garrett and Featherstone sold Kudos to Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine Group in 2006.
Outside of production, Character 7 sponsors the Verity Bargate Award for new writing at London’s Soho Theatre. Now in its fortieth year, the competition has launched the careers of some of Britain’s best-known playwrights and screenwriters. Garrett is also on the Board of Scenario Two, a theatre company whose new work about the life and music of Luciano Pavarotti will premiere in 2023.
Garrett has written about film and television for a range of publications including The Financial Times, The Guardian and The Independent. In 2010, he was the News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media at Oxford University, giving a series of lectures about the intersection of creativity and commerce, and the future of storytelling.
Prior to his career in production, Garrett studied jurisprudence at Oxford and counts his first break as a 6-year-old extra in a Milky Bar Kid commercial.
Carly Conway oversees and nurtures Character 7’s eclectic and ambitious slate for the UK, US, and European markets.
Prior to joining Character 7, Carly was Head of Development for Acme Films, where she worked across a truly diverse drama slate and with a broad host of writing talent. Following Acme’s success with award-winning Channel 4 series, RUN, Carly was responsible for spearheading Studio4, an initiative with Channel 4 and Creative Skillset, to nurture and develop writers from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds, consequently securing a number of script commissions with the broadcaster. During her time at Acme, Carly also developed and was Executive Producer on BBC Films/BFI award-winning short film, CLA’AM by Nathaniel Martello-White.
Carly began her career with Wall to Wall TV in 2005, as Assistant Script Editor on prime-time BBC1 drama, NEW TRICKS. From there, she moved to Tony Jordan’s Red Planet Pictures as Development Executive, bringing new writing talent and projects to the company slate. Production called again and Carly took up the post as Script Editor on continuing drama series, CASUALTY.
Following this, in 2010, Carly had the opportunity to develop and run the writers' room on brand-new drama series THE SPARTICLE MYSTERY as Script Executive with showrunner Alison Hume, producer Stephen Smallwood and director Jon East for CBBC. The same year, Carly was named a Broadcast Hot Shot.
More recently Carly worked across new Character 7 series for Disney+, CULPRITS, alongside Stephen Garrett, in the role of Co-Executive Producer.
Carly Conway
Diana took a circuitous route into TV production, having previously studied politics in the US and Germany and worked as a translator and researcher in journalism and academia.
Prior to joining Character 7, she worked for the News & Current Affairs commissioning team at Channel 4. She holds an MA in Text & Performance from RADA and Birkbeck University and brings 15 years of experience in theatre and screen performance and production to her current role.
Diana Aurisch
