Wayne Garvie (born 9 September 1963) is an English television industry executive, working as President, International Production at Sony Pictures Television since 2017.
Garvie was born in Plymouth, Devon, where his father was a Royal Marine and his mother a shopworker. The family moved to Suffolk and he attended a private school Woodbridge School, Suffolk, England (then a grammar school). He holds a first class honours degree and Honorary DLitt from the University of Kent and is both a Ph.D. in Economic History and Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Sheffield.
Garvie joined Granada Television in Manchester in 1988 as a sports researcher. He spent ten years at Granada as a producer on various entertainment shows such as This Morning, The Krypton Factor and Live from the Lilydrome, before becoming Director of Broadcasting in 1996, with responsibility for what was then the ITV broadcaster for the North West of England.
In 1998 he moved to the BBC, first as Head of Entertainment & Features Manchester, before taking overall responsibility for all the television and radio output from Manchester and well as the BBCâÂÂs television music shows. This period saw the launch of archive based pop culture strands such as I Love the âÂÂ70s, Whenâ¦Ruled the World, as well as the revamp of traditional favourites such as A Question of Sport and Top of the Pops. He became an advocate for greater BBC representation in the North West which eventually led to the creation of MediaCityUK in Salford. He also oversaw the Music production arm of Entertainment for the BBC. In 2002, he was promoted to Head of Entertainment Group for the BBC, overseeing the CorporationâÂÂs inhouse production teams.
Garvie is credited with changing the culture of the department and the birth of a new era of programmes at the BBC. Among the shows his team brought to the screen were Strictly Come Dancing, Honey, WeâÂÂre Killing the Kids, Hard Spell and Dragons' Den, which he predicted would become a major hit: âÂÂIt is symbolic of everything we are trying to doâÂÂ.
The announcement of Strictly Come Dancing was not met with great enthusiasm, with commentators mocking its launch and claiming it would only irritate broadcasting watchdogs who had criticised the BBC for derivative entertainment. GarvieâÂÂs comment at the launch: âÂÂWhat could be more public service than inviting the nation to enjoy the thrills and spills of ballroom dancing?â was mocked in the press. The show went on to become not only a hit in the UK, but around the world, licensed to 60 countries, with The Guinness Book of Records declaring it the worldâÂÂs most successful reality format.
At first, BBC Worldwide failed to sell the format in the US, but Garvie took his team to sell directly which led to ABC commissioning Dancing with the Stars. This was the first time the BBC had produced a show in the US for American network television and led to the creation of the first BBC production unit outside of the UK. From there Garvie left the BBCâÂÂs public service arm to join BBC Worldwide in a newly created role of Managing Director Content and Production.
At BBC Worldwide, Garvie took responsibility for growing brands such as Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear and Doctor Who internationally. He also initiated new strategies of starting BBC production companies around the world and investing in new start up British independents. The first of these was Left Bank Pictures led by former Granada executive Andy Harries, followed by Big Talk, Clerkenwell and Baby Cow.
In 2010 Garvie left BBC Worldwide to join All3Media as Managing Director International Production. He left within two years to join Sony Pictures Television as Chief Creative Officer for International Production, working to Andrea Wong who had commissioned Dancing with the Stars for ABC. In 2017, following WongâÂÂs departure, he was promoted to President, International Production.
As President he now oversees SPTâÂÂs global network of production companies outside the US, covering Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.
In the UK, Sony is the majority owner of Left Bank Pictures â producers of The Crown, Quiz and Strike Back. In 2020, Garvie led the acquisition of Eleven, producers of Sex Education, and led an investment in Whisper Group. Sony also has a number of minority investments in drama companies such as Fable Pictures â Anne Boleyn â Blueprint Pictures â A Very English Scandal, and Stolen Picture â Truth Seekers. Garvie also greenlit a television series based around Anthony HorowitzâÂÂs Alex Rider books, the first time the studio had produced a series in the UK without a commission from producers Eleventh Hour Films.
In 2018 Garvie approached Jeremy Clarkson to present a return of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, although the host later said âÂÂI wasnâÂÂt really listening, I never thought it would actually happenâÂÂ. The show has since become a staple of the ITV schedule and led to a round of further reboots of the format around the world.
Garvie is married to Tess Willmott, MD of lifestyle communications agency Sauce, and has two daughter from a previous marriage. He also two step-children, one son and one daughter.