Harwood moved from the Royal Court to spend over 15 years working at the BBC, including as Script Editor and Script Executive, before becoming an executive producer in the BBC Drama Serials department. As a producer, she has worked on dramas including
The Beggar Bride,
Close Relations,
The Echo,
David Copperfield,
Man and Boy and
BAFTA winner
Charles II: The Power and the Passion (released in the US under the title
The Last King: the Power and the Passion of Charles II, in a heavily edited version on the
A&E cable network). In her role as executive producer in BBC drama serials, she was responsible for programs including
Crime and Punishment,
Daniel Deronda,
The Lost World, and
Final Demand. Harwood was appointed the executive producer of
EastEnders in February 2005, a position she retained until October 2006, when she was succeeded by
Diederick Santer. As well as being responsible for the introduction of several new families, such as the Brannings and the Foxes, she introduced such characters as
Sean Slater and
May Wright, as well as the departures of many popular characters such as
Sharon Watts and
Dennis Rickman,
Chrissie Watts,
Kat Moon and
Alfie Moon,
Sam Mitchell,
Nana Moon,
Jake Moon,
Little Mo Mitchell,
Johnny Allen and
Pauline Fowler and oversaw numerous high-profile storylines, such as
Pauline Fowler's murder; Billy and Honey's wedding and daughter being born with
Down syndrome; and the domestic abuse storyline between
Denise Fox and
Owen Turner as well as the discovery of
Den Watts' body under the Queen Vic. She was also responsible for such ratings-winners as
Dennis Rickman's stabbing and the critically acclaimed return of the Mitchell brothers, which drew respective audiences of 12 and 13 million viewers. Other storylines, however, such as a brief lesbian affair between Sonia and Naomi, "
Get Johnny Week", and the handling of
Pauline Fowler's departure were not as well received, and prompted further media criticism; in July 2006,
EastEnders fell to just 3.9 million viewers (although this was very-much a circumstantial, one-off figure and not at-all representative of how episodes that did not clash with
Emmerdale rated), its then-lowest-ever viewing figure. Her final episode aired on 4 January 2007. In December 2012, Harwood took the position of BBC Head of Drama, replacing
John Yorke. In March 2014, it was announced that Harwood was to leave the BBC to take up a position as managing director of
Euston Films, previously a successful producer of British television drama from the 1970s to the early 1990s, then being revived as a company by owners
Fremantle Media. ==Family==