Jon Plowman has been executive producer responsible for sitcoms at the BBC since 1994. He is responsible for commissioning programmes produced internally, of which the greatest successes include The Office and French and Saunders. He was educated in Welwyn Garden City and at Oxford University, where he made friends with others who went on to establish successful careers in comedy. One, MelSmith, directed Plowman in a production of Hamlet. After Oxford, Plowman followed Smith to the RoyalCourt Theatre, where he met the director LindsayAnderson. Plowman worked in theatre for a while, then joined Granada TV. In December 2003, TheObserver named him in its list of the 50 funniest or most influential people in BritishComedy.