A line producer is, in most production teams, the person between the producer and the heads of department. She is "the producer that does all the work"[1] in the sense that he or she must be in daily contact with all departments to ensure satisfactory progress is made. Line producers are usually responsible for the creation of a budget and are at least in titular charge of the payment of the below the line crew.[2] These responsibilities give the line producer added significance to all but the most senior (or above the line) personnel. Line producers are almost always required throughout both pre-production and principal photography.
Most productions — including DWU shows in the BBC Wales era — tend not to involve line producers in the affairs of post-production departments, which generally have strong and specialised post-production management.
On occasion, line producers may take greater responsibilities and actually have creative input into an episode. When this occurs — as with Patrick Schweitzer on The Vampires of Venice and Vincent and the Doctor — a line producer can be credited as a an additional producer or a co-producer.[3]
The title has rarely been used in DWU history, and was only regularly applied to Patrick Schweitzer during series 5. Otherwise, it has been used on episodes with a significant overseas crew, as happened with the British-produced TV: The Fires of Pompeii (where the line producer was Italian Guido Cerasuolo) and the American-made TV: The New World (where the line producer was Briton Debbi Slater).