A longtime producer of Mike Leigh's films, Simon Channing-Williams has credits that include the acclaimed "Secrets & Lies" (1996), culled from the production company he formed with Leigh in the late 80s, Thin Man Films. Working with Leigh generally involves a process in some ways similar to producing for the legitimate stage, as the writer-director is known to develop the script with the actors through improvisations before locking it in just before production.

Channing-Williams first began working with Leigh as an assistant director on the 1980 BBC film "Grown Ups", and moved to producing with