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Posted: Sun., Oct. 22, 2006, 5:00am PT

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When she handed over the reins as head of U.K. development to Natascha Wharton in June 2005, it seemed as though Hayward was scaling back her commitments at Working Title to spend more time with her family.

But today, having served as exec producer of such flagship projects as "Atonement," "The Golden Age" and "Catch a Fire," this down-to-earth Liverpudlian and mother of four is busier than ever with her own slate of projects for WT.

"I think we've got an incredibly strong slate, possibly the strongest we've ever had, for the next two years," Hayward says. Her pet upcoming projects include an adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The Twits," Stephen Daldry's "Everest" and Emma Thompson's sequel to "Nanny McPhee."

Age: 41

Home: Hampstead

Fave Working Title movie: "Pride & Prejudice"

Downtime: "Knitting and going to the cinema."

Least favorite thing about the biz: "Test screenings."