Harris worked on the BBC play Cathy Come Home in 1966. The play was produced by Tony Garnett, who Harris has described as her mentor. She later moved to America where she worked on the soap opera General Hospital and the successful action series The A-Team. Following this, Harris moved to channel five to become the Series Producer of its flagship soap opera Family Affairs, taking over from co-creator and her former EastEnders boss, Corinne Hollingworth. She has also worked as an assistant director on various programmes including the police dramas Mersey Beat (2001) and Beech is Back (2001).