Watson was executive producer on the British soap opera Crossroads and created Australian media exports serials such as Prisoner, Neighbours, The Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters.
In 1958, Watson submitted a proposal to ATV for a new Midlands based soap opera; however, it was not until 1964 that Lew Grade, head of the company, granted approval for a series.
Thanks to his popular British soap, he was able to create many more series in Australia including Until Tomorrow (1975), The Young Doctors (1976), The Restless Years (1977), Prisoner (1979), Taurus Rising (1982), Sons and Daughters (1982), Waterloo Station (1983), Starting Out (1983), Possession (1985), and Richmond Hill (1988).
The show ended in July 2022 after 37 years but, four months later, it was announced that Neighbours was to return on FreeVee and the first episode of the new series aired in September 2023.
On 26 January 2010, Watson was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the media as a pioneer in the creation and production of serial television drama.