John Elliot (British writer and director) Add a review

John Herbert Elliot (4 July 1918 – 14 August 1997) was a British novelist, screenwriter, director, and television producer active from 1954 to 1993. Between 1954 and 1960, he scripted a succession of one-off television plays including War in the Air and A Man from the Sun. A Man from the Sun was a pioneering work aimed at a West Indian audience. In 1961, he collaborated with astronomer Fred Hoyle to write the groundbreaking TV science fiction serial, A for Andromeda. The success of A for Andromeda prompted a sequel, The Andromeda Breakthrough, in 1962.

Following Andromeda, Elliot wrote more one-off plays for the BBC. He resigned from the corporation in 1963, though he would later work with them again, producing a concept for the 1965 drama series Mogul (renamed The Troubleshooters from the second series) and writing 29 episodes of the show. The show was a critical success, The Troubleshooters won the TV Producers Guild award in 1966. John Elliot won the Shell International Award at the 1971 BAFTAs for “the most effective contribution to the understanding of trade and industry”, and had been nominated for best scriptwriter in 1965, the show itself being nominated for best drama series that same year.

His other works include programmes such as Rainbow City, Fall of Eagles and The Double Dealers, as well as novels, namely Long River, Duel and Blood Upon the Snow. He additionally worked with Fred Hoyle to produce novelisations of A for Andromeda and The Andromeda Breakthrough.