John Elliot (author) explained

John Elliot
Birth Date:	4 July 1918
Birth Place:	Castle Hill, England
Death Place:	Clifton, England
Occupation:	Screenwriter and television producer.
Period:	1954–1993
Genre:	Drama, adventure, science fiction
Spouse:	Elizabeth Haynes (m. 1945)
Children:	two daughters, and one son (deceased)

John Herbert Elliot (4 July 1918  - 14 August 1997) was a British novelist, screenwriter, director, and television producer^[1] 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.^{[2] [3]} A Man from the Sun was a pioneering work aimed at a West Indian audience.^[4] 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.^[5]

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 later being credited as a writer on various episodes of the show.^[6]

His other works include programs such as Fall of Eagles and Survival, as well as novels, namely Duel and Blood Upon the Snow. He additionally worked with Fred Hoyle to produce novelisations of A For Andromeda and "The Andromeda Breakthrough".^[7]

Writing credits

Production	Notes	Broadcaster
War in the Air	15 episodes (1954–1955)	BBC1
A Man from the Sun	Television film (1956)	BBC1
Television Playwright	"High Fidelity" (1959)	BBC1
Who Pays the Piper?	Television film (1960)	BBC1
BBC Sunday-Night Play	"Off Centre" (1961)	BBC1
They Met in a City	"Ladies from a Spa" (1961)	BBC1
A for Andromeda	7 episodes (co-written with Fred Hoyle, 1961)	BBC1
The Andromeda Breakthrough	6 episodes (co-written with Fred Hoyle, 1962)	BBC1
Maigret	"Death in Mind" (1962)	BBC1
First Night	"The Youngest Profession" (1963) "Hunt the Man" (1964)	BBC1
Love Story	"The Truth Game" (1964)	ITV
Z-Cars	"A Morning's Sport" (1965)	BBC1
Mogul	20 episodes (1965–1970)	BBC1
Rainbow City	"What Sort of a Boy?" (1967) "Why You Marry?" (1967) "A Better Fortune" (1967) "Always on Sunday" (1967)	BBC1
A Stranger on the Hills	Television film (1970)	BBC1
BBC Play of the Month	"Platonov" (1971)	BBC1
Brett	"The Saxby Route" (1971)	BBC1
Play for Today	"Better Than the Movies" (1972) "The Chief Mourner" (1979)	BBC1
The Shadow of the Tower	"The White Hart" (1972)	BBC2
Shelley	Television film (1972)	BBC2
The Fox	Television film (1973)	BBC2
Fall of Eagles	Television miniseries (1974)	BBC1
The Double Dealers	"Come in Number One" (1974)	BBC2
The Madness	Television film (1976)	BBC2
According to Hoyle	Television film (1977)	BBC2
A Life at Stake	"So, Who's Sick?" (1978)	BBC
Spy!	"The Murder Machine" (1980) "The Venlo Incident" (1980)	BBC1
Escape	"Hijack to Mogadishu" (1980)	BBC2
The Brack Report	"Chapter 3" (1982) "Chapter 4" (1982) "Chapter 9" (1982)	ITV
Natural World	"Man Eaters of India" (1986)	BBC
Flying for Fun: An Affair with an Aeroplane	Television film (1987)	BBC1
A Chance to Dance	Television film (1993)	ITV
A for Andromeda	Television film (2006)	BBC

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Category	Result	Reference
1960	Society of Film and Television Arts Awards	Television	Special	Won
1971	British Academy Television Awards	The Troubleshooters	Shell International Award

Books by John Elliot

• A for Andromeda (with Fred Hoyle), 1962, Souvenir Press,
• Andromeda Breakthrough (with Fred Hoyle), 1964, Souvenir Press; 1966, Corgi Books
• MOGUL: The Making of a Myth, 1970, Barrie & Jenkins

Further reading

• MacKenzie, S. (2006), "War in the Air : Churchill, the Air Ministry and the BBC response to Victory at Sea", Contemporary British History

References

1. Web site: John Elliot. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202234933/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba0bb2503. dead. 2 February 2017.
2. Web site: The Fated Sky, War in the Air. BBC.
3. Web site: Obituary: John Elliot. Independent.co.uk. 22 August 1997.
4. Web site: BFI Screenonline: Man From The Sun, A (1956). screenonline.org.uk.
5. Web site: BFI Screenonline: A For Andromeda (1961). screenonline.org.uk.
6. Web site: BFI Screenonline: Mogul/Troubleshooters, The (1965-72). screenonline.org.uk.
7. Book: NA, NA. Writers Directory. 5 March 2016. Springer. Google Books. 9781349036509.

External links

• • Obituary: John Elliot in The Independent
• Web site: The British Entertainment History Project John Elliot . historyproject.org.uk . 19 April 2022.