John Elliot (author)

John Elliot
Born	(1918-07-04)4 July 1918 Castle Hill, England
Died	14 August 1997(1997-08-14) (aged 79) 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 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 later being credited as a writer on various episodes of the show.

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".

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	Won

Books by John Elliot

• A for Andromeda (with Fred Hoyle), 1962, Souvenir Press, ISBN 978-0-285-63588-3
• 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

External links

• John Elliot at IMDb
• Obituary: John Elliot in The Independent
• "The British Entertainment History Project | John Elliot |". historyproject.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.