Shaun Alfred Graham Sutton OBE (14 October 1919 in Hammersmith, London – 14 May 2004 in Norfolk) was an English television writer, director, producer and executive, who worked in the medium for nearly forty years from the 1950s to the 1990s. His most important role was as the Head of Drama at BBC Television from the late 1960s until 1981, a role he occupied for longer than anyone else.
I think the essential thing about Doctor Who (1963) was that... I don't mean he should be elderly but I thought he must have a huge great presence and at least be a sort of middle-aged man who could look after all problems, as it were, and I think after Tom Baker I actually myself thought that it lost some of its magic. In that way it worked with the children better and it also I thought worked with the adults as well.
2
Let dramatists call a spade a spade. But the point can usually be made without calling it a four-letter shovel.
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Fact
1
He was an old friend of the actor Jon Pertwee. When Pertwee was cast as the star of Doctor Who (1963) in 1969, Sutton famously advised him to play the part as himself, which Pertwee duly did, and became one of the most popular and longest-serving Doctors ever.
2
He was the head of BBC Television Drama from 1969-1981.
3
He was an Associate Member of RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England).
4
He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 1979 for is services to television drama.
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Merlin of the Crystal Cave
1991
TV Series producer - 6 episodes
Re:Joyce! - A Celebration of the Work of Joyce Grenfell
1991
TV Movie producer
Relatively Speaking
1990
TV Movie producer
Theatre Night
1985-1989
TV Series producer - 10 episodes
Journey's End
1988
TV Movie producer
Once in a Life Time
1988
TV Movie producer
When We Are Married
1987
TV Movie producer
The Importance of Being Earnest
1986
TV Movie producer
Season's Greetings
1986
TV Movie producer
Absurd Person Singular
1985
TV Movie producer
The Browning Version
1985
TV Movie producer
Titus Andronicus
1985
TV Movie producer
Love's Labour's Lost
1985
TV Movie producer
Much Ado About Nothing
1984
TV Movie producer
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
1984
TV Movie producer
The Life and Death of King John
1984
TV Movie producer
The Tragedy of Coriolanus
1984
TV Movie producer
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
1983
TV Movie producer
The Comedy of Errors
1983
TV Movie producer
Macbeth
1983
TV Movie producer
Richard III
1983
TV Movie producer
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
1982
TV Movie producer
The Merry Wives of Windsor
1982
TV Movie producer
Cymbeline
1982
TV Movie producer
King Lear
1982
TV Movie producer
The Last Man Out
1962
TV Series producer - 6 episodes
Bonehead
1957-1962
TV Series producer - 16 episodes
The Pocket Lancer
1961
TV Mini-Series producer - 4 episodes
The Man from the Moors
1961
TV Movie producer
Paradise Walk
1961
TV Mini-Series producer - 4 episodes
The Long Way Home
1960
TV Series producer - 7 episodes
The Three Princes
1959
TV Movie producer
The Moonstone
1959
TV Series producer - 7 episodes
The Pocket Lancer
1959
TV Mini-Series producer - 4 episodes
Cinderella
1958
TV Movie producer
Queen's Champion
1958
TV Mini-Series producer - 8 episodes
Castle Dangerous
1958
TV Movie producer
More Than Robbery
1958
TV Series producer - 6 episodes
The Silver Sword
1957-1958
TV Series producer - 7 episodes
Huntingtower
1957
TV Series producer - 6 episodes
The Smith Family
1957
TV Movie producer
The Royal Astrologers
1957
TV Movie producer
The Goose Girl
1956
TV Movie producer
The Watch Tower
1956
TV Movie producer
Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School
1956
TV Series producer - 6 episodes
Cry Wolf!
1956
TV Movie producer
The Third Figure
1956
TV Short producer
The Gordon Honour
1955-1956
TV Series producer - 13 episodes
The Man from the Moors
1955
TV Movie producer
The Laughing Lady
1955
TV Movie producer
Robinson and Co.
1955
TV Movie producer
Hurrah for Halloween
1953
TV Movie producer
In Search of Maitland
1953
TV Movie producer
Thames Tug
1953
TV Series assistant producer - 6 episodes
The Great Detective
1953
TV Series producer - 2 episodes
Seven Little Australians
1953
TV Mini-Series assistant producer - 5 episodes
The Silver Swan
1952-1953
TV Series assistant producer - 6 episodes
Huckleberry Finn
1952
TV Series assistant producer - 7 episodes
The Man in Armour
1951
TV Series producer
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
Softly Softly
1966
TV Series 4 episodes
Mogul
1965
TV Series 1 episode
Z Cars
1962-1965
TV Series 20 episodes
Sherlock Holmes
1965
TV Series 2 episodes
The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling
1964
TV Series 4 episodes
Detective
1964
TV Series 2 episodes
The Last Man Out
1962
TV Series 6 episodes
Bonehead
1957-1962
TV Series 16 episodes
The Pocket Lancer
1961
TV Mini-Series 4 episodes
Paradise Walk
1961
TV Mini-Series 4 episodes
Queen's Champion
1958
TV Mini-Series 7 episodes
More Than Robbery
1958
TV Series 6 episodes
Huntingtower
1957
TV Series
The Wonderful Horse
1955
TV Movie
The Three Princes
1954
TV Movie
The Smith Family
1954
TV Movie
Thames Tug
1953
TV Series 6 episodes
The Heir of Skipton
1953
TV Mini-Series 4 episodes
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Adventure Weekly
TV Series written by - 1 episode, 1969 writer - 1 episode, 1969