Biography of Ned Sherrin

New Sherrin, who died of throat cancer, was born in Low Ham in Somerset, the son of a farmer, and went to Oxford to take a law degree where he became involved in theatre and revue. In 1955 he was called to the Bar but at about the same time was offered a job as a producer with Associated Television, just as ITV was starting up. Two years later he moved to the BBC where he directed the Tonight programme and in 1962 he started the very influential satirical show That Was The Week That Was (TW3) which was the first ever programme on British television to treat politians with anything other than reverence and respect. Whilst his career as a broadcaster. both on TV and radio, continued, he also turned his attention to the stage, writing, producing and directing. Often working with Caryl Brahms, he wrote five plays and six musicals, including The Mitford Girls, which transferred from Chichester to the West End's Globe theatre. He directed five musicals, including Side by Side by Sondheim in which he also starred in the West End and on Broadway and for which he won a Tony Award nomination. In film he produced The Virgin Soldiers, The National Health, Girl Stoke Boy, Every Home Should Have One and the Up Pompeii and in theatre he directed Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell with Peter O'Toole. He was much in demand as an after-dinner speaker, winning the the Benedictine After Dinner Speaker of the Yearaward in 1991. He was made a CBE in 1997.
- The British Theatre Guide