NED SHERRIN Ned Sherrin (a farmer's son) was educated at Sexeys, Bruton, Exeter College, Oxford and Gray's Inn. He was called as a barrister in 1955, but joined A.T.V. immediately after as a producer in London and Birmingham. Two years later he moved to London to the BBC and directed the 'Tonight' programme, and directed and produced a range of variety shows, panel games and musicals. In 1962 he devised, produced and directed the original 'That Was The Week That Was' programme and it's successors 'Not So Much A Programme More A Way Of Life' and BBC3 and a series of musical specials. He holds three BAFTA awards. Leaving the BBC in 1966, he produced ten motion pictures in the next few years including 'The Virgin Soldiers', 'The National Health', 'Girl Stoke Boy', 'Every Home Should Have One' and the 'Up' series. As an author Ned Sherrin has a long collaboration with Caryl Brahms which produced many songs, three novels, two collections of short stories, a number of radio and television plays, five plays for the theatre, most notably 'Beecham' starring Timothy West and six musicals, 'I Gotta Shoe', 'Sing A Rude Song'', 'Liberty Ranch', 'Nicholas Nickleby and Me' and 'The Mitford Girls', which transferred from the Chichester Festival Theatre to the West End's Globe theatre. He has directed five musicals, including 'Side by Side by Sondheim' in which he also starred in the West End and on Broadway - for which he won a Tony Award nomination. He produced a Noel Coward compilation at the Goodspeed Opera Chichester Festival Theatre in the same year. 'The Ratepayer's Iolanthe' was presented at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and later at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End in 1984, for which Ned won an Olivier Award for Directing. 'The Ratepayer's Iolanthe' was in collaboration with Alistair Beaton, as was 'The Metropolitan Mikado' at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (1985). 'The Sloan Ranger Revue' was devised and directed by Ned and presented at the Duchess Theatre. He has appeared frequently on television and radio. His own series 'We Interrupt This Week' was a hit on PBS Television in America in 1978 and 'Song by Song' was broadcast in Yorkshire Television in England and by PBS network in America. He hosted many radio and television conversation shows, notably:- ‘Friday Night, Saturday Morning’ ‘Midweek’ ‘Medium Dry Sherrin’ ‘And So To Ned’ ‘Countdown’ ( a type of musical Mastermind) Presenter of a weekly Radio 4 programme - "Loose Ends" which won the award for Outstanding Radio programme on BBC Radio 4 in 1986 from the Broadcasting Press Guild Radio Awards. In the book world his autobiography - "A Small Thing Like An Earthquake" was published by Weindenfeld and Nicholson in the Spring of 1983. 'Song by Song' (with Carul Brahms), 'cutting Edge' (J M Dent), 'Anthology of Wit' (1984) and 'In 1956 and All That' (Neil Shand) (Michael Joseph - 1984). Ned has edited Caryl Brahms memoirs which were published in 1986. His most recent publication is 'Loose Neds'. In 1991 he published 'Ned Sherrin's Theatrical Anecdotes' and in 1993 'Ned Sherrin in his Anecdotage'. for the Oxford University Press, he has edited their 'Dictionary of Humorous Quotations' 1995. Sinclair Stevenson will publish his novel 'Scratch an Actor' and Virgin will publish his diary 'It Was A Very Good Year' in the Autumn of 1996. In 1986 Ned returned to the theatrical world as Director of a new play by Keith Waterhouse, "Mr & Mrs Nobody" starring Judi Dench and Michael Williams, which won critical and box office success during 1987. Theatrical success continued in the West End with Victor Spinetti's one man show, "Thoughts from a Very Private Diary". This show also enjoyed a very successful tour of Australia. 1989 saw Ned as a regular Saturday columnist for the Times and as an Associate Director on "Ten Glorious Years" a tribute to Margaret Thatcher. Theatrical success continued with the one-man show, Thoughts Form A Very Private Diary. This show also enjoyed a very successful tour of Australia and opened in New York in 1992 with great success. In 1991 Ned Sherrin won the Benedictine "After Dinner Speaker of the Year" award. He also directed Dennis Waterman in a revival of 'Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell' in Australia and on tour in England and Dublin. In 1994 he directed Stephanie Cole in Kay Mellor's comedy success 'A Passionate Women' at the Comedy Theatre which subsequently toured the UK in 1995 and toured again in 1996. 'Salad Days' directed by Ned also toured the UK in 1995 and opened in the West End in April 1996. Ned directed three more plays by Keith Waterhouse -"Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell" starring Peter O’Toole which opened in the West End and broke all box office records for all the Apollo theatre. 'Bookends' starring Sir Michael Horden and Dinsdale Landen also enjoyed a run at the Apollo Threatre and a third play starring O'Toole and Tara Fitzgerald, 'Our Song' also at the Apollo. During 1997 he toured with his one man show "An Evening with Ned Sherrin - Theatrical Anecdotes", "Salad Days" and "A Passionate Women". Ned was awarded a CBE in the 1997 New Year's honours list.   [ back ]