# John Elliot (author)

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