# Sydney Lotterby

Sydney Warren Lotterby, OBE (30 November 1926 – 28 July 2020) was a British television producer and director who produced numerous BBC comedy series.

## Life and career

Lotterby was born in Paddington, London, to Winifred (née Warren) and Sidney Lotterby, a shop fitter, and grew up in Edgware, Middlesex. In 1941, on leaving Stag Lane school aged 14, he joined the BBC as a storekeeper in the electrical department at Broadcasting House, then worked in the sound control room at BBC Radio until his national service in the British Army from 1946 until 1948. After national service he returned to the BBC and became a cameraman and progressed to becoming technical manager. He joined the BBC's Entertainment Department in 1958 and in 1963, became a producer/director.
Lotterby married Marcia Dos Santos in 1997. He died at his home in Chiswick on 28 July 2020, at the age of 93.

## Production and direction

Television comedy series which he produced or directed included: As Time Goes By, May to December, Last of the Summer Wine, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, Ever Decreasing Circles, Brush Strokes, Open All Hours, The Old Boy Network, Butterflies, Ripping Yarns, Porridge, Going Straight, Broaden Your Mind, the final series of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, The Liver Birds, Up Pompeii! and Sykes and A....
A sketch in At Last The 1948 Show in which four exactly alike men all called Sydney Lotterby ("The Four Sydney Lotterbies") was written by John Cleese, because he liked the name. The men were played by Cleese, Marty Feldman, Tim Brooke-Taylor, and Graham Chapman. Cleese also gave the name to the character played by Robert Lindsay in Fierce Creatures (1997).

## Awards

Lotterby won four BAFTA awards for comedy, including for Porridge (and also for a special in 1975), Going Straight (1978) and Yes Minister (1980). He was also nominated for 11 more. In 1994, Lotterby was appointed OBE.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Credit | Credit | Notes |
| Year | Title | Producer | Director | Notes |
| 1960 | Charlie Drake | | 2 episodes | Series 4 |
| 1961 | Does the Team Think? | | 1 episode | Series 1 |
| 1961 | What's My Line? | | 2 episodes | Series 11 |
| 1962 | Steptoe and Son | | | Production assistant (unknown episodes) |
| 1962 | Twist! | 4 episodes | 6 episodes | Series 1 |
| 1962–64 | Sykes and a... | 15 episodes | 19 episodes | Series 5–7 |
| 1962 | A Christmas Night with the Stars | | | Segment director; TV special |
| 1963–74 | Comedy Playhouse | 4 episodes | 1 episode | Series 3, 8, 10 & 14 |
| 1964 | The Graham Stark Show | 7 episodes | | Series 1 |
| 1965 | The Likely Lads | | | Associate producer; Series 1 (2 episodes) |
| 1966 | On the Margin | | 6 episodes | Series 1 |
| 1967–68 | Dee Time | 6 episodes | 28 episodes | Series 1–3 |
| 1967 | Three of a Kind | 5 episodes | | Series 2 |
| 1968 | BBC Show of the Week | 1 episode | | |
| 1968 | Kindly Leave the Stage | 7 episodes | | Series 1 |
| 1968–69 | Broaden Your Mind | 13 episodes | | Series 1 |
| 1969–75 | The Liver Birds | 45 episodes | 22 episodes | Pilot & Series 1–5 (uncredited director) |
| 1969 | The Gnomes of Dulwich | 5 episodes | | Series 1 |
| 1969 | Harry Worth | 2 episodes | | Series 4 |
| 1970 | Up Pompeii! | 6 episodes | | Series 2 |
| 1971 | Me Mammy | 7 episodes | | Series 3 |
| 1971 | Now Take My Wife | 7 episodes | | Series 1 |
| 1972 | Grubstreet | | 1 episode | Pilot |
| 1972 | A Christmas Night with the Stars | 1 episode | | TV special: segment: "The Liver Birds" |
| 1973 | The World of Cilla | 1 episode | | TV special |
| 1973-78 | Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em | 7 episodes | 9 episodes | Series 1 & 3 (uncredited director) |
| 1973 | 7 of 1 | 4 episodes | 3 episodes | Series 1 |
| 1974–77 | Porridge | 20 episodes | 20 episodes | Series 1–3 (uncredited director) |
| 1974 | The Last Turkey in the Shop Show | | | TV movie short |
| 1976–85 | Open All Hours | 25 episodes | 25 episodes | Series 1–4 |
| 1976–83 | Last of the Summer Wine | 31 episodes | 26 episodes | Series 3–7 |
| 1978 | Going Straight | 6 episodes | 6 episodes | Series 1 (uncredited director) |
| 1979 | Ripping Yarns | | | Executive producer; Series 2 (2 episodes) |
| 1980 | Yes Minister | 6 episodes | 6 episodes | Series 1 (uncredited director) |
| 1980–83 | Butterflies | 14 episodes | 6 episodes | Series 3 & 4 |
| 1981 | Coming Home | 6 episodes | | Series 1 |
| 1981–83 | The Last Song | 13 episodes | 13 episodes | Series 1 & 2 |
| 1984 | The Magnificent Evans | 6 episodes | 6 episodes | Series 1 |
| 1984 | Ever Decreasing Circles | 13 episodes | 13 episodes | Series 1 & 2 |
| 1986–88 | Yes, Prime Minister | 16 episodes | 16 episodes | Series 1 & 2 |
| 1986 | Brush Strokes | 13 episodes | | Series 1 |
| 1987–89 | Foreign Bodies | 18 episodes | 17 episodes | Series 1–3 |
| 1988 | A Gentleman's Club | 6 episodes | 6 episodes | Series 1 |
| 1989–90 | May to December | 13 episodes | 13 episodes | Series 1 & 2 |
| 1990 | One Foot in the Grave | | | Studio director; Series 2 (1 episode) |
| 1991 | Tonight at 8.30 | | 1 episode | Series 1 |
| 1992–2005 | As Time Goes By | 67 episodes | 67 episodes | Series 1–9 & specials |
| 1992 | The Old Boy Network | 7 episodes | 7 episodes | Series 1 |
| 1997 | Bloomin' Marvellous | 8 episodes | — | Series 1 |
| 1999 | Comedy Greats: Ronnie Barker | | | Video |
| 2000 | Butterflies Reunion Special | | | TV short |