Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and then worked in independent television before joining the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. He appeared in a variety of radio and television satirical shows and theatre shows, some of which he also directed and produced.

Early life

Sherrin was born at Gawlers Farm, Low Ham,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, the second son of

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

farmer Thomas Adam Sherrin (1889–1965) and Dorothy Finch (née Drewett; 1895–1980). He was educated at Sexey's School, in

Bruton Bruton ( ) is a small market town, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, north-west of Gillingham ...

, Somerset, and rendered his national service in the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

, being commissioned as an officer in 1950. Although he read law at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, and subsequently qualified as a barrister (called to the bar by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

), he became involved in theatre at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and joined British television in 1956 shortly after the founding of independent television, producing shows for ATV in Birmingham.

Career

Sherrin joined the BBC in 1957 as a temporary production assistant, then began working for them as a producer in Television Talks in 1963. Specialising in

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

shows, he worked extensively in film production and television. In 1962, Sherrin was responsible for the first satirical television series ''

That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

'' starring

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

and Millicent Martin, and its successors '' Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life'' and '' BBC-3''. In 1990 he was a contestant on ''

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddingt ...

'', facing off against Thelma Barlow. His other shows and films included '' Up Pompeii!'', '' Up the Front'', ''The Cobblers of Umbridge'', '' World in Ferment'', and ''

The Virgin Soldiers ''The Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas, inspired by his own experiences of National Service in the British Army. It was Thomas' debut novel; he had previously published an autobiography. ''The Virgin Soldiers'' sold mill ...

''. In 1978, he also hosted ''We Interrupt This Week'', a lively and humorous news events quiz featuring two teams of well-known journalists and columnists sparring against one another. The show was a production of WNET/Channel 13 New York. Sherrin produced and directed many theatre productions in London's West End, including '' Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell'' and the musical revue '' Side by Side by Sondheim''. He received an Olivier Award in 1984 for directing and conceiving ''The Ratepayers' Iolanthe'', an adaptation by Sherrin and Alistair Beaton of the

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

opera ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

''. Sherrin played the part of Addison in the film ''

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

'' released in 1992. On

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, from 1986, Sherrin presented a light entertainment show on Saturday mornings (latterly evenings) called '' Loose Ends'', and ''

Counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

'', a quiz show about all types of music, until forced off the air when his voice succumbed to throat cancer. Sherrin also toured the UK with his one-man show ''An Evening of Theatrical Anecdotes''. Sherrin wrote two volumes of

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, several books of quotations and anecdotes, as well as some fiction; and several works in collaboration with Caryl Brahms.

Personal life

Openly gay, Sherrin was a patron of the London Gay Symphony Orchestra, as well as the

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

Society of Singapore up until 1995. He was awarded a CBE in the 1997 New Year Honours. He was diagnosed with unilateral vocal cord paralysis in January 2007; this diagnosis was later changed to one of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

, from which he died on 1 October 2007, aged 76.

Selected works

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherrin, Ned 1931 births 2007 deaths 20th-century British Army personnel Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford BBC Radio 4 presenters BBC television producers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English barristers English gay writers English LGBTQ broadcasters English satirists English radio presenters English television personalities English television producers English theatre directors English writers LGBTQ theatre directors English LGBTQ writers Laurence Olivier Award winners People educated at Sexey's School People from Chelsea, London People from South Somerset (district) Royal Corps of Signals officers British television show creators British satirical television show creators Military personnel from Somerset Deaths from throat cancer in England