Born in 1946 in Balham, South London, John left school at the age of fifteen with no qualifications but a Charles Dickens-inspired passion for the written word and, in particular, comedy. Having worked as a messenger, car cleaner, delivery driver, plumbers mate and a brief stint as a second hand car trader, John got himself a job at the BBC in 1974. It was through this that he got to meet the likes of legendary producer Dennis Main Wilson and the great Ronnie Barker, who liked John’s comedy sketches so much he commissioned him to write for The Two Ronnies. In 1977 John followed this up with his first sitcom, Citizen Smith (title role played by Robert Lindsay) the loveable revolutionary leader of the Tooting Popular Front (all six of them).
This was followed in 1981 by Only Fools and Horses (which starred David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Lennard Pearce and Buster Merryfield) a show that would span twenty-two years, win numerous awards (including three BAFTAs) and become Britain’s best-loved sitcom. In 1983 John wrote the BAFTA award winning Just Good Friends (which starred Jan Francis and Paul Nicholas) and in 1986, Dear John which starred Ralph Bates as the luckless divorcee seeking support at the 1-2-1 club (a show which was also a hit in the USA, starring Judd Hirsch and running for four series). In 1992 John wrote Sitting Pretty, about the life of sixties good-time girl Annie Briggs (played by Diane Bull).
In 1996 John wrote the two-part Second World War based comedy-drama Over Here (starring Sam West, Jay Goede, and Martin Clunes). This was followed in 1998 by Heartburn Hotel (featuring Tim Healey and Clive Russell) and Roger Roger (starring Robert Dawes, David Ross and Keith Allen), a comedy-drama about the lives of the workers of a mini-cab firm. In 2001 John (paying homage to Dickens) wrote Micawber with David Jason playing the title role. In 2005 he created the Only Fools and Horses spin-off The Green Green Grass (starring John Challis and Sue Holderness) and in 2009 the critically acclaimed prequel to Only Fools, Rock & Chips (starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, Kellie Bright and James Buckley). Among his many achievements and awards, John received an OBE for services to drama in 2005 and in 2008 was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Goldsmiths College, London.
In early 2011, shortly after finishing the filming of the last episode of Rock & Chips, John became ill and was diagnosed as suffering with atypical pneumonia. After a two month long battle with the illness, John died on 22nd April. Missed every day by his family and friends, John’s spirit, warmth, his passion for comedy and the laughter he created lives on in the amazing body of work that he has left us.
The Two Ronnies
John Sullivan began writing sketches for The Two Ronnies while working as a sceneshifter for the BBC and wrote for the show between 1977 and 1983. He first approached Ronnie Barker with some ideas for material during a break in the filming of Porridge. “He said he liked them and he put me on a contract,” he recalled. “I was ecstatic.” John’s most famous contribution to the show was the pub philosophers Sid and George.
Citizen Smith
The story of loveable Che Guevara wannabe ‘Wolfie’ Smith, leader of the revolutionary Tooting Popular Front, Citizen Smith ran on BBC One for four series from 1977 to 1980. Robert Lindsay played the title role and was joined by Mike Grady, Cheryl Hall, Hilda Braid and Peter Vaughn.
Only Fools and Horses
The story of wheeler-dealer Del Trotter and his younger brother Rodney (played by David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst), the series ran for 64 episodes from 1981 to 2003. The show, which also starred Lennard Pearce, Buster Merryfield, Roger Lloyd-Pack, John Challis, Paul Barber, Ken MacDonald, Sue Holderness, Tessa Peake-Jones and Gwyneth Strong was a huge critical and ratings success and won numerous awards, including three BAFTAs.
Just Good Friends
This BAFTA award-winning series followed the up-and-down relationship of Penny Warrender (Jan Francis) and Vince Pinner (Paul Nicholas), the man who had jilted her five years previously. When they meet again they try to rekindle their romance, but the path of true love is far from smooth and isn’t helped by Penny’s snobbish mother and hen-pecked father, who think she can do better. The series ran on BBC One for 22 episodes between 1983 and 1986.
Dear John
The story of big-hearted but hapless divorcee John Lacey (Ralph Bates) whose wife has left him for his best friend. John joins single’s group the 1-2-1 Club in the hope of finding someone new and meets and befriends a group of singleton misfits. The series ran on BBC One for 14 episodes from 1986 to 1987 and also starred Belinda Lang, Peter Denyer, Peter Blake, Rachel Bell and Lucinda Curtis.
DEAR JOHN (USA)
The American version of Dear John was broadcast between 1988 and 1992 by NBC and starred actor Judd Hirsch, famous for his role in the series Taxi, as John. The series was a major success and ran for 90 episodes over four seasons and also starred Isabella Hoffman, Jane Carr, Harry Groener and Jere Burns.
Sitting Pretty
The story of sixties good-time girl Annie Briggs, whose millionaire husband dies, leaving her penniless and forcing her to move back to live on her parents farm. The comedy, which ran for two series from 1992 to 1993, starred Diane Bull as Annie, along with John Cater, Vilma Hollingbery and Alison Lomas.
Over Here
Loosely based on a true story, Over Here was a two-part mini-series broadcast on BBC One in 1996. The comedy drama was set in wartime Britain and told the story of a group of American servicemen forced to share an RAF base with their British brothers-in-arms, not entirely amicably. The programme starred Samuel West and Martin Clunes and also featured Geraldine James, Jay Goede, Timothy West, Jack Shepherd, Todd Boyce, Andrew Lincoln, Tony Curran and Sharon Geater.
Heartburn Hotel
Heartburn Hotel ran on BBC One for two series between 1998 and 2000. It told the story of Harry Springer (played by Tim Healy), a former soldier and owner of the Olympic Hotel in Birmingham and the group of social misfits who frequent it. Co-written, the series also featured Clive Russell, Peter Gunn and Zita Sattar.
Roger Roger
Bittersweet comedy drama Roger Roger began in 1996 with a pilot episode which starred Robert Daws as Sam, owner of taxi firm Cresta Cabs, Neil Morrissey as Phil and Lesley Vickerage as Chrissie. When it returned for a full series two years later the characters of Phil and Chrissie were played by Philip Glenister and Helen Grace. Following the exploits of the Cresta Cabs’ team, the show ran for three series between * 1998 and 2003 and also featured Keith Allen, Pippa Guard, David Ross, Ricci Harnett, Barbara Durkin and Barry Foster.
Micawber
Based on the character of eternal optimist Wilkins Micawber from Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield, Micawber was a four-part series screened on ITV in 2001. The comedy drama starred David Jason in the title role alongside Annabelle Apsion and Michael Troughton and also featured Jamie Foreman, Mark Benton, Heather Cameron-McLintock, Sophie Dix, Sean Gallagher and Hannah Yelland.
The Green Green Grass
When Peckham’s finest second-hand car trader, Boycie (John Challis) learns that the dreaded Driscoll Brothers (Roy Marsden and Chris Ryan) have ‘somehow’ got it into their heads that he grassed them up to the police, he has little choice but to go on the run. Fancying himself in the role of country squire, he drags long suffering wife, Marlene (Sue Holderness) and teenage son, Tyler (Jack Doolan), to the wilds of Shropshire and their new home, Winterdown Farm.
But any notion of their new life being all country fairs and fox hunts quickly evaporates when they realise that they have also taken on the local yokel’s that are the farm’s staff: Elgin “farm manager” Sparrowhawk, unlucky in love herdsman, Brian, simple crops man, Jed, and housekeeper and village gossip, Mrs Cakeworthy. On top of this things get off to a less than perfect start with their new neighbour, patriotic Welshman, Llewellyn (Alan David.) Will Boycie ever fit in with the landed gentry? Will Marlene ever get used to the ‘unnaturally’ quiet country nights? Will the Driscoll brothers ever catch up with them? And will Mrs Cakeworthy ever actually do any housework?
Rock & Chips
A co-production with the BBC, Rock & Chips is a bitter-sweet comedy-drama telling the story of the Trotter family before we first met them in Only Fools and Horses. Beginning in 1960, Kellie Bright plays Joan Trotter – Peckham’s answer to Bridget Bardot. Stuck in a loveless marriage with work-shy Reg (Shaun Dingwall), Joan is holding down two part-time jobs in order to feed her family, including her recently moved in father in law, Ted (Phil Daniels.)
Her only escape is the movies, working as an usherette at the Ritz cinema with her best friend, Reenie, where she loses herself in the glamour of the silver screen – and does her best to avoid her managers, Mr Raynor’s (Robert Dawes) very ‘hands on’ approach to uniform inspections. Before long she finds the excitement and passion she longs for when she meets and falls for ‘gentleman’ villain, Freddy ‘The Frog’ Robdal, who, along with his right-hand man and explosives expert ‘Jelly’ Kelly, is back in Peckham after a stay at her Majesties Pleasure.
Meanwhile a teenage Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter (James Buckley) and his mates Boycie, Trigger, Denzil, Jumbo and Albie are stepping out onto the pathway of life: birds, dodgy deals and the dream of one day becoming millionaires!
