Shaun Sutton OBE was born in Hammersmith, London and worked for BBC Television for nearly 30 years, He began his television career in 1952 producing and writing children’s series.
His major break came in 1962 when David Rose asked him to direct the police series "Z Cars". He went on to direct "Softly Softly” in 1966.
In 1966, he became head of serials for the BBC, and was responsible for the costume drama "The Forsyte Saga (1967) He also supervised BBC2's first colour productions including Vanity Fair ( 1967).
As head of the BBC’s drama group (1969-81) he launched such classics as " The Six Wives Of Henry VIII "( 1970), "Elizabeth R" ( 1971) "Colditz", "The Mayor of Casterbridge" , "War And Peace" "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", "Smiley’s People" , "Crime and Punishment" , "Pennies From Heaven” (1978) "I, Claudius” and many many more.
Other major series included "Doctor Who” where he oversaw the casting of three Doctors, Jon Pertwee, Ton Baker and Peter Davison , "When the Boat Comes In", "The Onedin Line" ( 1971) , "Poldark "(1975-77), "Colditz"
He worked with directors including Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Richard Eyre ; producers included Kenith Trodd, Tony Garnett and Michael Waring. The writers ranged from Dennis Potter to Joe Orton from Simon Gray to Alan Plater, from Alan Ayckbourn. to Colin Welland.
In 1981, he was appointed executive producer of the BBC Shakespeare series, in which all 37 plays were adapted for television.
He wrote several books including the ultimate guide to television drama, "The Largest Theatre in the World" in 1982.
