Ned Sherrin

Oct 2 2007

CELEBRATED raconteur Ned Sherrin was an accomplished broadcaster, writer and director.

He was loved by millions who tuned in to hear his wit and wisdom on Radio 4 show Loose Ends.

Sherrin hosted the weekly mix of comedy, conversation and music from its beginning in 1986.

His showbusiness career spanned more than 50 years.

Born in 1931 to a Somerset farmer, Sherrin read law at Exeter College, Oxford, where he appeared in several revues, one of which was televised on the BBC.

He was called to the Bar in 1955, but the following day bumped into the floor manager from the TV revue who promptly offered him a job as a producer on new commercial station ATV.

Two years later, he joined the BBC as director of the Tonight programme.

Over the next decade, he directed and produced a range of variety shows, panel games and musicals.

In 1962, he devised, produced and directed the groundbreaking satirical show That Was The Week That Was.

Sherrin claimed it as his proudest achievement.

The show was watched by 12m viewers at its peak, but was axed after two seasons.

He left the BBC in 1966 to produce films, among them The Virgin Soldiers, Up The Junction, Girl Stroke Boy and comedy classic Up Pompeii.

His theatre career throughout the 1970s and 1980s was equally successful.

He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1977 for Side By Side With Sondheim, and in 1985 won a Laurence Olivier Award for West End production The Ratepayers’ Iolanthe.

Sherrin wrote six musicals, among them Sing A Rude Song, Nicholas Nickleby and Me, and The Mitford Girls.

In 1986 he directed Keith Waterhouse play Mr And Mrs Nobody, starring Judi Dench and Michael Williams.

Three years later he directed Peter O’Toole in a production of Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell at London’s Apollo Theatre.

Sherrin was awarded a CBE in the 1997 New Year’s Honours List.

He spent five years touring with his one-man show, An Evening With Ned Sherrin, and published his autobiography in 2005.

In addition to Loose Ends, he also presented Radio 4 music quiz Counterpoint.

Asked once about the worst aspect of radio broadcasting, he replied: "I can’t think of a bad thing about it. If I wasn’t being paid for it, I would be doing it as a hobby."

In October last year, he developed a hoarse voice and doctors initially diagnosed a paralysed vocal cord caused by the common cold virus. The diagnosis was later changed to throat cancer.

Unable to carry on hosting Loose Ends, he stepped down shortly before Christmas.

Ned Sherrin, broadcaster; born February 18, 1931, died October 1, 2007