Page "Shaun Sutton" Paragraph 7

Sutton's reign saw success in many different styles and genres-there were continuing long-running successful and popular series such as Z-Cars and Doctor Who ; the eclectic mix of styles and stories in the much-praised anthology strand Play for Today ; and prestige serials such as The Six Wives of Henry VIII ( 1970 ), I, Claudius ( 1976 ) and Dennis Potter's Pennies From Heaven ( 1978 ).

There were, however, also low points, such as the embarrassing failure of Churchill's People ( 1974 ), a twenty-six part series based on Winston Churchill's A History of the English Speaking Peoples.

Sutton deemed the production to be unbroadcastable upon seeing the result, but so much time, money and effort had been spent on making and publicising the series that he was left with little choice in the matter.

There were also controversies surrounding the ' banning ' by his superiors, against Sutton's wishes, of two entries into the Play for Today strand, Dennis Potter's Brimstone and Treacle in 1976 and Roy Minton's Scum in 1978.