Writing

John Sullivan

Born 1946-12-23 · Balham, London, England, UK

John Richard Thomas Sullivan was an English TV scriptwriter responsible for several British sitcoms, including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends. From working-class South London, Sullivan worked in a variety of low-paid jobs for 15 years before getting his first break writing sketches for The Two Ronnies, which led to writing the sitcom Citizen Smith.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Roger Roger poster
NR

Minicab boss Sam has his work cut out controlling a wayward bunch of drivers

Roger Roger

1996

The Funny Side of Christmas poster
NR

Skits from: "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin"; "The Les Dawson Show"; "Yes Minister"; "Only Fools and Horses"; "Three of a Kind"; "Last of the Summer Wine"; "Sorry!"; "Butterflies"; "Smith and Jones"; and "Open All Hours".

The Funny Side of Christmas

1982

Rock & Chips poster
6.2

Prequel to Only Fools and Horses, set in the 1960s. Joan Trotter is in an unhappy marriage with the work-shy Reg, with whom she has a teenage son, Derek ('Del Boy'). However, the reappearance in Peckham of bank robber, 'art connoisseur' and womaniser Freddie Robdal, recently released after a ten year prison sentence, would bring about changes in her life.

Rock & Chips

2010

No artwork available
NR

Del Boy attempts to enter the oil industry, mistakenly believing he can drill near the coast, but is left stranded when he realizes he has been cheated.

Only Fools and Horses: Licensed to Drill

1984

Only Fools & Horses - Miami Twice - The Movie poster
NR

Del and Rodney touch down in Miami, and hire a camper van. Very soon they run into trouble: it just so happens that Del is a dead ringer for notorious Mafia boss Don Vincenzo Occhetti, and is spotted by his sons in a bar. Occhetti is due to stand trial and destined to go down for several life sentences and, with Del's uncanny resemblance, his sons see a way out for their father. When the Trotters leave the bar, they discover their camper van has been broken into and all their possessions stolen. But this is only the start of their problems: help is soon at hand when Occhetti's sons step in as apparent Good Samaritans.

Only Fools & Horses - Miami Twice - The Movie

1991

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NR

Despite knocking the price down to a mere six quid, Del Boy can't shift his telescopic Christmas trees (lights, bangles, beads and baubles inclusive). He only has 149 more to sell to make a tidy profit. Stuck for a solution the Trotters decamp to Sid's burger van. Del's conscience seems to get the better of him, and he tells Rodney and Grandad what a shame it is that the market traders can't afford to donate a tree to the local church this year. Especially the little orphans. Left to guard the trees, Rodney steals away to the church. The Vicar quickly debunks Del's story, and Rodders realises the tale was a scam to get an endorsement from The Church of England.

Only Fools and Horses: Christmas Trees

1982

The Vanishing Man poster
7.0

While Nick Cameron is returning to England from the continent with mysterious cargo in the cabin section of his small aircraft, he is thrown off-course by a severe electrical storm and loses radio contact. To his surprise and horror, he is arrested upon landing and accused of being a traitor in connection with the cargo he has been carrying - which, unknown to him, contained plutonium. Although he pleads innocent, Nick is not believed and is sentenced to a long term in prison. While in prison, he is subjected to special experimentation at a mysterious laboratory - with one unnerving, and unexpected, side-effect of the experiments being intermittent invisibility. —David McAnally

The Vanishing Man

1997

No artwork available
NR

Sitting around the breakfast table in their flat, Rodney laments that he can't afford a holiday, whilst Del Boy considers signing Damien up for a modeling agency. Albert then suggests that they should be thankful for what they have. Though they are expecting another "During the war..." anecdote, Albert instead mentions the plight of the people of Africa. The show contains subtle references to Nicholas Lyndhurst and David Jason's other well-known shows, Goodnight Sweetheart and A Touch of Frost respectively. It ends with an appeal for donations from Del and Rodney.

Only Fools and Horses: Only Fools Cutaway

1997