Acting

John Wells

Born — Died

1936-11-17 — 1998-01-11

Place of birth

Ashford, Kent, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

48 titles

Wells started in cabaret at Oxford and began his television career as a writer on That Was The Week That Was, the 1960s weekly satire show that launched the careers of David Frost and Millicent Martin, among others, and also appeared in the television programme Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, as well as in The Secret Policeman's Other Ball. Besides making cameo appearances in films such as Casino Royale (1967) and Rentadick (1972), television dramas like Casanova (1987), an episode of Lovejoy (1991) and comedy shows like Yes Minister, he also wrote television scripts and screenplays, such as Princess Caraboo (1994). In 1971, with John Fortune, he published the comedy classic A …

Known for

Film credits

1990s · 2 titles

1980s · 12 titles

For Your Eyes Only poster
6.5

A British spy ship has sunk and on board was a hi-tech encryption device. James Bond is sent to find the device that holds British launching instructions before the enemy Soviets get to it first.

For Your Eyes Only

1981

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes poster
6.4

A shipping disaster in the 19th Century has stranded a man and woman in the wilds of Africa. The lady is pregnant, and gives birth to a son in their tree house. Soon after, a family of apes stumble across the house and in the ensuing panic, both parents are killed. A female ape takes the tiny boy as a replacement for her own dead infant, and raises him as her son. Twenty years later, Captain Phillippe D'Arnot discovers the man who thinks he is an ape. Evidence in the tree house leads him to believe that he is the direct descendant of the Earl of Greystoke, and thus takes it upon himself to return the man to civilization.

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

1984

Casanova poster
4.1

The life story of an 18th century womanizer who's arrested, not so much for his crimes, but because he's viewed as an undesirable by the husbands and families of the women he seduces.

Casanova

1987

Consuming Passions poster
8.3

Adapted from a play written by two Monty Python vets, this toothy satire launches with a tragic accident at Chumley's chocolate factory when hapless manager Ian Littleton accidentally knocks several employees into a huge chocolate vat. The tragic mishap at the chocolate factory results in candy lovers getting an unexpected 'extra' in their sweets.

Consuming Passions

1988

Revolution poster
5.4

New York trapper Tom Dobb becomes an unwilling participant in the American Revolution after his son Ned is drafted into the Army by the villainous Sergeant Major Peasy. Tom attempts to find his son, and eventually becomes convinced that he must take a stand and fight for the freedom of the Colonies, alongside the aristocratic rebel Daisy McConnahay. As Tom undergoes his change of heart, the events of the war unfold in large-scale grandeur.

Revolution

1985

Dutch Girls poster
4.1

In this sophomoric comedy, a lusty adolescent British hockey team heads for Holland where they find something far more interesting than tulips and windmills: gorgeous, lusty women. They are so busy pursuing romance that they forget all about their upcoming match.

Dutch Girls

1985

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball poster
6.3

Following the success of the 1979 show and the financial benefits accruing to Amnesty from the spin-off movie, TV special and record albums – Cleese, Lewis and Walker planned the next show to be a more spectacular event. Cleese focused on broadening the comedic talent to be presented at the show. In addition to the Amnesty show stalwarts drawn from the Oxbridge/Monty Python/Beyond The Fringe orbit, he invited newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson’s colleagues from the BBC TV show Not the Nine O'Clock News including Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones; comedian Victoria Wood and regional comic Jasper Carrott. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle who Lewis had recently discovered and was managing. Building on the success of Pete Townshend's 1979 appearance Lewis recruited other rock musicians to perform at the 1981 show including Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Donovan and Bob Geldof.

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball

1982

No artwork available
NR

What would happen if you could clone yourself? Two ordinary friends decide to try this with a new machine at work. Thinking that this experiment has not worked, the friends go home dejected. But further events prevail and a serious dose of mistaken identity ensues. Can the impostors be caught?

The Giftie

1988

Cinderella: The Shoe Must Go On poster
4.0

Danny La Rue plays Cinderella's wicked stepmother in this grand tradition of a Christmas pantomime.

Cinderella: The Shoe Must Go On

1986

No artwork available
NR

The reputation of the Academy for the Daughters of Respectable Monarchs has, of course, always been of the highest order... then suddenly Signor Doloro de Lara— a Professor of Magic—puts in an unwelcome appearance, and the enchanting little world is turned upside down.

The Mystery of the Disappearing Schoolgirls

1980

Love's Labour's Lost poster
8.0

A scholarly king and his three companions swear off the society of women for three years, only to have a diplomatic visit from a French princess and her three ladies-in-waiting thwart their intentions.

Love's Labour's Lost

1985

Anyone for Denis poster
10.0

Anyone for Denis? is a British video-taped television version of the stage play of the same name broadcast by the ITV network on 28 December 1982. The original play, first performed at the Whitehall Theatre in 1981, was written by satirist John Wells.

Anyone for Denis

1982

1970s · 5 titles

1960s · 4 titles

Series credits

Have I Got News for You poster
7.1

Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.

Have I Got News for You

1990

Wogan poster
5.6

Chat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities.

Wogan

1982

Playhouse poster
7.0

A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

Playhouse

1974

Absolutely Fabulous poster
7.6

Set in the world of fashion and PR, immature fun-loving mother Edina Monsoon and her best friend Patsy drive Eddie's sensible daughter, Saffron, up the wall with their constant drug abuse and outrageous selfishness. Numerous in-jokes and heavy doses of cruel humour have made this series a cult hit in the UK and abroad.

Absolutely Fabulous

1992

Rumpole of the Bailey poster
7.1

Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It stars Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an aging London barrister who defends any and all clients, and has been spun off into a series of short stories, novels, and radio programmes.

Rumpole of the Bailey

1975

Lovejoy poster
7.4

The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.

Lovejoy

1986

Bottom poster
7.9

Richie Richard (socially awkward, sexually inexperienced) and Eddie Hitler (carefree alcoholic ) are two social outcasts living on the dole. Trapped together in a squalid flat in Hammersmith, London they are perpetually skint, bored and sexually frustrated. They spend their days scheming, bickering, and being nasty and sadistic to each other.

Bottom

1991

100 Years of Warner Bros. poster
7.6

Tracing a century of movie and TV history, these four documentary specials explore the unparalleled global impact of Warner Bros. on art, commerce, and culture.

100 Years of Warner Bros.

2023

Yes, Prime Minister poster
8.3

James Hacker MP the Government's bumbling minister for Administrative Affairs is propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Could this have possibly have been managed by his trusted Permanent Private Secretary, the formidably political Sir Humphrey Appleby who must move to the “Top Job” in Downing Street to support him, together with his much put upon PPS Bernard Wolley. What could possibly go wrong?

Yes, Prime Minister

1986

Chalk poster
7.1

A British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series written by Steven Moffat were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997. Like his earlier sitcom Joking Apart, it was produced by Andre Ptaszynski. The series focuses upon deputy headteacher Eric Slatt, permanently stressed over the chaos he creates both by himself and some of his eccentric staff. His wife Janet and new English teacher Suzy Travis attempt to help him solve the problems.

Chalk

1997

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy poster
7.6

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a seven-part BBC2 spy drama written by Arthur Hopcraft, adapted from John le Carré's eponymous 1974 novel. The serial, which stars Alec Guinness, Alexander Knox, Ian Richardson, Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton, Anthony Bate, Ian Bannen, George Sewell and Michael Aldridge, was broadcast from 10 September to 22 October 1979. George Smiley, the ageing master spy of the Cold War and once heir-apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

1979

One Pair of Eyes poster
7.0

A monthly series of highly personal documentary films in which individuals are given a platform to discuss issues close to their heart.

One Pair of Eyes

1967

Country Matters poster
4.6

An anthology series adapted from plays and short stories by A.E Coppard and H.E. Bates, depicting English country life and rural romance at the turn of the 20th-century. It presents unsentimental stories of human relationships and raw emotions – heartfelt passions, crippling frustrations, unspoken love and destructive jealousy.

Country Matters

1972

Q... poster
7.2

Q... was a surreal television comedy sketch show from Spike Milligan which ran from 1969 to 1982 on BBC2. There were six series in all, the first five numbered from Q5 to Q9, and a final series titled There's a Lot of It About. The first and third series ran for seven episodes, and the others for six episodes, each of which was 30 minutes long. Various reasons have been suggested for the title. One possibility is that it was inspired by the project to construct the Cunard liner QE2, launched in September 1967, which was dubbed Q4. Another theory is that Milligan was inspired by the BBC 6-point technical quality scale of the time, where "Q5" was severe degradation to picture or sound, and "Q6" was complete loss of sound or vision. This was extended by some engineering departments to a 9-point scale, finishing at "Q9". According to Milligan's autobiography, the final series was renamed There's a Lot of It About after the BBC felt the public might find Q10 too confusing.

Q...

1969

Filthy Rich & Catflap poster
6.7

Richie causes trouble in his pursuit of TV fame with Eddie, his alcoholic minder, and Filthy, his sponging agent.

Filthy Rich & Catflap

1987

No artwork available
9.0

Up Sunday was a British late night comedy satire TV show shown on BBC2 that ran for 55 editions over four series from January 1972 to December 1973, featuring many comedy stars of its era. It was a spin-off from the arts discussion show Late Night Line-Up, and created by its Programme Editor, the late Mike Hill. Initially the show featured the "long, rambling topical reflections" of Willie Rushton and James Cameron. These were later pruned, and the cast enlarged to feature the likes of Clive James, Kenny Everett and John Wells. All broadcast late on a Sunday night. Wells said the show was "aimed at dirty minded insomniacs". The cast enacted the roles of newscasters, celebrities, pedestrians, and innocent bystanders.

Up Sunday

1972

Charlie Chalk poster
5.8

Charlie Chalk is a stop motion animation series produced in 1987 in the United Kingdom by Woodland Animations, from the creators of Postman Pat and the two other children's television programmes that are Gran and Bertha.

Charlie Chalk

1988

Anyone for Denis? poster
NR

Anyone for Denis? is a British video-taped television version of the stage play of the same name broadcast by the ITV network on 28 December 1982. The original play, first performed at the Whitehall Theatre in 1981, was written by satirist John Wells. It is based on Private Eye's 'Dear Bill' letters, purportedly written by Denis Thatcher, the husband of Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister at the time. Set in Chequers, the play parodies the couple's relationship. The title is a punning reference to the more familiar question "Anyone for tennis?" The television production, for Thames Television was directed by Dick Clement and stars John Wells, Angela Thorne, John Cater and Nicky Henson.

Anyone for Denis?

1982

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Rude Health

1987

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The End Of The Pier Show

1974

Behind the camera