--- name: "Ray Butt" canonical: "https://film.one/person/ray-butt" roles: ["Director","Producer"] born: "25 June 1935" died: "12 July 2013" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 updated: "2026-09-16T17:00:40.300670+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Ray Butt Director and producer. Born 25 June 1935 in London. Died 12 July 2013. ## Details - **Work:** Director, Producer - **Born:** 25 June 1935, London - **Died:** 12 July 2013 - **Active:** 1972–1981 - **Works often with:** Bernard Thompson, Martin Shardlow ## Fi1m on Ray Butt > Ray Butt was a careful sitcom director with a useful stubbornness about casting and the timing of a laugh. We rate the results, though even that attention could not make every old joke worth repeating. In the department store of *Are You Being Served?* (1972), the staff have more personality than some of the jokes they are given. Frank Thornton, John Inman and Mollie Sugden are the reason to stay. We laughed because their personalities made worn material enjoyable, even when we could see how worn it was. Butt’s determination to time laughs precisely belongs in this sort of comedy, where familiar performers have to keep familiar business watchable. We recommend the programme, with some reservations about how it has aged. Butt produced *Are You Being Served?* from 1975 to 1977, but his partnership with writer John Sullivan gives a clearer sense of his work. Their first major collaboration was *Citizen Smith* (1977), followed by *Only Fools and Horses* (1981), on which Butt produced and directed much of the first five series. *Just Good Friends* (1983) was another Sullivan collaboration. Here was a director who built a working relationship around protecting a writer’s material and getting its timing right. He fought for David Jason as Del Boy, a casting decision that tells us more about his judgement than any general claim about his comic touch. His attention also extended to subtle weekly changes in the Trotters’ living room. We value that combination of persistence over the leading actor and care over the set, though neither should obscure how much depended on Sullivan’s writing. The limit is apparent in *Are You Being Served?*, which needs its cast to compensate for jokes that have had enough outings. Timing helps, but it cannot supply fresher writing. We would not give Butt sole credit for the pleasures of Thornton, Inman and Sugden, any more than we would blame him for every tired line. His later work outside the BBC made less impression, and the Sullivan partnership remains the more persuasive reason to seek him out. Take the department store a half-hour at a time. ## Biography Ray Butt was an English television producer and director. Born in London in 1935, he joined the BBC as a studio technician and cameraman before becoming a director in the late 1960s. He worked on several BBC sitcoms, including directing episodes of *The Liver Birds*. Butt directed episodes of *Are You Being Served?* from 1975 to 1977 and episodes of *Last of the Summer Wine* in 1976. He frequently collaborated with writer John Sullivan, directing *Citizen Smith* (1977–1980) and serving as producer and director on the first five series of *Only Fools and Horses* (1981–1986). He also directed *Just Good Friends*. Butt received two BAFTA awards, for *Only Fools and Horses* and *Just Good Friends*. He retired in 1989. Butt died in Suffolk in 2013. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, independent.co.uk, bbc.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Are You Being Served?* (1972), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/are-you-being-served.md) ## Also credited on (not yet reviewed) - *Only Fools and Horses* (1981), Director, Producer ## Also known for - *Last of the Summer Wine* (1973), Director --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ray-butt