---
name: "Sydney Lotterby"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sydney-lotterby"
fi1m_id: "sydney-lotterby"
imdb_id: "nm0521535"
tmdb_id: 1212736
wikidata_id: "Q7660022"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "1 September 1926"
died: "30 July 2020"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 85
average_as: "director"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-07T11:18:18.512839+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."
---

# Sydney Lotterby

## Identity

Sydney Lotterby

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/sydney-lotterby
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** sydney-lotterby
- **IMDb ID:** nm0521535
- **TMDB ID:** 1212736
- **Wikidata ID:** Q7660022
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Lotterby, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7660022, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521535/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1212736

Director and producer. Born 1 September 1926 in UK. Died 30 July 2020.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 1 September 1926, UK
- **Died:** 30 July 2020
- **Active:** 1973–1990
- **Also known as:** Sydney Warren Lotterby, Sydney Warren Lotterby OBE, Sid Lotterby
- **Frequently works with:** [Antony Jay](https://film.one/person/antony-jay.md), [Derek Fowlds](https://film.one/person/derek-fowlds.md), [Jonathan Lynn](https://film.one/person/jonathan-lynn.md), [Nigel Hawthorne](https://film.one/person/nigel-hawthorne.md), [Paul Eddington](https://film.one/person/paul-eddington.md), [Peter Whitmore](https://film.one/person/peter-whitmore.md), [Ronnie Barker](https://film.one/person/ronnie-barker.md), James Gilbert
- **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as director, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 84 (2), 1980s 89 (1), 1990s 83 (1)
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 4, War & Politics 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Lotterby, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7660022, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521535/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1212736

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Yes Minister*](https://film.one/tv/yes-minister.md) (89)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Sydney Lotterby was a British television producer and director. He joined the BBC in 1941 as a storekeeper and later worked as a cameraman and technical manager before becoming a producer and director in the Entertainment Department in 1963. He remained at the BBC for over 60 years.

Lotterby produced and directed numerous BBC comedy series, including *Porridge* (1974–77), for which he served as both producer and director, *Yes Minister* (1980), *Open All Hours* (1976–85), *Last of the Summer Wine* (1976–83) and *Yes, Prime Minister* (1986–88). He also worked on *As Time Goes By*, *Butterflies*, *Ever Decreasing Circles* and *May to December*. He won four BAFTA awards for comedy, including for *Porridge* and *Yes Minister*, and was appointed OBE.

Lotterby was born Sydney Warren Lotterby on 30 November 1926 in Paddington, London, and died on 28 July 2020 in Chiswick, London, aged 93. He married Marcia Dos Santos in 1997.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, bbc.co.uk, theguardian.com, thetimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *One Foot in the Grave* (1990), Fi1m 83, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/one-foot-in-the-grave.md)
- *Yes Minister* (1980), Fi1m 89, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/yes-minister.md)
- *Porridge* (1974), Fi1m 89, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/porridge.md)
- *Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em* (1973), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/some-mothers-do-ave-em.md)

## Complete filmography (25)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Best of Ronnie Barker* (2005), series, Producer
- *As Time Goes By* (1992), series, Director
- *Tonight at 8.30* (1991), series, Director
- *One Foot in the Grave* (1990), series, Director — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/one-foot-in-the-grave.md)
- *May to December* (1989), series, Director
- *Foreign Bodies* (1987), series, Director
- *Yes, Prime Minister* (1986), series, Producer, Director
- *The Magnificent Evans* (1984), series, Director, Producer
- *Ever Decreasing Circles* (1984), series, Producer
- *Coming Home* (1981), series, Producer
- *Yes Minister* (1980), series, Director, Producer — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/yes-minister.md)
- *Golden Gordon* (1979), Executive Producer
- *Whinfrey's Last Case* (1979), Executive Producer
- *Butterflies* (1978), series, Director
- *Going Straight* (1978), series, Producer, Director
- *Porridge: The Desperate Hours* (1976), Director, Producer
- *Open All Hours* (1976), series, Producer, Director
- *Porridge: No Way Out* (1975), Producer, Director
- *Porridge* (1974), series, Director, Producer — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/porridge.md)
- *Seven of One* (1973), series, Director
- *Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em* (1973), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/some-mothers-do-ave-em.md)
- *Last of the Summer Wine* (1973), series, Director
- *Broaden Your Mind* (1968), series, Producer
- *Comedy Playhouse* (1961), series, Director
- *Sykes and a...* (1960), series, Producer, 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/sydney-lotterby