Talbot Rothwell

Talbot Nelson Conn Rothwell, OBE (12 November 1916 – 28 February 1981) was an English screenwriter. Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot. He was made a prisoner of war during World War II after being shot down over Norway. It was during this period, while incarcerated in Stalag Luft III, that he started to write. Peter Butterworth was in ... more

Talbot Nelson Conn Rothwell, OBE (12 November 1916 – 28 February 1981) was an English screenwriter. Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot. He was made a prisoner of war during World War II after being shot down over Norway. It was during this period, while incarcerated in Stalag Luft III, that he started to write. Peter Butterworth was in the same camp and the two became firm friends, with Rothwell mostly writing and Butterworth performing for camp concerts. This helped to relieve the boredom of camp life and the noise of the concerts helped cover tunnelling escape efforts. After WWII Rothwell took up writing as his profession, writing scripts for The Crazy Gang, Arthur Askey, Ted Ray and Terry-Thomas. By the time he submitted a screenplay to Carry On films producer Peter Rogers, he was already an established screenwriter. The first screenplay he submitted, on spec, to series... less