Jonathan Sothcott

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Jonathan Sothcott (born 26 April 1980)^[1] is an independent film and television producer based in London, England well known for idolising the actor Roger Moore.

Formerly an entertainment journalist, he wrote the popular reference book 'The Cult Films of Christopher Lee', which was published in 2000 and boasted a foreword by 007 actor Roger Moore. In this book, the young Sothcott extravagantly claimed that Moore's "style of romantic comedy has never been bettered" that Moore was not just younger-looking than Sean Connery but "a better actor", and that there has never been a finer leading man in the history of the cinema. He is also known to become defensive when jokes are made about Moore's acting ability (as many critics have done throughout the years), alleging that those who do so are "trendy and ignorant", and is known to patronise the same tailor as Moore.

Like Moore, Sothcott is a Conservative voter. In an article for the website Carry On-Line{www.carryonline.com}, he alleged that "'Carry On At Your Convenience' was like a breath of fresh air. As Britain teetered on the verge of Union dictatorship, Sid James and Richard O'Callaghan raised two proud fingers for England. Kenneth Cope, whose comedy star was on the ascent, convinced as the imbecilic unionist, governed by ridiculous regulations and obsessed with his football. The Conservative ethos adopted by so many stars of this time (I'm sure that you all saw Barbara Windsor on Election night) showed the way forward for the country - it's a shame that the film industry had to suffer in the interim. Top stuff then, this remains one of the best in the series, achieving a perfect balance of cheeky slapstick and insightful political comment." Sothcott is also a friend of Carol Thatcher.

Sothcott then produced a number of special edition DVDs between 2000 and 2004 including The Wild Geese (1978), again involving Moore, and 'Jack The Ripper' (1988). In the case of the former, a featurette on producer Euan Lloyd, entitled 'The Last Of The Gentleman Producers' and produced by Sothcott, glossed over the fact that the movie was made in South Africa at the time of apartheid, and that the black cast members allegedly weren't even allowed to attend their own premiere. The documentary was screened at the Bradford Film Festival in 2004.

In 2004 he was announced as the Head of Programming for The Horror Channel, the world's first television network dedicated to that popular genre.^[2] Six months later he resigned, citing disatisfaction at the low acquisitions budget.

Since then he has worked at David Wickes Television and Carnaby Media, while running his film business Forbidden Territory Entertainment.

In Summer 2006, the press reported that Sothcott was producing a remake of the cult horror movie 'The House On Straw Hill' starring Patrick Bergin, Jane March, Victoria Silvstedt and Sothcott's friend Martin Kemp. Unfortunately, the script was deemed unsatisfactory and the project was shelved.

Since then he has been involved with the low budget horror film 'Wishbaby' starring Tiana Benjamin and the independent comedy 'Whatever Happened To Pete Blaggit' starring Adam Rickitt^[3].

In December 2006 Sothcott was photographed leaving The Hilton Ice Ball with Abi Titmuss and going on to The Met Bar.

It has been claimed that if Sothcott did not exist, Steve Coogan would have had to invent him.