Gail Herbert meeting John Major
Prime Minister John Major visited Pebble Mill in the 1990s and appeared on Good Morning with Anne and Nick for a sofa chat. He is shown here meeting Gail Herbert, Chair of the BBC Club and P.A., outside the front of Pebble Mill Reception. Between Gail and John Major is David Wayne, the Head of Building.
You’ll notice that John Major has signed the photo for Gail, who was a supporter of his.
Photos by Lynda Kettle, no reproduction without permission. Lynda Kettle was a Production Designer at BBC Pebble Mill, working on factual, entertainment and drama shows in studio and on location. The photos were taken as records of the Sets.
Tuesday’s Child was a play directed and produced by Robin Midgley at Pebble Mill in 1985. It was written by Terry Johnson and Kate Lock, and told the story of a young girl who confesses to her priest that she saw a miracle when in the Holy Land. Kate Lock also acted the part of the girl, with Donal McCann playing Father Doyle and also featuring J.G. Devlin. Dave Bushell was the lighting director. The play was recorded in Studio A.
Production Designer, Lynda Kettle also worked as a theatre designer and an artist, and now runs courses from her art studio http://www.lynda-kettle.com. She is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham Water Colour Society. Midland Pastel Society and Birmingham Art Circle . She exhibits her paintings several times a year at selected galleries.
Tuesday’s Child
Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
The Chain was a four part thriller which went out in 1990, written by Desmond Lowden. It told a tale of murder and corruption in the world of business takeovers. The series was produced at Pebble Mill by Carol Parks. Don Leaver directed the series, John Kenway was the cameraman. Brian Wright was the script editor and Nigel Jones the designer.
The series starred Peter Capaldi, Susan Kyd, Robert Pugh, Julia Hills, and Michael Troughton amongst others.
The photos show the lowering of a ‘body’ into the concrete foundations of a building. The model used as the body looks fairly convincing.
Princess Anne opens Pebble Mill
Princess Anne officially opened the BBC Pebble Mill building on 10th Nov 1971. The photo shows her being introduced to various members of staff in Studio A. The white haired man on the left is Dr Charles Hill (Chairman of BBC Governors) I think that it is David Rose (Head of Drama) who Princess Anne is talking to, 3rd from the right is Bob Gale (senior dresser).
Below is an invitation to the official lunch with Princess Anne.
Please add a comment if you can identify other people in the photos.
Thanks to Gail Herbert for making the photo and invitation available.
Song for Xmas team
Copyright remains with the original photographer, no reproduction without permission.
A Song for Christmas was an annual event in the Pebble Mill at One calendar. It was a carol competition for different children’s choirs.
The photo was taken just after recording in the Courtyard probably in 1986. The photo features (ones I recognise, L to R) Peter Knowles (sound) & Dave Brazier (floor manager) kneeling, Norman Steemson in the green at the back, Ewan Keil (demin jacket), Beverley Wildman (AP) under all the snow!, John Wescott behind, me (Mark Kershaw – director) leaning on snowman, Aled Jones behind, a young Phillip Schofield, Caroline Marshall right at the back, next to Phillip is Geoff Nawn (designer), Derek Hallworth behind, Dave Farline, James French (cameraman) behind him.
Mark Kershaw