‘Come to Mecca’ was a series set in Brick Lane which went out in 1983. It was written by Farrukh Dhondy, directed by John McGrath and produced at Pebble Mill by Peter Ansorge. The play starred Zia Mohyeddin, Bharti Patel, Atal Patal, Sharman MacDonald, Dinesh Shukla, Nick Stringer, Moti Makan, Paul Anil.
Bob Jacobs
Photos by John Burkill, no reproduction without permission.
‘Saturday Night at the Mill’ was a live entertainment show that went out between 1976-81. It was set in the courtyard behind the Pebble Mill foyer (where ‘Pebble Mill at One’ was situated).
An ice rink seems to feature in this episode of ‘Saturday Night at the Mill’, and Bob Langley is the host. Presenter Donny MacLeod is also featured, and it is possibly Anita Harris who is skating.
Please add a comment if you recognise other people in the photos, or can add other details.
Thanks
Vanessa
Saturday Night at the Mill
Morte D’Arthur was a drama adaptation of the book by Sir Thomas Malory, based on John Barton’s adaptation. It was transmitted in 1984, under Robin Midgley’s leadership of the English Regions Drama Department at Pebble Mill in Studio A. It was directed by Gillian Lynne (seen in both photos here) and produced by Robin Midgley. Bob Jacobs (behind Barbara Kellermann in the top photo) was the 1st Assistant Director.
The drama featured: Barbara Kellerman, David Robb, Anton Dolin, Jeremy Brett and Nickolas Grace.
Transmission Card
This transmission card is from the 1988, 7 part series on BBC 2 following one of the NSPCC’s Child Protection Teams based in Lincoln, as they investigated cases of abuse and neglect towards children. The documentary series was largely observational and involved film crews being on standby to cover emergencies as they unfolded.
Margaret Jay was reporter for the series. The daughter of Labour leader James Callaghan, she followed her television career as Labour spokesperson on Health in the Lords. She was married and then divorced from Peter Jay.
The series was produced by Tamasin Day-Lewis (now best known as a television chef and sister of the actor Daniel Day-Lewis),with photography by Mike Fox and edited by Chris Wade; Sally Ann Lomas was the assistant producer. This thank you note is from the film editor Chris Wade, and thanks the Film Unit office for their helpfulness. Maggie Humphries scheduled and organised the film crews at Pebble Mill, facilitating the programmes based in Birmingham.
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.
‘Date with Fate’ was a game show, transmitted in 1998, where a top astrologer was put on the spot to see if they could predict the behaviour of two contestants. It was presented by Esther McVey, with astrologer Jonathan Cainer. There were 28 episodes for BBC 1 Daytime, produced at Pebble Mill by Steve Weddle and Katie Wright; it was directed by Merrick Simmonds.
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.
Lynda Kettle