Top Gear – Gail Herbert’s photos

Photos copyright of Gail Herbert, no reproduction without permission.

Top Gear, now known as ‘old Top Gear’, was produced at BBC Pebble Mill from 1977-2001.  It was a 30 min magazine show about cars and motor transport.  The presenters included Noel Edmunds, Angela Rippon, Jeremy Clarkson, Tiff Needell, William Woollard, Michelle Newman, Chris Goffey, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Barlow, Tony Mason and Quentin Willson.

When production of Top Gear moved to London in 2002 some of the Birmingham production team, and presenters (Vicki Butler-Henderson, Adrian Simpson, Tiff Needell) moved to Fifth Gear on Channel 5.

Thanks to Gail Herbert, who was a production assistant on Top Gear for making her photos available.  The photos date from around 1990 and include shots of presenters William Woollard and Tiff Needell, producer Ken Pollock, directors Dennis Jarvis and David Wheeler, cameraman John Williams, sound men Tony Wass and Alex Christison, and production assistants Gail Herbert and Sophie Marsh.

David Wheeler, who is featured in these photos, sitting on a donkey, makes the following comment:

Tony Mason thought it would be amusing to do a PTC from a “4×4” for use on the sand at Weston-Super-Mere. But when I called his bluff he requested that I test drive the thoroughbred before he risked his rally-bred bottom on the beast! After some reassurance he delivered the PTC… ending: “… but I don’t think Nellie here is quite up to it, so I’ll have to find some better transport”. I seem to remember tracking from an open land rover and editing the piece to Echo Beach (Martha and the Muffins) which has a great intro and fab sax solo! Great memories.. enhanced by my trip home in the Astra 2litre, 16valve GTE… “space rocket” as I recall Gail called it!

Gail test driving a Porsche

Andy Meikle’s Golden Oldie Picture Show video

Copyright resides with the original photographer, no reproduction without permission.

This photo is of Pebble Mill producer Andy Meikle. The tricycle was used for the film he directed on the Golden Oldie Picture Show.  The Golden Oldie Picture Show was presented by DJ Dave Lee Travis, the exec producer was John King.  Guest directors were asked to create music videos for popular hits which had never had videos made.  The song he was creating a video for was “Down, Down” by Status Quo and it was shot at Tatton Park in Cheshire. The story was about a load of rockers fighting over a girl in a hay rick!

Andy actually drove the bike up and down the M6.

(Thanks to Annie Gumbley for making the photo available, and to Gail Herbert for the information).

Andy Meikle test drives the props!

Dead Head – photo by Willoughby Gullachsen

Gavin Davies on Dead Head

Photo copyright Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.

Dead Head was a four part thriller produced at Pebble Mill.  It went out between 15th January and 5th February 1986.  It starred Denis Lawson as a minor villain who becomes linked to a gruesome murder, when he discovers a severed head in a hat box he is meant to deliver.

The series was produced by Robin Midgley, directed by Rob Walker and written by Howard Brenton.  Dave Bushell was the lighting director, Vivien Oldham the make-up designer and Kathryn Ayerst the costume designer and Keith Salmon the camera supervisor.  Gavin Davies, shown spraying down a traffic mirror in the photo was the production designer.

The series also featured George Baker, Simon Callow, Peter Attard, Lindsay Duncan and Norman Beaton.

On The House – photos from Annie Gumbley

Front door of the ‘On The House’ house

Copyright resides with the original photographer.  No reproduction without permission.

On The House was a popular DIY magazine programme which went out on Friday evenings on BBC 2 in the late 1980s.

It spawned a whole host of other DIY series in both the daytime and primetime schedules.

The actual house was a timber framed, brick clad house which was erected in the grounds of BBC Pebble Mill behind the main office block.  There was an excellent time-lapse sequence of the house being erected.  The house operated as a television studio, and was set up so that it was easy to shoot in.  You also had to remember not to use the toilet – as it wasn’t connected to any sewage pipes!

The show was the brainchild of producer Andy Meikle with Steph Silk the series producer.

The show was presented by Harry Greene (father of Sarah Greene), Rick Ball and Pattie Coldwell.

Pattie Caldwell, Harry Greene, Rick Ball

Pebble Mill at One meeting – Mark Kershaw

Copyright resides with the original photographer, no reproduction without permission.

The photo is of a production meeting for Pebble Mill at One, circa 1982ish.  Left to right the photo shows me (Mark Kershaw), researcher Jane Marriott (now Jane Clement), producer Stephanie Silk, presenters Marian Foster and Donny Macleod, Nicky Barfoot, probably Peta Newbold, and Peter Hercombe perched on the edge, then probably David Weir and Sue Ashcroft.

Pebble Mill at One production meeting