‘Airbase’ – photos by Willoughby Gullachsen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.

‘Airbase’ was produced at Pebble Mill in 1988 by Keith Williams and Roger Gregory.  The script was written by Malcolm McKay and directed by David Attwood.  It was recorded in Studio A, and involved bringing a fighter plane into the studio.

The drama starred Anton Lesser, Clive Mantle, Catherine Russell, David Lansbury and Ricco Ross.  Catherine played Madeline Kohler, a young female American Air Force officer, who is posted to the all-male world of a U.S. airbase in Britain.  The drama follows four days in her life.

The BBC 1 drama raised considerable controversy with its unflattering portrayal of life on a U.S. airbase, particularly concerning drug use.  It even caused questions to be asked in Parliament by Lord Chalfont.

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‘The Daughter-in-Law’ – TX Card from Dave Bushell

TX card

‘The Daughter-in-Law’ was an adaptation of D.H.Lawrence’s play about the 1912 coal strike.  It was produced at Pebble Mill in Studio A and transmitted in 1985. It was directed by Martyn Friend and produced by Carol Parks. Dave Bushell who has kept this TX card since 1985 was the director of lighting.  Michael Edwards was the designer and Ian Rae sound supervisor.

It was a star studded cast including Sheila Hancock, Cherie Lunghi, David Threlfall, Mick Ford, Carmel McSharry and Wilfred Grove.

Gareth Williams, adds the following comment: ‘I was the floor assistant on this show.  It was recorded over four days in Studio A in story order.  This meant that however much or little attention they paid in the preparation period, every single member of the crew got to see the story unfold before their very  eyes, played out by a fantastic cast.

The final scene between David Threlfall and Cheri Lunghi (the Daughter in Law) after Carmel McSharry’s character had died, left the whole studio moist eyed – and then Martyn Friend asked for another take, and we all cried again!’

‘Fighting Back’

Fighting Back

This photo of the 1986 drama serial ‘Fighting Back’ was given by Maggie Humphries (Film Unit), although I don’t know who the photographer is.  No reproduction without permission.

The serial was written by Gareth Jones, produced by Chris Parr and directed by Paul Seed.  It follows the story of Viv Sharpe who leaves her drunken husband in Liverpool, with her two children, and returns to her native Bristol.  She finds out that her mother has died and no one wants to help her.  Her children end up being taken into Care, and Viv ends up in s squat, before emerging as a street leader.  The drama stars Hazel O’Connor, Derek Thompson, Malcolm Frederick, Cheryl Maiker and Tony Carney.

Please add a comment if you can add more information.

‘Boys from the Blackstuff’ – video of film editor Greg Miller

‘Boys from Blackstuff’ – Greg Miller from pebblemill on Vimeo.

In this video, film editor Greg Miller talks about the editing of the ‘Boys from the Blackstuff’ series.  Greg edited ‘Yosser’s Story’ on film, whilst the other four episodes were recorded on lightweight video cameras and edited on 2″ videotape. Bernard Hill played Yosser.

Philip Saville directed the series, and Michael Wearing was the producer. The series was produced at Pebble Mill and went out in 1982.

\’Jobs for the Boys\’

Smart – photos by Lynda Kettle

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.

Smart was a children’s art show which was hosted by Pebble Mill, and recorded in Studio A.  The producer was Chris Tandy and the director Jason Garbett.  The series was presented by Mark Speight, amongst others like Jay Burridge and Zoe Ball.  The series went out between 1994-9, although I don’t know which series were recorded at Pebble Mill – please add a comment if you can add more information.

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