Doctors – Page 3 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Christopher Timothy speaking on Radio 2

Kevin Lakin, Christopher Timothy and Terry Ford, on location in the Yorkshire Dales, for All Creatures Great and Small. No reproduction without permission.

Christopher Timothy just spoke during an interview, by Graham Norton on BBC Radio Two (Saturday 18^th June 2016, 10am), of Pebble Mill saying what a fantastic place it was. A great hub full of so much activity and talent. 32 years of my life spent there. Thirteen years of All Creatures Great & Small of which Ivor [Annie’s husband] edited some. Loved seeing Christopher there. My Dad spoke to him once in the lift, Christopher was in a wheelchair as he had broken his leg! Chatted to him like an old friend. Made my Dad’s day.

Annie Gumbley-Williams

(Here is the link to BBC iPlayer to Graham Norton’s interview with Christopher Timothy and Martin Shaw: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07fl1d8 )

The following comment was left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Betti Moretti: ‘Loved working at Pebble Mill with Chris on Doctors – I’d been such a fan of All Creatures when I was a child it was like a dream come true. I was Production Secretary, but also played the wife to Mark Frost’s Dr Steve Rawlings – until I was killed off! Happy memories of that time – especially down at the club.’

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Doctors titles series 3

These stills are taken from the titles sequence from the continuing drama series, Doctors, series 3, which went out Sept 2001 to May 2002, and consisted of 129 episodes.

Mal Young was the Exec Producer, Carson Black the Series Producer, and Will Trotter the producer.

The characters shown in the stills were played by the following actors:

Ben Kwarme – Ariyon Bakare
Jude Carlyle – Natalie J. Robb
Kate McGuire – Maggie Cronin
Faith Walker – Eva Fontaine
Katrina Bullen – Tabitha Wady

Thanks to the BBC Drama Village for sharing the stills.

Studio 1 – Martin Fenton

Studio 1 control room

Studio 1 light

Studio 1 Neumann U47s

Photos by Martin Fenton, no reproduction without permission. Martin took these photos in 2003. Radio Studio 1 was the largest radio studio at Pebble Mill, and was also used for some television series in the latter years of Pebble Mill.

“Studio 1 was once a venue for glorious orchestral recordings, but by this point it had been deliberately priced out of the market (Abbey Road number 1 was cheaper) and was used for little more than Farming Today

The Neumann U47s , I was told were used at the insistence of Radio 3, when Studio 1 was regularly used for orchestral concerts.” [The mics may be Neumann U87s, see comment below from Andy Groves.]

Martin Fenton

(The Neumann U47s were condenser mics apparently well known for their clear sound. They were apparently the favourite mic of the Beatles manager, George Martin.)

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Caroline Feldon Parsons: ‘Lots of happy memories doing programmes for Radio 3 in that studio. Everything from live Lunchtime Concerts to live drivetime programmes like In Tune, and lots of recorded chamber music. I did a fair bit of page-turning for pianists too!’

Chris Marshall: ‘Yes, it was really busy with Radio 3 programmes until the bizarre decisions around Producer Choice and bimedia put paid to that. Tony Wass could give lots of info on the technical stuff.’

Jane Ward: ‘Occasionally larger scale orchestral and brass band sessions for Radio 2 took place in there as well. I produced a fair number and, like Caroline, was involved in other ways before that, either page turning or acting as orchestral librarian before I became a producer… I arrived at Pebble Mill in February 1987 as the Music Assistant, a post which not only served Radios 2 & 3 but which ultimately extended to become a research and support service for the whole building.’

Andy Groves: ‘I think you will find the mics are a Neumann U87 rather than 47. Both fine microphones.’

Peter Trevena: ‘I think that the lamp is still working on Doctors‘

We are BBC Birmingham – Resources & Drama

This still is from a brochure produced when BBC Birmingham moved to the Mailbox, in 2004. The brochure was for staff and people elsewhere in the industry, promoting the services and departments within BBC Birmingham.

Post production took outside bookings at this time, from series like Fifth Gear, as well as internal bookings.

Drama, did not relocate to the Mailbox, due to insufficient space, the cost, and the inability to film scenes around the premises, and instead arranged accommodation for themselves at the University of Birmingham.

Thanks to Dharmesh Rajput for sharing the brochure, and keeping it safe for the last decade.

We are BBC Birmingham

This, We are BBC Birmingham brochure was given to members of staff moving from Pebble Mill to the new Mailbox building in summer/autumn 2004.

There are other sections which name some of the then current productions, both radio and television, but I will post those separately.

The leaflet highlights the work of internal departments like HR, Finance, Marketing, Talent Rights, Libraries and IT.

Thanks to Dharmesh Rajput for keeping the leaflet safe for the last decade, and for sharing it.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Andy Walters: ‘I remember those being taken. I am on the first B. We were assembled on the grass at the back of the building with the photographer on the roof.’

Jane Green: ‘I’m on a B too. I miss Pebble Mill’

Paul Hunt: ‘Am on the bottom of C having dashed back from a meeting at the Mailbox!’

Claire Bennett: ‘Eleven years? Did I miss all the big ten year anniversary celebrations there must have been for a decade of glory at the Mailbox then?’

Steve Peacock: ‘I think they threw that party in Bristol’