roger gregory – Page 3 – What Was Pebble Mill?

After You, Hugo – photos from John Greening

‘After You, Hugo’, was basically a silent play – starring Nola Rae a mime artist. It was a comedy, set backstage at a seedy ‘30’s Music Hall. The Music Hall company develops a new mime act because of members’ difficulty in communicating with each other. It was directed by Bob Jacobs, and produced at Pebble Mill by Roger Gregory. The ‘Summer Season’ drama was transmitted in 1985. The script was written by John David, Chris Harris and Nola Rae.

The drama featured Chris Harris, Nola Rae, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hale, Derek Tansley, Pip Hinton, Nick Cursi, Lyn Farrell, Tina Grundy, Donna Kellie and Barbi Levard.

First photo, features Chris Harris (in bag) and Nola Rae, Australian mime artist

Second photo, includes Andy Meikle (FM/PM), John Greening (AFM), tying up Chris Harris, and props guy, Dave Bushell (known as Gonzo) on the right.

Thanks to John Greening for making the photos available.

‘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 Battle of Waterloo’ – photo by Willoughby Gullachsen

The Battle of Waterloo

Photograph by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.

The photo features (left) Martin Carthy, playing ‘Wolfhound’ and (far right) Peter Benson as ‘Sniffer’. Please add a comment if you can identify the middle actor. Other actors to star were Warren Clarke as ‘Slewpot’, Dave Atkins as ‘Bamber’, and Dai Bradley as ‘Ferris’.

‘The Battle of Waterloo’ was a live studio drama, written by Keith Dewhurst and produced at Pebble Mill in 1983. It was produced and directed by Robin Midgley, the production associate was Dawn Robertson, with Bob Jacobs as the production manager. Phyllida Lloyd (who went on to direct the film Mama Mia) was the AFM, Jenny Brewer the PA, Peter Ansorge & Roger Gregory the script editors, Roger Sutton the vision mixer and Dave Doogood the camera supervisor.

The Heart of the Country 1987

Photos by

Willoughby Gullachsen and others, no reproduction without permission.

The ‘Heart of the Country’ was a four part series by Fay Weldon set in Somerset which was broadcast in spring 1987. It was produced at Pebble Mill by Roger Gregory and directed by Brian Farnham and starred Jacqueline Tong as Sonia, a mother struggling on her own with two young children. The cast also included Christian Bale. The climax of the series comes at the Glastonbury Carnival (shown in the last photo), with a fire and the death of one of the characters. Bob Jacobs was 1st A.D., Dave Doogood was the DOP, with Dave Evans assisting (shown in the photo with the paddling pool) and Chris Reynolds did special effects.Save