Photos – Page 274 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Andy Meikle’s Golden Oldie Picture Show video

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

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

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

Andy’s Farewell – Steph Silk

'On The House' with Steph & Andy

Andy always kept this On The House press launch picture from 1987 on the wall in his study. He wasn’t too happy at the beginning when I was assigned to ‘his’ DIY programme, but the show ran for 4 successful series and the team lasted for 25 years!

His sons and I have been very comforted by the many warm tributes posted this week. Andy had always said that he wanted a ‘meeting of friends and didn’t want people wearing black.”

We hope that friends and colleagues can join us at 1.15 at Redditch
Crematorium on Monday 21st February and afterwards at The Abbey Hotel.

Family flowers only: any donations to either St Mary’s Hospice or The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Steph Silk