Factual – Page 9 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Royal Navy helicopter landing at Pebble Mill

Photo by Keith Warrender, no reproduction without permission

Thanks to Keith Warrender for sharing this photo of a Royal Navy helicopter landing on the back lawn at Pebble Mill. This dates from the late 1970s. The landing would have been part of Pebble Mill at One, and was no doubt one of John Smith’s shows, as he had very good contacts with the military.

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

David Shute: ‘I often had the job of doing Hearts & Minds visits to the neighbours when we had noisy visitors expected. Great fun.’

Julie Hill: ‘I was at Pebble Mill then and we had harrier jump jets/ parachutes and all sorts of crazy stunts landing for Pebble Mill at One! Being told not to leave the BBC Club bar whilst the Harrier landed and took off went down very well! Oh happy days….’

Asian Programme Unit in hospitality

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission. Included are Yousaf Aziz, Bish Mehay, Krishen Gould, Asha, Ashok Rampal Jayne Savage and Waseem Mahmood

Here’s a photo from Waseem Mahmood of the Asian Programmes Unit team at hospitality after a recording with Indian Singer Asha Bhonsle. It includes Yousaf Aziz, Bish Mehay, Krishen Gould, Asha, Ashok Rampal Jayne Savage and Waseem.

Bish Mehay by Paresh Solanki

Editors may come and go, but Bish Mehay was always there to anchor the ship (the BBC Asian Programmes Unit). He was a great friend and a great support, especially in time of crisis. His motto ‘Don’t worry, it is all under control,’ was a Bish classic from the numerous phrases he utilised daily. His knowledge of Bollywood stars and ethnic fashion models was phenomenal. If smartphones were around at his time at the APU, Bish would have been photographed with every Bollywood star and fashion model around. He loved directing the super stars. During the time of Mega Mela at the NEC, he had the audacity to tell Sharukh Khan how to pose for a shot. His anecdotes would fill a book. What a loss – RIP to one of the pioneers of ethnic broadcasting in the UK.

Paresh Solanki

Raymond Lefevre – Pebble Mill at One theme

Here is the record of the original Raymond Lefevre theme tune of Pebble Mill at One, courtesy of Andy Walters. It was released in 1978. It set him back £4.99!

Working in Television – Peter Hercombe

This is an excerpt from an interview with the Assistant Editor of Pebble Mill at One, Peter Hercombe, from a book called Working in Television written in 1980 by Jan Leeming, who worked at Pebble Mill for a time. The aim was to encourage young people to think about careers in television.

Thanks to Jonathan Dick, who has sadly died recently since sharing the excerpt.