Category: Television

‘A Box of Swan’ -photos by Willoughby Gullachsen

Adrian Dunbar (John)

Sandy Ratcliff, Pete Postlethwaite, Hilary Sesta, Adrian Dunbar

Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.

A Box of Swan was a ‘Debut on Two’ drama produced at Pebble Mill, transmitted on 9th Oct 1990 on BBC 2.  Alan David Price wrote the script, and  it was produced by Vicky Licorish and Philippa Giles, Diana Patrick was the director.

The BFI database describes the drama as a:

‘Play about a young man brought back to his roots by the death of his father, a road sweeper for 27 years. John moved to London to further his career as an architect, but his ambivalent feelings towards his family are brought to a head when he returns home for the funeral.’

http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/445934

The film starred Pete Postlethwaite as Tony, Adrian Dunbar as John, Hilary Sesta as Mother, Sandy Ratcliff as Patricia and Bryan Pringle as Father.

Thanks to Dave Bushell, who was the lighting director, for identifying the drama from the photos.  Dave remembers that there were six plays in all on ‘Debut on Two’, two filmed on location and four in Studio A. They were written by new writers with established actors. The locations for ‘Box of Swan’ included an Italian restaurant and a undertaker’s chapel-of-rest, in Bearwood, West Midlands.

The other ‘Debut on Two’ plays were  Kingdom Come, Widow of Vulnerability, The Wake, Breast is Best, and the Conversion of St Paul. They were a similar idea to the ‘Second City First’ series of studio dramas from the 1970s, which also featured new talent, and particularly new writers.

Pete Postlethwaite – photos by Willoughby Gullachsen

Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproductions without permission.

Since Pete Postlethwaite’s death was announced yesterday, I thought it would be fitting to post up a photo of him from a Pebble Mill drama production.  Pete Postlewthaite acted in several Pebble Mill productions including Martin Chuzzlewit, and the drama shown here.

Pete Postlethwaite was born in 1946 and died aged 64, after a long battle with cancer.

Unfortunately I don’t know which drama this photos is from – so if you can identify it, I’d be very grateful.  It looks to date from around the late 1980s.

Thanks

Vanessa

Pete Postlethwaite and others

Telly Addicts – photo from Ian Collins

Telly Addicts figure

Telly Addicts was a studio based game show presented by Noel Edmunds.  It was produced at Pebble Mill and recorded in Studio A.  Two teams, sat on sofas, were pitted against each other in a test of their TV knowledge.  The format mostly involved seeing clips of different TV shows and being asked questions afterwards.  The series began in 1985, with the final episode going out in 1998.  There were some celebrity specials (especially in the later years), but most of the early episodes involved families.  There were generally around 16 episodes a year.  The format changed a little over time.  The early years saw the winners of the previous week staying on and being challenged by a new family.  From 1987 there was a tournament style format involving 16 teams in 8 qualifying heats, the winners of which then went forward to quarter finals, then semi finals and concluding in a grand final.

There were a number of different producers and directors over the years.  Producers included Tim Manning, John G Smith, Richard Lewis and Helen Lott, and directors included Annette Martin, Nick Hurran and Sue Robinson.  John King was the executive producer.

Thanks to Ian Collins from Post Production for taking a photo of this Telly Addicts figure!

‘Survival of the Fittest’ – photos Willoughby Gullachsen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission. Survival of the Fittest was a Screen One drama, produced at Pebble Mill by Carol Parks, directed by Martyn Friend and written by Julian Mitchell, transmitted in 1990.

The drama starred Timothy West as Geoffrey Cowper, Jean Anderson as Molly Cowper, Nerys Hughes as Betty Trinder, Elizabeth Spriggs as Eileen Blackett, Timothy Davies as Chris Trinder and Joanna Brookes as June Trinder.

The BFI Database describes Survival of the Fittest as a:

‘Dark comedy that looks at what happens when a fiercely-independent 80-year-old widow becomes too frail to live alone. Molly Cowper is determined to stay in her own home, even though she has recently had a mild heart attack. Not wanting to be alone at night, she makes elaborate plans to ensure that neighbours will sleep in her house. Supervised by her long-suffering son Geoffrey an agreement is drawn up so that Chris Trinder and Eileen Blackett will stay there at agreed times. Her arrangements begin to fall apart however, when Chris dies of a heart attack and her dog is run over. Although Geoffrey tries to sort things out Molly still tries to enforce her wishes, riding roughshod over all of them with devastating consequences. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/446261?view=synopsis

The second photo shows members of the crew including l to r: Sound Recordists Kirsten Jones, Roger Slater; Production Assistant, Jane Barton; and Production Manager, John Greening.Save

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Song for Christmas – Lynda Kettle’s photos

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.

Song for Christmas was an annual children’s carol competition, and part of Pebble Mill at One.  Mark Kershaw was the director of the Song for Christmas shown in the photos, and David Weir was the producer.  Lynda Kettle designed the set in Studio A.  I’m not sure which year the photos are from, but probably 1985 0r 1986.

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.

Song for Christmas