Merrick Simmonds, Film Editor – photo by Peter Poole

Photo by Peter Poole, no reproduction without permission.

This photo shows Merrick editing in one of the film editing rooms. Before PSC (portable single camera) most location programmes were shot on film. Pebble Mill had several film editing rooms. Editors often worked late into the night to meet transmission times.

News was shot on reversal film and processed in Pebble Mill’s film processing unit. I think it took about an hour to process the film. Then it was edited and sometimes a voice over added. This made getting a story to air very slow.

Merrick latter became a director for Midlands Today. After that he directed ‘Pebble Mill At One’ and many other network programmes, including ‘Good Morning with Anne and Nick’.

Peter Poole

Good Morning Summer 1995

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

‘Good Morning Summer’ was presented by Sarah Greene, and Will Hanrahan.

As the name suggests, the series was a summer version of ‘Good Morning with Anne and Nick’, but without Anne Diamond and Nick Owen.  The production team was pretty much the same.

The photo includes: Katie Wright (deputy editor), Sue Walton (producer), Natasha Wood (PA), Tessa Finch (editor), Sue Robinson (director), Merrick Simmonds (director), Belinda Essex (researcher), Jane McLean (PA), Vanessa Jackson (producer), Sarah Greene (presenter), Will Hanrahan (presenter), Rosemary Edwards (producer), Sarah Jayne Phillips (vision mixer), Jane Lomas (producer), Claire Popplewell (PA), Julie Tanner (AP), Slavka (researcher), Sharon Fisher (researcher), Marco (FM), Jackie Deitrich (producer).

Thanks to Jane McLean for making the photo available.

Good Morning with Anne and Nick 1996

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

This photos is of the ‘Good Morning with Anne and Nick’ production team in 1996, around the end of the series.

The photo includes: Sarah Jayne Phillips, vision mixer (pink top), Sue Robinson, director (black top, glasses), Marco, floor manager behind Sue R. Sue Watson, researcher (white jacket over black top), Steph Silk, Editor Daytime, (seated, black jacket), Jo Gray, PA (seated on floor, black top), Jane Lomas, Producer (seated on floor, grey waistcoat), Sue Walton, AP (black top, behind Jane Lomas), Natasha Wood, PA (turquoise top, next to Sue), Katie Wright, Deputy Editor Good Morning (pink suit), Tessa Finch, Editor Good Morning (black suit, next to Katie), Guy, Producer, Rosemary Edwards, Producer (blonde hair, black top, rt handside), Jen Phillips, AP (dark hair, stripey top next to Rosemary). Back row right handside, Jane McLean, PA (blue top), Merrick Simmonds, director (black jumper next to Jane), Sharon Fisher, researcher, (white shirt, next to Merrick).  Back row left handside, Derek Hallworth, director.  Central – Jackie Deitrich, Producer (blue jumper, glass raised), next to Jackie, Julie Tanner, AP, next to her, Jean (can’t remember surname) who was in charge of finances (pink jacket).

Thanks to Jane McLean for making the photo available.

‘Date with Fate’ – 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.

‘Date with Fate’ was a game show, transmitted in 1998, where a top astrologer was put on the spot to see if they could predict the behaviour of two contestants. It was presented by Esther McVey, with astrologer Jonathan Cainer.  There were 28 episodes for BBC 1 Daytime, produced at Pebble Mill by Steve Weddle and Katie Wright; it was directed by Merrick Simmonds.

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.

Lynda Kettle