Pebble Mill Studio C
This line drawing is of Pebble Mill’s Studio C, which was the Foyer when the building first opened and was repurposed as the iconic studio which housed Pebble Mill at One from 1972-86. The studio was famous for it’s glass wall looking out over Pebble Mill Road.
The drawing appeared in a Pebble Mill at One book.
Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.
Stuart Gandy and Keith Knowles on Election night in 2001, in Studio C gallery, in the early hours waiting for the results to come in. In the first photo you can see the names of the locations of the various OBs on the monitors.
These photos were originally posted on Pebble Mill Engineers Facebook group.
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Stuart Gandy: ‘I remember the night well. The console in front of us with all the switches on was a special bit of kit (known as Robespierre – and I can’t remember why) that was only fetched out on election nights, that provided extra comms between the regions. It had to be connected back to comms centre with a lot of cabling a few days prior, which took quite a bit of planning and effort, but Pebble Mill was a regional election hub, so needed to communicate with a lot of places.’
Pete Simpkin: ‘I presented two General Election results Radio programmes on WM along with some local council ones and really enjoyed the through the night experience….. total exhaustion afterwards! Ten pm till 6 am the next morning was some ‘on air’ stint!!’
Andy Walters: ‘I was at the ICC that night Engineering for Radio WM. I remember it being a very late (or early morning) finish.’
Studio C sound desk, prior to the refurbishment at the end of the 1990s. Photo from Stuart Gandy, no reproduction without permission
Studio C sound desk prior to refurbishment
Refurbished sound desk in Studio C
Refurbished sound desk being removed when Studio C closed, with John Griffiths
Refurbished sound desk has been removed, as Studio C has closed
Studio C vision mixer
Vision mixer stripped out of the desk after Studio C closed
These photos from Stuart Gandy show the Studio C galleries over time, from the 1990s to early 2000s. Studio C was where Pebble Mill at One, and Good Morning with Anne and Nick were broadcast from, as well as several other shows. The first two photos show the sound desk before the refurbishment, which took place in the late 1990s. The third photo is of the refurbished desk from the early 2000s, followed by photos of the desk being dismantled when the studio was closed. The last two photos show the Studio C vision mixer, and its removal, when the studio closed.
These photos were originally shared on the Pebble Mill Engineers Facebook group.
Copyright resides with the original holders, no reproduction without permission
Thanks to Jonathan Relf for sharing this mug from the series Front Room, which was presented by Jason Bradbury, who has gone on to find fame with the Gadget Show. It went out in 1999 on BBC Knowledge, which was one of the BBC’s first digital channels.
The series was recorded in Studio 1 (built as a radio studio). Studio C’s gallery was cross-wired to cover Studio 1.
Jonathan recalls that the show included, “the cutting edge of “new media” content. I can remember a segment involving the “Take Hart” gallery music too, but was internet related.” The show involved viewers sharing ideas via webcams, video diaries, online chat and email.
Jonathan thinks he was training as a lighting operator on the show, probably under the tutorship of Dave Bushell.
I seem to remember that Tony Steyger was the Exec and Caroline Jones the Series Producer, with Bob Davies as Studio Director.
Photo by Karen Bond, no reproduction without permission.
This is the ‘Hotline’ area for Good Morning with Anne and Nick, the mid morning studio magazine show, which went out on BBC 1 between 1993-6.
Each day there was a phone-in on the subject of the day. Calls would come in to the ‘Hotline’, and then the contributors chosen would be called back to speak on the programme. The cameras would come into the ‘Hotline’ area to get a summary of the types of calls coming in. The ‘Hotline’ area was near Studio C, where the show went out, just across the corridor, near the Radio Studios.