
David Waine in 2017
David Waine, who has died at the age of 76, had a career with the BBC spanning 30 years ending as Head of Broadcasting at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham.
David Waine in 2017
David Waine, who has died at the age of 76, had a career with the BBC spanning 30 years ending as Head of Broadcasting at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham.
This is an excerpt from an interview with Clare Stride, 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. Clare was working as a research assistant at the time, and later became a producer on The Clothes Show and a series producer on various Daytime shows. I worked with her when she was a producer on Good Morning with Anne and Nick in the early 1990s. She sadly died aged 55 in 2006.
Thanks to Jonathan Dick for sharing the photo, who has sadly died since sharing the excerpts.
Specially shot video of Roger Casstles talking about why BBC Pebble Mill was a special place. The video is recorded on Pebble Mill Road, overlooking the site where Pebble Mill stood, and is now a dental hospital. Roger mentions some of the productions that came from Pebble Mill, like Pebble Mill at One, Midlands Today, The Archers, as well as the Midland Radio Orchestra, and being a centre for drama, but tells us that the really important thing was how people worked together, for instance post production working across all productions and the way that Graphics and Set Design departments collaborated with production. Roger Casstles was the creator and producer of The Clothes Show, the fashion magazine series which ran from the 1986-2000.
(The video was shot by BCU Media graduate, Ash Connaughton, with me, (Vanessa Jackson) asking the questions).
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Andy Frizzell: ‘Had some great shoots with Roger in many countries around the world. As always talking a lot of sense. We were all saddened by the closing of ‘The Mill’.‘
Claire Chambers: ‘As Roger would say “ why answer a question with one word when thousands will do” ! Very well said’
Linda Hearn-Clapham: ‘Very happy memories of recording Hartbeat and The Movie Game at Pebble Mill in the 90’s!’
Arthur Binnie’s leaving do from Pebble Mill at One. Photo from Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission
“It is with great sadness that I tell you all that Arthur died last night at the age of 89. During 10 years at Aberdeen Journals, Arthur was a general reporter, gossip columnist for the Evening Express and latterly the paper’s chief sub-editor. In 1964, he joined the BBC to oversee an expanding output from its Aberdeen newsroom. Later in his career he co-produced a documentary series on the offshore industry, worked as assistant editor on the Pebble Mill show and worked for Aberdeen Cable TV.”
Helen Straine (BBC)
Here is one of the Radio Times entries for the 6 part series on North Sea oil, from the BBC Genome project, you’ll notice that Roger Casstles (later on Pebble Mill at One and The Clothes Show) was the director: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/d27f1b1e94f04b458b0bc804fb22ba1f
“The Energy File: Sweet Oil
Photos from Ruth Kiosses, no reproduction without permission.
Ruth Kiosses was at the Wimbledon School of Art in Dec 1988, when ‘The Clothes Show’ filmed her dressed in an Edwardian evening gown. It was filmed at the Barbican centre, and transmitted in January 1989. A year later Ruth was working at Pebble Mill in the costume department and bombing around in ‘The Clothes Show’ ‘wagon’ the large box van with CS logo on.