PROSPERO - GARDENING ON THE BBC
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PROSPERO The newspaper for retired BBC Pension Scheme members • April 2021 • Issue 2 PENSION GARDENING ON THE BBC SCHEME PAGE 2
| BACK AT THE BBC
GARDENING ON THE BBC
9 May 1931 was arguably the date on which the BBC discovered
how to talk to its audience. From the BBC’s inception in the 1920s,
the idea of the ‘talk’ was one of the Corporation’s regular features.
An expert would address the audience, reading formally from
a script, but few ‘real’ people ever got behind the microphone.
T
hen, the mould was broken, with the arrival of
CH Middleton. Selected from a list of potential
gardening broadcasters, supplied to the BBC
by the Royal Horticultural Society, this gently spoken
son of a Northamptonshire gardener threw out
broadcasting convention, and dared to speak from
notes alone.
‘Mr Middleton’, as he was known on air, got the full
support of BBC management, although in the early
years he did provide a script as backup. Ultimately, this
was seen as unnecessary, when it became clear that
Mr Middleton was a broadcasting natural. A memo at
the time from Mr Fielden of the BBC General Talks
Department is revealing:
‘There really is no need for you to submit a manuscript
every time you talk, so long as you have sufficient notes
and can extemporize – I would be happy if you would
‘Mr Middleton’ with Elizabeth Cowell.
endeavour to tell and not read your garden talks.’
This he did with relish. His first talk set the tone
that would become familiar for the next 15 years: This down-to-earth approach lent itself to open approach with his Gardening Club series. Rarely did the
‘Good afternoon. Well, it’s not much of a day for communication with the audience. For example, the programme stretch to outside locations. Instead, an
gardening, is it?’ question of when Mr Middleton’s In Your Garden improvised studio set, complete with a greenhouse was
programme was to be heard was of great to concern preferred, constructed in a decaying cinema converted
to him in the early days. Was it to be Fridays at 19.10 or for television at Gosta Green in Birmingham.
Sundays at 14.00? Mr Middleton himself broadcast a
The Blue Peter garden
message to his listeners asking which time they preferred:
By the end of the 1960s, Thrower moved over to the
‘There does not seem a better way of finding out what
newly established Gardeners’ World, a BBC stalwart
your wishes are, whether you regard me as a stimulation
that remains remarkably unchanged in its aim to
for the weekend’s gardening, or to send you off to sleep
this day. But it’s his role as the children’s gardener
after Sunday lunch. The BBC want to please you and
in Blue Peter that extended the appeal of gardening
I am quite prepared to do what I’m told as far as I can
to another generation.
and to give you what you want.’
In 1974 he established the Blue Peter garden, complete
Over 7,000 listeners wrote in to say they preferred
with a greenhouse and simple plan of flowerbeds for
Sunday, 2,950 Friday, and 66 liked Mr Middleton so
straightforward cultivation. It survived two bouts of
much they answered ‘for either or any time’.
vandalism, in 1978 and 1983, but always sprang back.
WW2 and gardening The Italian sunken garden brought a new lease of life
By the outbreak of war in 1939, Mr Middleton was a following the first attack, and from the 1990s the garden
Percy Thrower at the studio in Gosta Green.
household name and was approached by the Ministry has featured as a regular summer backdrop on the
of Food to front their Dig for Victory campaign. BBC’s children’s channels. The Blue Peter garden now
The appeal of gardening suddenly widened as listeners, exists at MediaCity UK along with the statue of Petra,
Early gardening programmes even without their own gardens, were encouraged the Blue Peter dog.
The early years of radio broadcasting were very much a to ‘grow their own’ in allotments, waste ground and
learning experience for all concerned. In the case of even parks.
gardening in the pre-Middleton era, much had been Dig for Victory.
It was a question of national survival, but the advice still
learned about what worked on air, and what did not,
came in the familiar accessible form. What did change
from a series of talks given at varying intervals and
was the setting of the gardening talks. Mr Middleton
different times of day, by the likes of Vita Sackville West,
moved from the studio to a vegetable garden near
and Marion Cran. Their limited success seemed to stem
The Langham Hotel in Cavendish Place, central London,
as much from their alienating tone and delivery than
where his advice was to be heard live on location.
simply irregular scheduling.
There was one other change. The weather report was
With the opening of more regional output, from stations
strangely absent for the duration of the war, essential
across the country, listeners began to demand more.
information for gardeners of course, but also very useful
Mr Middleton offered a more varied gardening diet.
for enemy aircraft planning a raid.
What was coming into bloom, the likely weather
conditions, practical tips on controlling pests – these TV gardening
were typical fare in his weekly broadcasts. All were Television and gardening seemed to be natural partners,
presented in a seemingly effortless fashion. and Mr Middleton realised this within the first year of the
new medium starting in the UK. On 15 May 1937, Mr
Middleton began to lay out a special plot for TV in the
grounds of Alexandra Palace in north London.
Television transmission ceased during the war, but
bounced back when another gardening legend was
born. Percy Thrower continued the Middleton legacy,
The Blue Peter garden at MediaCity UK.
taking very much the same practical and friendly
2
Later trends
Since the early days of radio and television, gardening
PROSPERO
has been the platform for the launch of many successful
broadcasting careers, and new programme formats have
emerged through the medium. Alan Titchmarsh made
his debut on the long-running Nationwide, clearing
greenfly from a garden in Margate in 1979, and Ground
Prospero is provided free of charge to retired Scheme
Force triggered a swathe of lifestyle garden and design
members or to their spouses and dependants.
shows from the early 1990s.
Prospero provides a source of news on former
colleagues, developments at the BBC and pension
issues, plus classified adverts. It is available online
at bbc.com/mypension
To advertise in Prospero, please enclose a cheque
made payable to: BBC Central Directorate. Rate £6
for 20 words. Please include your pension number
in a covering letter.
Please send your editorial contributions,
comments or feedback to:
Prospero, BBC Pension and Benefits Centre,
Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1FT
Email: prospero@bbc.co.uk
The Ground Force team.
Please make sure that any digital pictures you send
are scanned at 300dpi. Please also note that the
Always adapting, always changing, gardening maximum word count for obituaries is 350 words.
programmes on the BBC have enjoyed an ongoing
Contents
appeal for countless generations. Perhaps the early
realisation that real people, talking about what they
really believe in, has sustained gardening on the Monty Don.
BBC for the past 90 years.
Back at the BBC 2-3
2021 pension increase
Gardening on the BBC
2021 pension increase
Sudoku
From 1 April 2021, pensions will increase as follows: You can log in to myPension online to view
your combined April payslip and P60 document
• Old and New Benefits members’ pensions
from 13 April 2021.
in payment and deferred pensions: 1.2%.
Old Benefits members who elected to receive If you have not registered for the service, you Letters 4-5
the Pension Increase Exchange will receive a will need to contact the pension service line on
lower increase, and in some cases, no increase. 029 2032 2811 to obtain your personal security
• Career Average Benefits (‘CAB’) 2006 members’ number to complete the registration process.
pensions in payment: 1.2%.
Paper copies will be posted on 13 April 2021, Memories 6-8
• CAB 2011 members’ pensions in payment: 0.6%. so should arrive with you by Friday of that week. BBC School Radio
No discretionary increase over and above those Weather forecasts on BBC1
detailed above has been agreed. Ceefax in Switzerland
A radio romance
Grace Wyndham Goldie (BBC) Trust Fund:
Obituaries 9-11
Application window now open
Applications are invited for grants for educational and hardship purposes and should
be returned by 31 July 2021.
Odds & ends 12
The Trust Fund exists to help those engaged in broadcasting or an associated activity,
now or in the past, as well as their children and dependants. Open University – 50th anniversary
Caption competition
You can request an application form from the BBC Pension and Benefits Centre or
download one here: bbc.co.uk/charityappeals/appeals/grants/grace-wyndham-goldie Classifieds
WIN
Sudoku £10
A O E G
Complete the grid so that every row, column and
3x3 box contains the letters ACDEGHOTW in some C G
order. One row or column contains a 5 or more
letter word, name or programme title with a BBC T G H W
connection. Solve the sudoku to discover what or
who it is and send send your entry to Prospero by G E
Friday, 30 April 2021. Or, you can email your entry Prospero April 2021
to prospero@bbc.co.uk, with ‘Sudoku competition 2’ T H A E The next issue of Prospero will appear
in the subject line. Please include your BBC pension
number. The winner gets a £10 voucher. (Please note, H T in June 2021. The copy deadline
is Friday, 30 April 2021.
vouchers will be issued once the latest lockdown
restrictions have been lifted.) Many thanks to
G O D A
Neil Somerville for providing this puzzle.
C G
The Sudoku winner in February 2021 was
Mr R Bowsfield, who correctly identified the E D C H
connection as ‘rethink’.
PROSPERO APRIL 2021 | 3
| LETTERS
Summer 1976
The Archers end of series The letter from Roy Bradshaw in the
There’s a footnote needed to The Archers 70th anniversary piece in the most February edition of Prospero about
recent Prospero. For some, at least, this ‘longest running daily serial in the world’ early dress code reminded me of the
did actually finish when episode 2,670 was broadcast on 25 July 1969. And here’s long hot summer of 1976.
the proof. My department was Television
The story goes that when the number of overseas English language broadcasters Training, then based at Woodstock
airing the programme had dwindled to three – Canada, Kenya and Hong Kong Grove, which was next door
– BBC Transcription would no longer fund a free service. The offer was that the to Kensington House. The building
remaining trio could either pay the cost of transcription and distribution or that had been a factory and had
a special ‘final episode’ could be produced to wind up the series. flat roof areas which could be
accessed by fire doors from a top
Demonstrating a shocking lack of loyalty, they opted for the latter! floor corridor.
Listeners in Hong Kong said farewell to Ambridge when a leading character was During the summer of 1976, a
seen off at a party in the Bull on the eve of his departure to a new life in Canada. number of secretaries took to
It’s a long time since I’ve played the piece but I recall the emigrant was sunbathing on the flat roof at
John Tregorran. My guess is Canada was chosen as, at the time, it was lunchtimes. The roof level of the
probably the largest overseas audience. building was slightly lower than
I once had the late Norman Painting (Phil Archer) as a guest who strenuously denied the the top floor of Kensington House,
existence of a final episode until I sent him a dubbing. Strange really, because he was in it! and the sight of attractive young
ladies in bikinis lying in the sun
Ken Warburton opposite was slightly too much for
house management.
I understand that a memo arrived
BBC Microcomputer with the comment to the effect
‘we don’t mind you sunbathing,
There’s no mention in your piece on ‘Notable BBC anniversaries in 2021’ that it’s the 40th anniversary of the BBC Computer but could you move to the upper
Literacy Project and the release of the iconic BBC Microcomputer! Admittedly the associated TV series (The Computer part of the roof where you can’t
Programme) first aired in early 1982, and BBC Micros only became readily available to the public then. be seen from Ken House!’
Richard Russell Dave Buckley
Ceefax Written Archives Caversham
With reference to the letter ‘Ceefax – goodbye cruel world’ in the February edition of I was fascinated by the item about the digitisation of the Written Archive Centre
Prospero, you can still experience something close to the old Ceefax service online in the February issue of Prospero.
at this address: www.tinyurl.com/bbcceefax
Some time after I retired in 1993, I decided to do a research degree, sponsored
This works in most desktop browsers, but sadly not in mobile versions. by the BBC, into the ways in which music performance – recitals, concerts, opera
and dance – had been televised. The research covered the period 1936 to 2004.
Richard Russell
For getting on for three years, once a week I drove to the WAC to delve through the
records of this period. At first, I was treated as an academic researcher and given
my own ‘minder’. Space in the reading rooms was limited and I wasn’t always able
Changing times to book a table on one of the two days a week that outside researchers were
admitted. Soon it was decided that, as a former member of staff, and especially as
Your article on how the BBC handled LGBTQ+ matters on John Birt had agreed to part-fund my research, I would be allowed to use the WAC
or in its programmes was very interesting. facilities on days normally only open to current staff members.
The gaps in the years were substantial, even after a softening It was agreed that on these days I would make the minimum demands on WAC
of the approach and acceptance of the rights that people fought staff, who were involved in their own research, often for current programmes.
for and eventually were rewarded with the changes in the law. Frequently I had the reading rooms to myself. An added bonus was that the
limited visitors’ parking at WAC was usually empty on ‘staff’ days. I was also
As a ‘Personnel’ person in the late ‘60s, and previously as an announcer, floor
allowed to lunch in the excellent dining room at nearby Caversham Park, home
assistant and AFM in the Television production teams, there were people I knew
of BBC Monitoring.
well who found great difficulties living in same-sex relationships because of the
shadow of the law. The incredible relief when the law changed and having to be My only regret is that the personal records of former staff members who had
‘careful’ became a thing of the past was palpable. died were only made available 25 years after their death. It was not always clear
when someone I was researching had died, even if they had left the BBC over
About 1969/70, one of the BBC’s benefits for members of staff was an allowance
50 years previously.
of ‘marriage’ leave and leave for moving house. There was even a ‘wedding’
present of, I think, £10. With the change in the law, a decision was made that The staff at WAC were uniformly helpful, from the receptionist Marion to the
those in same-sex relationships would be eligible for the same considerations. then Deputy Written Archivist Gwyniver Jones, and especially my ‘minder’,
Archives Researcher Jeff Walden.
While this was applauded for its existence, not so in the House of Commons.
One Scottish MP created a ‘stushie’ in the house, and I leave blanks An abiding memory is of the microfiche readers, each of which had its own
in the spellings for obvious reasons, when he said BBC stands for eccentricities. Going through microfiches, it was easy to be diverted from my
‘Bl…dy Bu….s’ Charter. research by coming across fascinating early scripts from programmes like
Dad’s Army and Monty Python.
To my mind and memory, it was a major first step in support for staff.
I graduated with a PhD just after my 60th birthday in 2003. Without access to
Tony Austin
WAC records, immaculately filed, I would not now be able to sign myself…
Dr Roy Tipping
IN YOUR ARTICLE timelined LGBTQ+ ‘firsts’ at the BBC, there was no mention
of our documentary Angus and Tony.
WITH ALL THE doom and gloom, I wondered if the ‘Written Archives Centre’ has
In 1984 John Pitman narrated the BBC1 series The Other Half – six love stories
the memo sent to the producer of It’s a Square World from (I think) the Head of
about six very different couples. One of them featured the distinguished author
Light Entertainment, after Michael Bentine had blown up a model of Television
Sir Angus Wilson and his partner for 32 years, Tony Garrett. Jonathan Gili’s
Centre. The memo said, ‘Television Centre must not be used as a source of
sensitive film was, I believe, the first depiction on factual television of open
entertainment.’
homosexual domestic life. It was a brave venture by all concerned, and a very
fine film. Neville Withers
Edward Mirzoeff Ed: Thanks Neville. We have asked WAC if the memo exists and will report back.
4
Legionnaires’ Disease Radio audiences
There has been much debate in the media about the BBC’s
The article by Ken Wright on the Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak brings back pursuit of younger audiences.
some unpleasant memories since I was one of the victims.
I read one report saying all channels had been ordered to
I worked in the Engineering Information Department, on the 7th floor of ‘aim younger.’
Henry Wood House. One day, I was walking on the pavement to the cashier’s
In the earlier years of my 20+ years with the BBC, there was a belief that audiences
office, at the back of BH, to cash an expenses claim when I felt a puff of
moved to the channel which attracted them most. The younger audiences listened
wet air in my face.
mainly to light entertainment, music and comedy, and as they grew older they
I thought nothing of it; it was only much later that I knew what I’d walked into. moved to the spoken-word programmes found on Radio 4 and the like.
I had booked the next week as leave since I was due to install a brand-new Admittedly, there is much more choice now, but surely the BBC should be providing
kitchen. All the new units were waiting in my garage. for all age categories if it is to justify its claim to be a universal public service.
Anyhow, I started removing the old units and had just completely stripped If it is correct that the average age of a Radio 2 listener is 53, where does the
everything out when I realised that I was feeling somewhat weak and had to BBC expect older listeners/viewers to move to if every channel is aimed at
take to my bed. a younger audience?
By the Sunday, I obviously had a high temperature and my wife managed to There is a simple analogy in the car industry. Small, cheap cars are always produced
persuade one of our GPs to come out (remember this was 1988, when they still because there is a market for them among younger, new drivers. Eventually, as older
did house calls). drivers, they may aspire to a BMW, Volvo or Rolls-Royce. These brands wait for the
older, discerning customer to come along; they don’t change to aim for a different
All I can remember of his visit was, ‘Oh, you are ill. Are you insured?’ That could type of customer.
have been taken in more than one way.
Radio listeners are like that – they find what they want to listen to at a particular
I was a member of the BBC BUPA Scheme, so my wife drove me to a nearby time in their lives, and then move on as they mature.
small private hospital. The GP contacted a local specialist who appeared
Someone should remind the policymakers in BH that all listeners/viewers are
shortly after my arrival. ‘You’ve got Legionnaires’ Disease,’ he said. ‘As I was
growing older by the day, even the youngest.
driving here, I had Radio 4 on the car radio and it was on the news that there’s
been a BBC outbreak.’ Allan Muirhead
So, he knew exactly what drug to give me – and it worked. I was home in a
week. Convalescence took another three weeks.
An ex-BBC colleague, now with his own business, somehow heard that I was
Can you help?
stuck at home and his company van turned up with an enormous basket I found this badge lying on a dusty auction house table in Greenwich, South East
of flowers (with a bottle of whisky hidden inside to help my recovery). London about ten years ago.
Our kitchen was finished somewhat later than planned.
After 30 years reporting for the BBC (still making radio documentaries as a
This was unlike the experience of one of my office colleagues. His wife took freelancer), it called to me, evoking the past glories of the Corporation that I love.
him to A&E at a North London hospital. They agreed he was ill, but hadn’t any
I had to have it, for the small sum of £9.00.
beds, so he was sent home. He was off for nearly six months
but his lungs were so badly damaged that he couldn’t But I still have no idea who would have
stand the pollution in London. He managed to get a job worn it or what branch of the Beeb was
with the EBU in Geneva (living in the French countryside) involved. Could it have been something
where he still resides – even after retiring. to do with radio transmission services?
Any information would be welcome.
Charles Hope
Lesley Curwen
Ed: If you can help Lesley, get in touch.
Short skirts…and dress codes We found a similar badge
for sale on Ebay, where
On the subject of ‘short skirts’, I recall an incident in Australia. I was part of the the listing said it was a
team working on the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. BBC staff lapel badge
from the 1950s.
Our studio was close to The Gabba, Queensland’s test cricket ground. We were
allowed temporary membership to take lunch there. On arriving for the first
time, I was refused entry, not because I was wearing shorts (it was very warm)
but because I was wearing ‘short socks’ with the shorts. A quick visit to a local
hosier for long ones did the trick and entry was gained.
Shortly afterwards a friend and colleague was refused entry because he was
wearing jeans. He replied, ‘but you let that chap in and he is wearing jeans’.
‘Ah,’ the doorman said, ‘but that is Ian Chappel.’
Ross Archer
ROY BRADSHAW’S ENTERTAINING piece took me back to when I first joined
Talks Group at Lime Grove in 1963.
My producer, Paul Bonner, informed me that ‘we in Talks Group wear suits’.
That was alright, I had a suit – a rather natty number in green. ‘No,’ said Paul,
‘we wear grey suits.’
Personal standards were high then under the leadership of the formidable
Mrs Grace Wyndham Goldie. I witnessed her ordering Mary, a young researcher,
home to wash her hair. Paul Bonner himself was sent out of the room to comb
his hair.
It was only a few months later that everything changed. Producers suddenly
began to appear in blue jeans (though always with a tie). Soon all production
staff wore jeans. Studio cameramen, TMs, sound supervisors and other
technical staff continued in suits.
‘That’s how you can tell who the producers are,’ a visitor to the studio was told.
‘They’re the untidy ones.’
Edward Mirzoeff
PROSPERO APRIL 2021 | 5
| MEMORIES
BBC SCHOOL RADIO
– NATURE ORIGINS
Happy birthday!
BBC Club is 97 years old With the approach of the BBC’s 100th
this month! It is only
with the continued anniversary, it is perhaps appropriate to reflect
on the contribution that School Broadcasting
support of our members
that we will be able to
Radio made to UK education.
provide courses, classes,
special interest groups,
wellbeing, offers, fun
I
and education as well as the Clubs and gyms for
t would appear that the first schools’ broadcast was The photo was taken on location on the River Test,
BBC staff past and present. Thank you.
put out by Station 2LO on 4 April 1924, presented by Hants, in the mid-70s. The young man with the beard,
At the time of writing, the Government has provided Sir Walford Davies, later Master of the King’s Music. microphone and Uher tape machine was the current
a ‘roadmap’ to the easing of restrictions, providing 77-year-old writer!
By the late ‘20s, the publicly owned BBC expanded its
that certain criteria continue to be met.
curricular output and audiences built up across the Bernard and I were recording for his Radiovision
With this in mind, we are planning to reopen the BBC nation to impressive numbers. programme on brown trout and their wild river-to-sea
Clubs in line with this as soon as we practically can. migrations. The series focused heavily on conservation
A very early starter was the Nature series for primary concerns, with contributions from RSPB Young
Opening times will be adapted in line with changing schools. Initially a short Talks programme, it evolved over Ornithologists and WWF Young People’s Trust for
work and travel patterns of our members. Do please the decades and through wartime, targeting the middle Endangered Species. Bernard was a prominent member
check the website for more details. years of primary schoolchildren. of the Soil Association that, earlier than most
Currently travel advice still remains as ‘stay home In 1954, as a nine-year-old sitting in a classroom in organisations, took on modern farming practices and
and and only leave the house for essential purposes’ Kingfisher Primary School, Doncaster, I listened along resultant spoiling and pollution of land and water.
and the Mayor of London has not indicated when with 53 other children. We shared, between two, the The series kept going to 1985, by which time
restrictions for non-essential travel will be lifted. famed Nature pamphlet, illustrated with colour and black the accompanying pamphlet had been replaced
and white photographs. In its heyday, the publication by the BBC Nature Book, a publication that
topped more than a million copies sold per year. spoke of the talented design assistants in
I was especially interested in reports from Field Studies BBC Educational Publications.
Centres; Malham Tarn, Yorkshire and Slapton Ley, Peter Ward, formerly Chief Producer and Editor,
South Devon to name just two. How could I possibly BBC School Radio (1972 to 1989).
predict that 18 years later Dr Charles Armour, Head of
School Radio, would appoint me to his department?
I applied as a secondary biologist but was initially Leaf hunt
tasked with the primary Nature series of my childhood.
A kind of deja écoute! birch
beech
ash
The series, 28 per year including three Radiovision
alder
(tape/slide) programmes, went out to over 6,500
primary schools.
hazel
hawthorn
field maple
elder
The responsibility was awesome but, naturally, Bug bingo 11
We look forward to welcoming you back as soon as the brash new broom changed formats, introducing 88 rowan
Butterflies – There are Centipedes – Centipedes ut oak
documentaries recorded on location, and drama.
stn
chethe
56 species of butterfly horse
are nocturnal and love
it is safe to do so. So now you know a little bit more about how
fascinating they really are, see how many
in the UK and all have hoa lly
fascinating life cycle – from
caterpillar to butterfly.
dark, so you can find them
by lifting up stones or logs
or digging in the ground.
breathing
places
bugs you can identify in your patch.
Seen Seen
Things will look a little different! Screens and In the photo below, writer/naturalist/fly fisherman es?
other leav here
found any
Have you here or stick them
one-way systems will be in operation, and food Bernard Venables (on the left) became the supreme and find
m
Draw the their names.
out
sycamore
contributor. Bernard wrote beautifully scripted material
and drink can only be consumed when seated. Ants – Some species of ant Bees – There are many Ladybirds – There are 46 Snails – Found all over
that took children’s imaginations to the depths of the are vegetarian, some are
carnivorous and others eat
different types of bee
including bumblebees,
different types of ladybird
in the UK, usually seen
the UK, snails carry a hard
shell on their back and
both meat and vegetation. honeybees and March to October. move along on one long,
Spring in the air oceans, across an African safari, to coastal locations
solitary bees. slimy foot.
Seen Seen Seen Bingo!
Our Connect Clubs are also beginning to think about and the depths of the British countryside.
future events, with outdoor activities beginning.
The Golf Society will be starting their season a little
late this year and the Rambling Club’s programme
is being formulated, with Sailing, the Yacht Club
and others to follow.
Website update
The BBC Club website is undergoing a makeover!
Our website is outdated and cumbersome and
sometimes hard to navigate, so we are taking this
opportunity for a redesign. You may notice some
loss of functionality until the new version is ready
to go but do bear with us – it will be worth it!
Please note, correspondence by post or email only
as staff are continuing to work from home.
STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY.
BBC.CLUB@BBC.CO.UK
BBC Club Broadcast Centre, BC2 B3,
201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TP
Bernard Venables (left) and Peter Ward.
6
| MEMORIES
WEATHER FORECASTS ON BBC1
by Geoff Hawkes
Cameramen based at BBC Television Centre in the ‘60s and ‘70s
worked on a variety of productions, including educational programmes
like Playschool and Blue Peter, series like Doctor Who and Dixon of
Dock Green, and music shows like Top of the Pops and World of Music.
J
uniors like me routinely served terms of three or six months in the
presentation studios (Pres A & B) in the Network area on the fourth floor,
working on programme trails, promotions for Radio Times (which were
allowed then), Points of View with Robert Robinson or Barry Took – and
importantly, the weather forecasts.
In 1970 I took photos of the weather setup in Pres A like this one, showing Jack Scott
waiting to go on-air and a lady production assistant who I haven’t been able to
identify. It would be lovely if she saw this and it brought back happy memories for her.
The weathermen were rostered from the bench at the London Weather Centre in
Holborn and came by Tube to the studio at Television Centre with the latest
marked-up weather charts.
The team was led by Bert Foord, Graham Parker and Peter Walker, with Keith Best,
Jack Scott, George Luce and Bill Giles following, together with Barbara Edwards
(the first female weather presenter), Michael Fish (the youngest at 29) and Ian McCaskill.
They had their own personalities, and Jack had a presence about him that made him
seem like the father of the house, though I doubt if he’d have given himself that accolade. Jack Scott and unknown PA...does anyone recognise her?
Felt pens and acetone
The original weather setup comprised an acetate board on which pioneer forecasters
like Jack Armstrong drew the isobars with a felt pen, laboriously cleaning it off
afterwards with acetone. With the advent of colour television, that changed to having
The whole thing had to be timed to finish
three boards: the Atlantic board, the Today board and the Tomorrow board as a precisely for Network to run the next programme
permanent setup along one wall of Pres A, as in the picture.
on schedule
A regular part of our day would be the weather presenter arriving with a printout of
the Atlantic chart which he would set about plotting on the largest of the boards, as in
the picture of Jack Scott at work here. The isobars were composed of long strips of
magnetic rubber fashioned in place to build up the map, along with symbols to
indicate the high and low pressure fronts. The Today and the Tomorrow boards were
prepared by placing appropriate magnetic symbols on them which the forecaster
would move or add to as he spoke, sometimes having difficulty getting them to stay in
place – and tales abound of the word GOF mischievously appearing in place of FOG.
When the time came for the forecast, we would line up one of our three cameras on
the Atlantic board, another midway between the Today and Tomorrow board, framed
up on the Today board, and the third on a 12x9” chart on a caption stand, with
monitors by the cameras so that the weatherman could see studio output and what
was on Network – and a clock on a stand for timing which you can just see the round
shape of to the left of the picture. There’s also a mic on a stand as a backup in case
the lapel mic failed.
The weatherman would take up position to the left of the Atlantic board with the
cameraman manning that camera. Sometimes we had to start on a medium close-up
of the weatherman for his preamble and zoom out on cue to a full shot of the board.
This was tricky to do smoothly without seeing any of the surrounding frame, as when
looking in the viewfinder we had to remember where the edges were and stop before The whole thing had to be timed to finish precisely for Network to run the next
overshooting. It was similar to what we had to do with picture captions on Jackanory, programme on schedule – and that’s where the lady in the picture with long-lead
always a tense moment. headphones came in. She would be listening for a cue as to when we were into the
last 30 seconds, when she would step forward to place a finger on the clock to
Having done the zoom, the cameraman, if on his own, would lock that camera off indicate the exact second when the weatherman had to stop talking. In those days the
while he moved to the one on the Today board. When the weatherman finished talking
weathermen didn’t wear an earpiece and couldn’t hear talkback, unlike presenters on
about the Atlantic board, he would throw to the caption on the stand while he moved
other live broadcasts who would be given countdowns from about ten minutes out,
out of vision to the Today board. The director would cut back to him there while he
saying ‘x minutes (or seconds) to stopping-talking.’
talked about it and then he would walk in-vision to the Tomorrow board with the
camera panning with him. It sounds simple but we had to listen carefully to know The daytime and evening forecasts were live but the late-night one with which the
when he was about to do the walk and not make a false move if he was simply leaning Network ended before shutting down for the night was pre-recorded at about
forward – and to ensure we ended pan perfectly framed as he finished the move. 10.30pm, after the weatherman had checked with the chiefs at Weather Centre that
the outlook hadn’t changed. The studio would then stand down and hand over to
Nerve-wracking moment
Network Control to run the recording, coupled with a film from the Central Office of
Cameramen who were used to doing complex shots on drama or light entertainment
Information explaining what the hard shoulder on motorways was for, or telling people
have said how they found the zoom-out, and the pan from one board to the next,
at the seaside, ‘When the red flag is flying, don’t swim’ – and The Queen. I’m sure
nerve-wracking to get right. As with any of our work, we had to concentrate on what
those of you who were around at the time will remember it well, even if like Maurice
we were doing and not think of the millions of viewers watching. The people we
and Hermione, we disagree on the detail.
worried about were those in the control room, hoping to please them – and ourselves,
of course. That camera could then be locked off while the operator moved to frame up The ‘80s and ‘90s saw the dawn of the electronic age, with forecasts using a single
a camera on the 12x9” summary caption with which the forecast usually ended, screen on which the different weather maps were projected, coupled with overlay to
though occasionally the weatherman would walk out of vision back to the Atlantic make it clearer for the viewers – and along came a raft of new weather presenters to
chart and end on that. go with it, some of whom are continuing today.
PROSPERO APRIL 2021 | 7
| MEMORIES
CEEFAX IN SWITZERLAND
In 1973, as Ceefax was in its experimental, promotional stages,
someone discovered that ITV were going to be demonstrating
their equivalent/rival (Oracle) at the TV Symposium in Montreux.
Obviously the BBC couldn’t be upstaged – we had to show off
Ceefax. A job for Engineering Information!
G uess what – I was picked to be the one who
had to go at two days’ notice.
The next day I collected the equipment and set off for
Dover, where I met someone from Shipping who had the
documents and he took me through Customs – a long,
roadside. Switzerland only allowed half a litre of
duty-free spirits to be brought into the country.
Passport had expired… no problem, we had a There was the photographer who held his light meter
drawn-out process. On arrival in France, I was just
JP in the department who signed the photos against the screen and decided he needed flash!
waved through.
I got at a booth in Oxford Circus underground I wonder what he saw when the film was processed?
station and off I went to the Passport Office in The same applied when I left France to enter
And the French journalist who apparently spoke no
Petty France, London. Switzerland. But, ‘Fill in zis form’ said the Germanic
English. My French wasn’t that bad, but an O-Level
Swiss customs officer. So, I did. ‘Zat will be 10SF 70.’
Equipment had to be taken so I had to drive. taken 18 years earlier hadn’t given me the word for
So I paid and, luckily, got a receipt which I read when
I refused the offer of a hired car; bad enough ‘videotape recorder’. (Of course, I know it now!)
I got to my hotel: ‘10SF for time and work in processing
driving on the wrong side of the road without I just hope he reported what I thought I was saying.
the Carnet; 70c for the use of Government Form 137.’
being in a strange vehicle, so I took my own – (Only the Swiss could do that.) When I came to leave the hotel, I asked for my bill in
so off I went to get a Green Card.
my best French and the hall porter replied in a very
And so I got to the exhibition, into a corner of the stand
Others were getting the kit together at Kingswood, strongly German-accented tongue, so I asked him to
belonging to Marconi (one of their sister companies had
making a list which was passed to Shipping to fill in repeat it more slowly. ‘Do you undershtant Eenglish?’
made the set I was demonstrating). We got signal
the Customs Carnet which would allow me ‘to cross so I admitted I did, answered his question and got my
played back on videotape from the Ampex stand, two
borders without problems’. bill. And so, I drove home uneventfully. Customs at
floors down. (Luckily, I’d been on my Direct Entry
Dover were their usual self, but I did get home.
Somebody arranged a cash advance in both French Engineers’ course with their stand manager.) I found
and Swiss Francs. As I left the office, somebody quite a few former BBC colleagues on other UK-based It was another 14 years before Auntie sent me to
said, ‘You do speak French, don’t you?’ (It was bit stands, one of whom told me the terrible tale of being Switzerland again, but that’s another story.
late to ask.) forced to open his bottle of duty-free whisky he’d
bought on the ferry and pour half of it away at the Charles Hope
A RADIO ROMANCE
by Bonnie Margo
In 1959, when I was 14, I had a
16-year-old boyfriend who lived in South
London but used to come to my hometown on
the coast at weekends to visit grandparents.
I worked in local radio at the time and used to of ours asked me to come and spend a weekend in her
co-present a programme a few days a week in the London home in the mid-’90s and I decided to call
mornings and in the afternoons. My surname had him and tell him I was coming up to London for the
obviously changed then, but the voice and Christian weekend. We arranged to meet for a coffee. We had
name hadn’t. 30-odd years to catch up on!
He subsequently called the radio station after the The rest really is history, and although I moved to
programme and asked to speak to me, but of course, London for two years, we decided to move back to my
you couldn’t be put through to a presenter if you were hometown (where I still owned a house), after I was
W
just a member of the public, so the receptionist took made redundant by the BBC in 1997. One of my sons
e used to see each other briefly and his name and number and said she would pass on was at Uni and the other, a TV cameraman, had moved
frequented the local dance venue. the message. to London to pursue his career.
Due to his ill health, I didn’t see him for
quite a few months and then he started visiting I had a close friend on reception at the time, and she We were married in 1998 and have grown old together
again at weekends. The friendship fizzled out knew exactly who it was when she gave me the ever since. We have enjoyed ups and downs, seen our
eventually and we went our separate ways. message. A real blast from the past! I did call him back children married and have 11 grandchildren between us.
and we had a short chat but he was still married then. We have a truly wonderful marriage and can only thank
We both married in the ‘60s – I had two children We both eventually divorced. the BBC for initially bringing us together.
and he had four. Fast forward 30-odd years and he
was driving along with his son in the car in my Fast forward again a couple of years and he tried to
hometown on business, when on the local BBC contact me once more, to no avail, but left a telephone
radio station he heard a familiar voice. number. I was still single at the time but a mutual friend
8
| OBITUARIES
Science Features and Punishment, Testament of Youth, Thérèse Raquin,
Sons and Lovers, The Barchester Chronicles, The Old
He worked shifts, with studios working round the
clock. Using the lighting plan produced by the lighting
In 1974, John Mansfield Men at the Zoo and her greatest triumph, I, Claudius. director, electricians would rig overnight and a day
knocked on my lab door and crew would come in to set the lighting and rehearse
Along with producer Jonathan Powell, she worked
entered most deferentially. the show. Archie knew the thrill of live television, where
closely with John Le Carre on the TV adaptations of
a slip-up on a cue would be noticed by critical viewers.
I’d had a call a week earlier; a Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People. In her
BBC producer making a science own right, Betty produced Mansfield Park, Bleak House, We first met during the early ‘70s, after he successfully
film had read of my work about Tender is the Night and Fortunes of War. applied to move to the Lighting Department at
microsurgery in The Mirror, one Television Film Studios, Ealing. He quickly settled into a
Following her retirement from the BBC in 1987, Betty
of the few journals that had new way of working in the film studios and on location.
joined Brian Eastman’s Carnival Films, and then in 1996
published my work. The respect Film lighting invariably involves single camera working
she proposed to ITV the little-known novels of Caroline
he showed a junior researcher was not justified by any and a re-light for every shot. Archie was the perfect
Graham, Midsomer Murders. The series is still being
achievement or status. He peered down a microscope, colleague to work with, collegiate when working as a
made 23 years later. Betty worked on the scripts and
enchanted by a tiny join I had made in a 0.5mm vessel. crew member and a considerate, capable team leader.
the casting until only five years before her death.
The stitches were invisible to the naked eye, the
Archie was born in Edinburgh in 1934, moving west
needle so delicate that it floated on the draught in the Betty received Lifetime Achievement Awards from both
BAFTA and The Royal Television Society. She passed to Mallaig until he was nine. His family then moved
Nissen hut where I laboured. I pronounced proudly
away on 15 February, at the age of 93. A celebration of to London where he remained for the rest of his life.
this was the future, explaining we shall put minuscule
her life will be held in central London in the summer. He always considered himself a Londoner.
microchips into the brain, and also reverse female
He possessed a wry sense of humour and held
sterilisation. Leaving, he treated me with his immense Brian Eastman firm views on right and wrong.
charm, ‘Thank you – busy people always find time.’
At Ealing, Archie worked on the entire range of
John was making a prize-winning, 90-minute
Research engineer
programme output. His credits include Last of the
documentary predicting advances of medical
Summer Wine, A Horseman Riding By, Silent Witness
treatment by the year 2000 and he filmed me
Bill Taylor was a research and hundreds more. Being a popular member of
doing abdominal microsurgery, then completely
engineer at Kingswood the Lighting Department, cameramen were always
new. Focusing a microscope camera, he also caught
Warren from 1956 to 1988. happy to have Archie in the team. They knew that a
electronic chips sewed into a nerve. My predictions
were rubbish but John, quite brilliantly, filmed elderly He was a classic ‘boffin’, knowledgeable and capable technician was working
people jumping to music on trampolines in a bright, seemingly a little withdrawn with them.
multi-coloured environment. Fifty years later, but deeply involved in During night shoots filming Natural Lies, we were
we still have not learnt to stimulate the brain of his work. subjected to sub-zero temperatures (-12 °C).
elderly people. Our anoraks became frozen like a board, creaking as
His Cambridge degree in
In 1978, he launched me as a TV presenter. Natural Sciences followed we walked. Archie smiled his way through it all. He was
His Your life in their hands was TV’s first live surgery by National Service in the a good craftsman, reliable, good humoured, kindly
in colour. Standing me before a camera, he’d say Royal Signals led him into the Cavendish Research and stoic. The BBC was lucky to have him as a staff
‘Robert, you sound pompous’ or, ‘Robert, I don’t Laboratory. This perfectly readied him for Research member. I was so fortunate to have him as a friend.
understand a word’. Department, where to be ‘normal’ was somewhat Archie’s colleagues will be saddened by his passing
abnormal. He was often overheard saying ‘Est mihi and we send our sympathies to his wife Barbara, his
With his ability to run a team and his revered
occursit’ (‘it occurs to me’) rather than adopting a children and grandchildren.
cameraman, Godfrey, his direction led to huge
standard approach.
success, the second most-watched BBC2 programme. Paul Evemy
Within three years, we had made 25 more. My great He worked on a wide range of projects: RF
sadness was when John left Horizon to run NOVA transmission, the colour performance of film and
at PBS in Boston, making a flow of prize-winning television cameras and displays, holography, scene
science documentaries. lighting, finally finding a natural home in acoustics. Internal audit manager
John’s original mind, ridiculous sense of humour, his His ability to think outside the box, usually without Mohamed Hemani sadly passed away due
naïve visual sense of the essence of interesting things realising that there was a box at all, often produced to complications arising from Covid-19, on
and his readiness to challenge authority made him a unexpected results, like when the Department was Monday 18 January, aged 75.
great director. After those first programmes, I worked asked for help with the raising of the Mary Rose.
He worked as an internal audit manager for the
with over 50 TV directors. John was unique. The production wanted the divers to talk from inside
BBC from April 1985 until April 1994, and recalled
the diving suits. Rather than get one to work on,
Professor Robert Winston his time in this role with fondness.
he got Ken Landsowne to speak whilst wearing
a metal waste-paper bin on his head. He was expert Mohamed was born in Kisii, Kenya, in 1945, and was
at boring down to the core of a problem. a very intelligent, jovial and determined individual.
Doyenne of Drama On another occasion, he solved the problem of He worked hard as a primary school teacher in order
measuring how loudspeaker cones move using a laser to fund his journey to, and new life in, the UK.
Betty Willingale (1927
- 2021) was one of the and some old optics in a basement, the shelves of which He secured work just two days after arriving in London,
often held demijohns of homebrew, bubbling away. in 1963, and would work in the day and study each
last of a generation that
started work at the BBC as Some problems were less tractable. One, shelved in the evening to prepare for his exams in accountancy.
a teenager during World ‘70s, didn’t come to fruition until 2012 when I finished He was a kind and generous character who spent
War II, and then helped it off and got the Television Lighting Consistency Index
much of his adult life caring for his mother. He always
create the art of drama adopted by the EBU as a world standard.
made himself available with advice and support for his
writing for television.
He was kind and helpful with a wry sense of humour, siblings, and later on, his nephews and nieces also.
Betty joined the Library revelled in wordplay, did crosswords at disgusting
A witty and effervescent character, he shared with
at Bush House in 1944, as a general dogsbody. speed, and always cycled to work – a relic of
them his love of music, ranging from The Beatles and
She shelved books – then between 4pm and 5pm would Cambridge days, as was the bicycle. He was an
Buddy Holly to Andrea Bocelli. He was a voracious
go and pick up the Star, the Evening News and the accomplished pencil-artist, making Christmas cards
reader and enjoyed a rich diet of reading material
Standard and deliver them to all the offices – and that from his drawings of Orcadian churches, was a keen
which included everything from political biographies
way she encountered the many European expatriates bellringer for 80 years, and a choral singer.
to George Orwell and Ben Okri. He liked to keep
who had fled to England at the outbreak of the war.
Bill died on 6 December 2020, aged 92. Margaret, his mentally active after retirement, and was a fan of both
In 1955 she transferred to the BBC TV Script Unit, wife of 62 years, died some years ago, and he will be Countdown and sudoku puzzles. He was also an avid
where all the unsolicited scripts that poured in were greatly missed by friends and family. Arsenal supporter and loved watching cricket.
diligently read and assessed.
Alan Roberts Despite struggling with ill health and mobility in recent
Betty then became story editor on all 78 episodes of years, he remained positive and resilient even in his
the popular contemporary serial Compact through 1963 final days.
and ’64. Then she transferred to the Series and Serials
Department, where she played a central role in the
Lighting technician He has left a huge gap in the lives of his many friends,
and will be sorely missed by his sister, two brothers and
classic serials including The Children of the New Forest, Archie Dawson had a long and happy career with the
A Tale of Two Cities, North & South, Our Mutual Friend, their families, by whom he is survived.
BBC that started in the 1950s at Television Centre
The Mayor of Casterbridge, Wuthering Heights, Crime in studio lighting. Hanif Mamdani
PROSPERO APRIL 2021 | 9
| OBITUARIES
Musician, composer, it hugely, became successful and at home there,
working part-time for DLT well into his 70s.
from Northern Ireland, Lebanon, student riots in Berlin,
and the street fighting in Jordan, while home stories
writer and conductor John suffered various illnesses over the past decade
included the interview with President Nixon.
but he and Sheelah remained voracious readers and He was appointed in October 1973 to be the first TV
It is with great sadness that
passionate theatregoers, regulars at the National, News sports correspondent and he covered many
the death is announced of
Stratford and Chichester. sports events.
Eric David Wetherell, on
31 January 2021, one month Colleagues will remember a sharp operator, a Wherever he went, disaster happened (as his boss
after his 95th birthday. delightful companion, a quick wit…and an impeccable Chris Cramer put it at Mike’s leaving party). In 1984 he
authority on where to eat. was covering PM Indira Gandhi’s assassination when
He was a remarkable all-round
the worst industrial accident in the history of mankind
musician, a fine composer, Will Wyatt
happened in Bhopal, India. He covered these stories
writer and biographer, well-
which were not in his deployed assignment.
respected conductor, as well
as a dearly loved husband,
father and grandfather. He died peacefully with great
Operations planning From 1985 he took a desk job as news organiser
and he was on duty when the Lockerbie Pan Am air
courage and dignity at Norewood Lodge Nursing
Home near his home in Portishead.
manager, Cardiff crash happened.
He was a father figure to many of the young journalists
It is with sadness that I have to
During the course of a career spanning well over half in the newsroom. He retired from the BBC in 1991
report that John Wallis died on
a century, his various roles included BBC Radio 3 after completing six years on the desk job. For a short
12 February 2021.
producer, principal conductor of the BBC Northern period after his retirement, he helped the BBC by
Ireland Orchestra and staff conductor at the Welsh John joined the BBC at the manning the news organiser’s job in the newsroom in
National Opera. age of 16 in 1943 at Radio between his golfing commitments.
Leeds. After National Service
His profound enthusiasm for jazz also led to a close Michael left behind his wife, Norma and his son
in the Royal Navy, he went to
involvement with the Welsh Jazz Orchestra and Timothy, daughter Sara and granddaughter, Lilly.
Radio Outside Broadcasting
the BBC Big Band, for whom he both arranged and The family had a private family funeral.
in London as an assistant and
produced. In particular he was a regular conductor and
eventually moved to Birmingham as an OB sound radio Bob Prabhu
arranger for the popular Friday Night is Music Night
engineer, where he met Daphne Chatwyn who was
on BBC Radio 2 in the early ‘70s.
secretary to TV producer Barrie Edgar.
Chilean engineer
In the late 1950s, he was a répétiteur at ROH Covent
They married in 1955 and in 1964 they moved to Cardiff,
Garden, where he came in close contact with such
with children Tim and Katherine, for John to become
figures as Britten, Walton, Solti, Giulini, Sargeant and Alberto Jara was born in
operations planning engineer.
not least Rudolf Kempe, whom he idolised. He had Santiago, Chile on 30 June
begun his career as a French horn player in the LPO, He held that post until he retired in 1988, although
1944. He had a younger brother
under Thomas Beecham. the post mutated, by which time he was designated
and sister. He met his future
operations planning manager.
There will be a small private funeral and later a wife Ana when they were both
celebratory concert for him, when it is possible to He had three breaks, going to Belfast as assistant 11 years old, when her family
hold such an event. engineer-in-charge, Operations at the time of the moved to the house opposite.
Troubles, a six-month attachment as an engineering They married in 1973.
https://ericwetherellcomposer.wordpress.com
manager in Tel OBs and eight months as manager Tel. Their son was born in Chile and
Anna Wetherell Production Services. their daughter was born in Birmingham. They followed
the family tradition and worked in the electronics/
Among his claims to fame was being responsible,
technology industry. Ana worked as a software
with others, for the placement of microphones in
Panorama producer Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s Coronation in
developer for a while, despite having a degree in
Architecture and an MSc in Planning.
1952, and in 1961 he was sent to Vienna to set up studio
It is not everyone who worked
facilities in the Hofburg Palace for the first meeting of They both went to University in Chile. Alberto graduated
in current affairs at Lime Grove
Presidents Khrushchev and Kennedy. as an electronics engineer and worked for the French
in its cut-throat glory days who
John and Daphne were avid caravanners, being active multinational Thomson CSF straight from University.
is remembered by all as
in the Caravanners Club, and travelled the length and He further trained in France, being responsible for the
‘a lovely, funny guy’ and ‘warm,
generous with good advice … breadth of the UK as well as many touring holidays installation and after-sales for the Chilean branch, but a
and lunches.’ That was in Europe. military coup in Chile forced them to leave. They were
John Reynolds who died on selected to come to the UK from a long list the UN held
He was a devout Christian with a quiet and unassuming
29 January aged 79. of Chilean nationals needing re-settlement, and arrived
manner but I never heard him say a bad word
on British soil in February 1978.
John joined the BBC as a sub-editor in radio news, about anyone. I shall miss a friendship of some
having been a lobby correspondent for a Scottish 64 years. They were sponsored by the UN to follow postgraduate
Sunday newspaper. He moved to television current studies. Alberto did a Telecommunications Diploma in
Oliver Dyer
affairs as a producer on Panorama, later editor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Aston University.
The Money Programme and head of special projects. At the 1980 Careers Fair at Aston, he joined the
In this role, while working in Moscow, John was BBC as a transmitter engineer. Later he became
attacked by name in the party newspaper, which First TV News sports senior transmitter engineer, then duty manager at
correspondent
described him as ‘a British lion – but with a mangy Sutton Coldfield Monitoring and Information
tail’. A colleague recalled, ‘John walked around with Centre (MIC).
a huge grin for days afterwards.’ Michael Blakey was born in Alberto worked in many places, including Shetland,
John was in his element when posted as BBC resident Ackworth, West Yorkshire on Orkney, Durris (helping to restore services with many
producer in New York. He, his wife Sheelah and 4 October 1934. His first job was others for the Aberdeen area after a snowstorm
children Leo and Corinna, loved life in the BBC-rented with the Dewsbury and District damaged both main transmitting antennas on the
duplex in Bank Street, West Village. John’s regular News, where he met Norma. 1,000ft mast), Woofferton, Daventry, Hannington,
beat was elections and big fights, as well as the They got married in 1957.
Brookmans Park, Crystal Palace and TV Centre. Also, he
stream of interviews and inserts for BBC news and
He joined Daily Express worked in Spain for PESA, installing a large section of
current affairs programmes. After a spell as head of
in London before he joined the the Spanish TV network. He was commissioned to
co-productions for BBC Enterprises, John returned
BBC television newsroom at Alexandra Palace in 1965. supervise the installation of TV networks in Thailand.
to New York as BBC USA Representative. Friends
dubbed him ‘Senator Reynolds’, a perfect fit for He was very self-motivated and a natural journalist, Alberto worked in Sutton Coldfield MIC until 1994 when
operating in America. always prepared to travel and cover any story however all four MICs were replaced by a single Transmission
difficult or dangerous it was. Operation Centre at Warwick. Transmission was
When he left the BBC in 1989, John joined Don
privatised in February 1997. Alberto worked at Daventry
Taffner’s DLT Entertainment and reinvented himself as His assignments took him to the Vietnam War,
for Crown Castle, National Grid and finally Arqiva, in
a drama and comedy producer, notably as producer followed by the riots in the British colony of Aden.
charge of the repair workshop, which worked on many
for nine years of As Time Goes By, starring Judi Dench When the Soviet tanks rolled in Czechoslovakia in
diverse equipment types, until retiring in 2002.
and Geoffrey Palmer, a long-running success for the August 1968, he was there, ducking and diving the
BBC. He was amused by the ‘luvvy’ world but enjoyed attention of the KGB. He went on to cover many stories Peter Condron
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