Monthly Archives: January 2011

BBC Club Flood 1987

The BBC Club at Pebble Mill was badly flooded in 1987 when a massive water pipe ruptured somewhere nearby.  Very quickly the terrace where staff had been drinking and eating was underwater, followed by the little car park at the front of the building, and then the building itself.  The Club was out of action for several months whilst the building dried out and was repaired and redecorated.

Thanks to Gail Herbert, Chair of the BBC Club for many years, for making the photos available.

Gail comments: “The lady wading on the patio is Joyce Latham. I’m the one with only a shirt on in the lounge & Linda Parsonage is to the left of me. Can’t remember the names of the other two but they were bar staff.”

Please add a comment if you remember the flood at the Club.

Flooded Terrace at the BBC Club

Peter Seabrook’s Gardening Week – Gail Herbert’s photos

Peter Seabrook presented many gardening programmes at Pebble Mill including Gardeners’ World in the 1970s, Pebble Mill at One in the 1970s and 80s, and the gardening advice show: Peter Seabrook’s Gardening Week in the 1990s.  These photos from Gail Herbert, who was the production assistant on the series, feature the production team, probably from 1996.  Gail is wearing the red scarf on the first photo, on the left of Gail is Kathy Bryant, and Rachel Innes-Lumsden is crouched down.  Rachel went on to become BBC Head of Development Factual and Learning in 2006, and won a BAFTA for her work on The Tower – A Tale of Two Cities in 2008.

Peter Seabrook's Programme Team

Seabrook team - Kathy Bryant & Rachel Innes Lumsden

Queen’s Visit to Pebble Mill

The Queen visited Pebble Mill to celebrate the building’s tenth anniversary in 1981.  She went on the set of Pebble Mill at One and talked to several members of staff.  She is pictured with Phil Sidey, Head of Pebble Mill in photos 2 & 5, Jim Dumighan in photos 3,4 & 7, the man with the glasses is Mahendra Kaul OBE, one of the Asian Unit producers at the time, and in photos 5 and 10 the man on the extreme left is probably the late Alan Ford from the Postroom.

One person who was there but not pictured is the late John Pickles demoted from his job as head of BBC Scotland after his “Queen is dead” prank inevitably backfired.He was reduced to the ranks as manager of Radio WM & was definetly lurking wisely out of camera given the circumstances!He later took over BBC Hereford&Worcs.

Lynn Cullimore remembers: “I was stood with some of the cleaners and saw her quite close up. Did not get introduced though – don’t think I was grand enough for that. I remember we were designated where we could stand.”

Thanks to Ian Collins from post production for making these shots available, and to Conal O’Donnell, Jayne Savage, Jane McLean and Dave Milligan for providing additional information.

The Queen visiting Pebble Mill in 1981

Two Point Four Children – 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.

Two Point Four Children was a studio based sitcom, with an audience, and outside broadcast inserts, hosted at Pebble Mill in Studio A.  It was directed and produced by Richard Boden, written and created by Andrew Marshall.  It was broadcast in the 1990s, there being eight series in all, although I don’t know how many were made at Pebble Mill.

It featured the lives of the extremely very average Porter family, who often faced unusual situations and bad luck.  Belinda Lang played Bill Porter, with Gary Olsen as Ben Porter.

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.

Studio A Set of Two Point Four Children

Debut on Two – TX Card from Dave Bushell

Debut on Two TX Card

Debut on Two TX Card reverse

Debut on Two was a series of six dramas produced at Pebble Mill in 1990 for BBC 2, to promote the work of writers new to television.  Two of the dramas were shot on location, the other four were studio based.

Michael Wearing was the executive producer, Vicky Licorish and Philippa Giles the producers, Diana Patrick and Bob Landgon the directors.  A company of established actors including Pete Postlethwaite, Hilary Sesta and Adrian Dunbar, appeared across the six different plays.

The plays in the series were:

  • The Conversion of St Paul
  • Breast is Best
  • The Wake
  • Window of Vulnerability
  • Kingdom Come
  • A Box of Swan

Thanks to Dave Bushell for keeping the TX Card safe, and for sharing it.