Copyright Vanessa Jackson, no reproduction without permission.
‘Gardenwise’ was a BBC 1 Daytime magazine series in production in 1992. I think there were six episodes. It was produced at Pebble Mill by Clare Stride. I was a researcher and was lucky enough to do some single camera directing on the show, setting up items and directing some of the location stories.
This photo was taken as we were finishing a shoot in Madeira, which was a pretty glamorous location for a Daytime series. We recorded a couple of items about the gardens of Madeira, one about orchids, and one about the gardens of the Reid’s Hotel, where we stayed. Reid’s Hotel is famous for its beautiful setting, fantastic restaurants and illustrious guests, like George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill. We were extremely well looked after, and could choose which of the restaurants we chose to eat in – free of charge! I remember being happy to go along with camerman, Keith Froggatt’s choice of the a la carte restaurant. The rooms were sumptuous, and because I was the director, I had a suite (the first and last time whilst on location). We made good use of the swimming pool as well!
The photo features, from left to right; cameraman, Keith Froggatt; P.A. Sarah Reddi; presenter, Lydia Thomas; sound-man, Paul Taylor.
