Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
‘Airbase’ was produced at Pebble Mill in 1988 by Keith Williams and Roger Gregory. The script was written by Malcolm McKay and directed by David Attwood. It was recorded in Studio A, and involved bringing a fighter plane into the studio.
The drama starred Anton Lesser, Clive Mantle, Catherine Russell, David Lansbury and Ricco Ross. Catherine played Madeline Kohler, a young female American Air Force officer, who is posted to the all-male world of a U.S. airbase in Britain. The drama follows four days in her life.
The BBC 1 drama raised considerable controversy with its unflattering portrayal of life on a U.S. airbase, particularly concerning drug use. It even caused questions to be asked in Parliament by Lord Chalfont.
