Category: Television

Pete Simpkin – The Pebble Mill Roof

Pete Simpkin radio producer

THE PEBBLE MILL ROOF

As the Pebble Mill at One Show developed more items were broadcast from the inner quadrangle of the building which was a pleasant grassed and landscaped area. However the British weather increasingly played its disruptive part and so a foldable roof was installed so that whatever the weather the show could go on.
It was however fascinating on wet days to see the gardener having to water the flowers and shrubs under the roof while perfectly good rain fell on the roof above! Similarly we were fascinated one snowy day to look down from the radio studio to see artificial snow being distributed around whist real snow was falling outside. Fascinating challenges!

Peter Poole adds the following comment on Facebook: ‘I remember the artificial snow well. I worked on ‘A Song for Christmas’ in the Quad. We used several Sony ECM 50 mics. The snow got into the XLR plugs and caused problems. After the show it took ages to clean all the cables. I now hate artificial snow!’

Pete Simpkin – Memories of Working at Pebble Mill

WORKING TOGETHER

With the creation of the famous ‘Pebble Mill at One’ show there was an immediate challenge to how to produce a live TV programme in the entrance Foyer and yet keep the building operating. In the end it proved impossible and the actual operating Reception area had to be relocated but for several years we all mixed in and went about our daily business as best we could. On one never to be forgotten lunchtime I had been recording some ‘Thought for the Day’ talks for the breakfast show given by a local Catholic priest.

At the end of the session I had to get him back out to the street and the routine when PM@1 was on air was to just make our way out along a narrow gangway at the back of reception. This usually worked well but on the particular occasion in question the TV show was broadcasting some dancers at that end of the area and just as the producer switched cameras to a wide angle of the dancers there could be seen a bespectacled person pushing gently with hands to the shoulder blades of a frightened looking priest crossing the scene! Clearly the director was not happy because when I attempted to get back into the building after seeing the priest off the door was locked against me. As my next duty was to read the 2pm news summary it was essential to get back in and the only way was to run up Pebble Mill Road to the side entrance, down the long drive, along the back corridor and up a flight of stairs to the studio. My eventual performance was breathless reading with long gaps to get my breath. After the Manager had rushed in to tell me off for careless work and I had explained my reasons there were hurried top level enquiries made and arrangements made to prevent breathless newsreading in the future…….but that’s the sort of building and challenges we had.

Pete Simpkin radio producer

Oliver White (Editor) – His Unreliable Memoirs – The Garland

The Garland

I was nervous of working with Horace Ove on ‘The Garland’.  I’d looked at his previous drama and was alarmed.  Like Mozart’s king, who said, ‘Too many notes’, this had ‘Too many shots’!  and he did ‘The Garland’ the same way!  He was a distinctive figure in his leather jacket…..If I’d squeezed in every angle he’d covered, it would certainly have looked too fussy, so I spent a lot of the time saying, ‘Horace, do you really think we need that shot?’  Then one glorious day, about a month into editing, he said ‘Oliver. Just do what you want to do’.  I could then RELAX and use three shots out of four!  He brought us mangoes from Southall, and I still have his Dracula mug.

There was a room of his fine photographs at the National Portrait Gallery about eighteen months ago.

I regard this film as a personal triumph!