Andrew Langstone – What Was Pebble Mill?

The article from the Birmingham Post circa 2002, explains how the move from Pebble Mill to the Mailbox was going to be a positive one, enabling technology and the studios to be improved. The move from the ‘leafy suburb’ of Edgbaston would apparently make BBC Birmingham more in touch with its audience!

Unfortunately these aims were not realised, and the move proved to be symptomatic of the decline of BBC Birmingham.

Thanks to Stuart Gandy to sharing this cutting.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Andy Marriott: ‘Unfortunately pretty much every move is a downsizing event, and it’s not just the BBC. I’ve been helping a friend out with a project at the old Granada site in Manchester and it’s depressing to see the facilities that existed there that they simply don’t have at their new site.’

Jean Palmer: ‘I’m sure that those who worked there could have told them it wouldn’t work. Shame we lost Pebble Mill’

Carolyn Davies: ‘All very sad….BBC Wales about to relocate….hope the same doesn’t happen…..’

Sue Farr: ‘I always suspected that London was jealous of Brimingham’s success and that was what was behind the decisions that were made. None of us believed any of it was going to benefit the Midlands, did we?’

Andrew Langstone: ‘Seems The Mailbox is the BBC’S dumping ground for things it doesn’t know where to put them.’

Thanks to Ian Collins for making this titles grab available.

Telly Addicts was a BBC1 early evening, game show about television presented by Noel Edmonds. It was first transmitted in 1985, and ended in 1998. John King was the Executive Producer, with producers including Tim Manning and Richard Lewis. It was recorded in Studio A.

The questions were about television programmes past and present, with the usual format being a clip followed by questions. There were usually two teams of four people each, with a tournament style of 16 teams, in 8 qualifying heats, being adopted from 1987-1996.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Denny Hodge: ‘Yes fond memories doing the warm up on the show.’

Jane Green: ‘Your warm ups were a treat to see Denny. Remember them well. I worked on this. Noel was a dream to look after. Helicopter arrived literally 5 minutes before rehearsals began and he had his clothes all ready and pressed and he’d be in studio on time. No fuss, no silly demands. Went to collect him from his dressing room once and found him standing on a chair waving a ‘brick’ around. It was a new thing called a mobile phone and he was trying to get a signal. His very beautiful new wife Helen turned up to rehearsals one evening to support him as his much loved dog had just died and he was so upset. She just walked in – I didn’t know who she was and was about to ask her to leave when someone explained…’

Andrew Langstone: ‘My friend Jennifer Kings (was Hassall) was a production secretary on Telly Addicts. Managed to get us some tickets for a few recordings.’

Malcolm Hickman: ‘Didn’t John King flog the rights to Noel Edmonds?’

Richard Stevenson: ‘The first show I worked on in 1997. Ironically I then went on to work with Noel on numerous Gotchas (65 I think), Noel’s House Party and some great worldwide trips for Noel’s Christmas Presents.’

Belinda Essex: ‘I used to do auto cue sometimes’

Gill Thompson: ‘I used to organise the audiences for this show, never had a problem filling seats was always a popular one!’

Sarah Dunning: ‘And the graphic designer was the brilliant Annie Jenkins!’

Jane Upston: ‘I remember recruiting for this programme (I was Jane Morgan then and worked in HR). I remember Nick Hurran too, the Director and Jennifer Hassell. Who was the PA?’

Richard Stevenson: ‘Trudi Stanton and Roger Sutton vision mixed I think. Can’t remember the PA but it will come to me!….Thea Harvey?’

Tag: Andrew Langstone

Move to the Mailbox

Telly Addicts titles grab