Bob Gell – What Was Pebble Mill?

Photo of All Creatures Great and Small set in Studio A, by Tim Savage. No reproduction without permission.

Here is the latest excerpt from “All Memories Great & Small” – by Oliver Crocker.

This time, it is the memories of Carol Churchill (née Ganniclifft) (Make-up Artist):

‘I’d joined the BBC in 1973. I had heard they were looking for make-up artists at Pebble Mill and I thought it sounded interesting so I applied and I got the job – though when I applied, I really had no idea what it was! My mother had a hairdressing salon, so I had that skill, because in television you needed to do both. They sent me to London for a course for three months and then I was up and running. I feel very sad for the girls today because it is so hard to get into it and they have to pay for their training now, which for the same course I did is about £9,000, so not everyone can afford it.’

60 cast and crew have shared their memories for this new book, which is available to preorder now from Miwk – http://bit.ly/2d7p5ts

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

Richard Burn: ‘Great to see this set again, first programme I ever worked on in television. I did the pre-production sign design for Darrowby and packaging and signage for the Dispensary, I had never heard of set dressing before then.’

Andy Frizzell: ‘Ha! First studio drama I ever worked on. Bob Gell was TM1 (lighting director nowadays) the hands on the clock in the hall were held on with blue tack.’

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TM’s and EM’s

The studio engineers all worked to the TM’s (Technical Manager). Each studio day had a TM1, who was senior and looked after the studio lighting, and a TM2 who dealt with all the other technical issues, and liaised with the producer and director.

The TM1 was always in the lighting gallery, and the TM2 in the production gallery. Between them they were the final arbiters of technical quality during the production. TM2’s quite often acted as TM1’s and there were quite few movements in the early days, so I cannot be exactly sure who was in post at the time (mid 1970s). Bob Gell and Barry Hill were the main TM1’s, joined soon by Dick Bentley together with TM2’s who I think were Bob Chaplin, Derek Price, John Jevons and later Ron Irvine. They were joined later by George Allen and Barry Chatsfield. (who moved from being a Cameraman to TM fairly early on as I recall).

The two EM’s (Engineering Managers) at that time were Gordon White and John Endall. They were in charge of all technical planning of O.B.’s . Normally only one EM would be allocated to an OB. as there was rarely any major lighting to be done.

Ray Lee

Studio A lighting gallery

Tag: Bob Gell

All Memories Great and Small – part 7, Carol Churchill

Studio Operations (part 2) – Ray Lee