Call My Bluff – What Was Pebble Mill?

Memories of working with Terry Wogan

Points of View team, photo from Gail Herbert, no reproduction without permission

Looking through some of the many comments on Facebook about Terry Wogan, following his death yesterday, it was striking how positive everyone was about their memories of working with him at Pebble Mill. I’ve collected a few of those comments here.

Linda Flavell: So sad to hear of Sir Terry’s death. Such a funny man to work with, glad to be one of the lucky ones to have spent time with him.

Kate Hillman: All those lovely trips to Cliveden. Yes, a privilege to have worked with him.

Helena Taylor: He was such a gentleman, and always had time to have a word with his ‘fans’ in the audience of Call My Bluff. Indeed a privilege to have worked with him as Kate Hillman says. So so sad he has passed away.

Sangita Manandhar: Such sad news about Terry Wogan. Had the pleasure of working with him on Points of View many years ago…always so charming. So sad.

Paul Taylor: He was a joy to work with… So spontaneously witty, he had me fighting not to laugh out loud during recordings…..

List of Pebble Mill programmes

Photo by Ben Peissel, no reproduction without permission

This a list of factual television programmes, described as ‘current’, was produced before the closure of Pebble Mill, around 2004. The list is included in a document housed in the BBC Archives in Caversham.

BBC One:

Points of View, Animal Sanctuary

BBC Two:

Gardeners’ World, Gardeners’ World Specials, Gardeners’ World Live, RHS Tatton, Gardener of the Year, Small Town Gardens, Rachel’s Country Garden [I don’t think this series was actually made], Million Pound Property Challenge, SAS Survival Secrets, Big Dreams – The Secrets of Asian Success, How I made My Property Millions

BBC Three:

The Brief: India and Pakistan, Greatest Eunuch Show, Black Beauty

BBC One Daytime:

Countryfile, Call My Bluff, To Buy or Not to Buy, Trading Up, Big Strong Boys, Sunday Garden, Trading Up in the Sun

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

Caroline Feldon Parsons: ‘I worked on 10 of those programmes! And don’t forget all the Radio programmes that were also being currently made …’

Simon Vaughan: ‘Pebble Mill was an amazing production centre – why on earth decommission it and pull it down, such an absolute waste. Just like TVC, their like will never be seen again.’

Carole Lowe: ‘Miss Pebble Mill a great building I worked on Anne and Nick and other programmes. Sad loss to BIRMINGHAM.’

Stuart Gandy: ‘Proper broadcasting centre.’

Pete Simpkin: ‘..and of course all the Radio…Live music , recorded music, Radio 2, Radio 3, amazing amount of Radio 4 ….drama, features, documentaries, the Archers and all the Local Radio as well!’

Judith Markall: ‘A sin to knock the building down!’

Toby Horwood in Studio A

Here’s a mug shot of yours truly. This in in Studio A. Judging by the presence of audience seating it would have been a Call My Bluff or Going for a Song or something similar.

Very happy days. Still in the Beeb. Still Happy.

Toby Horwood

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

Stuart Gandy: ‘As it is a Sony camera, it must have been after the refurb to widescreen.’

Call My Bluff 1996

This is a production and presentation team photo of Call My Bluff from May 1996.

Included are: Ros Holness (Bob Holness’s daughter), Clara Hewitt, Jane Hudson, Veronica Butt, Caroline Marshall, Sue Williams, Richard Lewis, Helena Taylor, David Weir, as well as presenters Sandi Toksvig, Bob Holness, and Alan Coren.

Thanks to Ronnie Butt for sharing the photo.

Call My Bluff 1997

Thanks to Ronnie Butt for making the photo available.

The photo dates from 1997, and was probably taken at the end of the Call My Bluff series for BBC 1 Daytime.

Included left to right are:

(seated) Luisa Prosser, Helena Taylor (producer), Alan Coren (presenter), Ronnie Butt, Royston Horsley ?, Bob Holness (presenter), Dougie Parker (warm-up), Sandi Toksvig (presenter), David Weir (director)

(standing) Lizzie Compton, Sue McConkey/Williams (red jumper), Dave Walters (just to the right of Sue), Roger Sutton (vision mixer), poss John Cooke, Kirsten Jones (sound, in blue top behind Helena), poss Roger Guest, Gill Thompson, Di Lester (to the right of Bob Holness), Paul Woolston (camera, just after the ‘Bluff’ on the background), Dave Wilkins (camera, under the ‘U’ on the background), Toby Horwood (camera), Jane Taylor (holding Bluff card), Sue Russell (red shirt, black jacket), poss Pete Eggleston, Sue Johnson, Michelle Furey (next to last on right).