Lesley Dunlop – What Was Pebble Mill?

Copyright resides with the original holders, no reproduction without permission. Thanks to Janice Rider for making the photos available.

The polaroid photos were taken by costume designer Janice Rider, as continuity records of characters’ costumes.

The publicity photos were probably taken by Willoughby Gullachsen (Gus). The group shot seated on the grass dates from 1983, the standing shot from 1979.

‘Angels’ was a hospital soap, produced by the BBC in London, and hosted at Pebble Mill. Julia Smith was one of the early producers on the series. The series told stories of student nurses. Many actresses who went on to be very well known appeared in the soap: Fiona Fullerton, Pauline Quirke, Lesley Dunlop, Clare Clifford, Julie Dawn Cole, Lynda Bellingham.

Save

Photos by Lynda Kettle, no reproduction without permission. Lynda Kettle was a Production Designer at BBC Pebble Mill, working on factual, entertainment and drama shows in studio and on location. The photos were taken as records of the Sets.

Angels, began life in 1975 as a seasonal drama, but switched to a soap format between 1979 to 1983. It was produced out of the BBC in London, with some series being filmed there as the ‘St Angela’s Hospital’, Battersea. Later series in the 1980s were recorded at Pebble Mill in the imaginary ‘Heath Green Hospital’, Birmingham. It followed the lives of student nurses and tackled issues such as contraception, alcoholism and sexuality. The series was sometimes criticised for its gritty portrayal of nursing. To make the performances more realistic the actresses had to work in real hospital wards to gain experience.

The series offered opportunities to many actresses who have become well known household names, like Fiona Fullerton, Lesley Dunlop and Pauline Quirke.

Production Designer, Lynda Kettle also worked as a theatre designer and an artist, and now runs courses from her art studio http://www.lynda-kettle.com. She is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham Water Colour Society. Midland Pastel Society and Birmingham Art Circle . She exhibits her paintings several times a year at selected galleries.