Myles Lang – Page 2 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Nanny – script front page, ep 3

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission. Thanks to Roger Guest for sharing the script front page.

This is the first page of the script for the episode of the drama series: Nanny, The Magic Island. Nanny was a London series, hosted by Pebble Mill. Wendy Craig was cast in the title role.

Notice that this episode was recorded third, but is actually the fourth episode to be transmitted, on 31st January 1981.

Here is the entry from the BBC Genome project for this episode of Nanny, http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/47192fea43904e21a5b7ceea47f1ed1c:

A series in ten parts 4: The Magic Island by TERENCE BRADY and CHARLOTTE BINGHAM with Rain … all day, every day. The children trapped indoors become quarrelsome. Barbara’s solution is simple, if eccentric. But dealing with Miss Sullivan, the old-fashioned governess, is not so easy.
Senior cameraman KEITH SALMON Make-up artist VIVIEN OLDHAM Designer MYLES LANG
Associate producer CHRISTOPHER BARRY Producer GUY SLATER
Director MICHAEL CUSTANCE.

Contributors

Script: Terence Brady
Script: Charlotte Bingham
Senior cameraman: Keith Salmon
Make up Artist: Vivien Oldham
Designer: Myles Lang
Producer: Christopher Barry
Producer: Guy Slater
Director: Michael Custance.
Nanny Barbara Gray: Starring Wendy Craig
Mrs Sackville: Patience Collier
Donald Gray: Colin Douglas
Dorinda Sackville: Patricia Hodge
Frederick Sackville: And Benjamin Whitrow
Alice: Gabrielle Lloyd
Miss Sullivan: Sonia Graham
Dr Lindsay: Philip Dunbar
Sackville children:Artemis: Annabelle Lanyon
Sackville children:Dorothy: Veronique Gunner
Sackville children:Emerald: Anna Campbell
Sackville children:Nancy: Sally-Ann Messervy
Sackville children:Caro: Katherine Burman

Nanny – script front page

This is the rehearsal script front page for series 2, episode 4 of the 1981 drama series: Nanny. The series starred Wendy Craig as the nanny. The producer of the drama was Guy Slater and the director, David Tucker.

You’ll notice that the crew would be filming the winter sequences of this script on New Year’s Eve 1981 – that’s dedication!

Thanks to film editor, Oliver White, for keeping the script safe all these years.

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

Helen Wheatley: ‘I loved this programme with all my heart and told my parents I wanted to change my name to Artemis as a result of watching…’

Lynne Cullimore: ‘Loved it. I remember talking to Wendy Craig in the canteen and she was worried about which salads contained onion, as she was recording in the afternoon and did not want to breath onion over her fellow actors. I thought that was so nice of her. Loved Butterflies too but we did not do that one.’

Belinda Essex: ‘I remember temping while I was still at college for the Beeb early 80s and Wendy Craig was the first celeb I ever saw there, in the lift up to the canteen – I was very impressed.’

Roy Thompson: ‘Remember showing Wendy how to operate the tea machine, wonderful times.’

The Pickwick Papers

Photo by Neil Wigley, no reproduction without permission.

The Pickwick Papers was a twelve part BBC London drama serial, hosted at Pebble Mill, and transmitted in 1985. The interiors would have been recorded in Studio A.

The series featured Ray Brooks, Nigel Stock, Clive Swift, Jeremy Nicholas, Alan Parnaby and Phil Daniels (shown here, whispering).

The director was Brian Lighthill, Bob Chaplin was lighting director, Myles Lang the designer, Sue Peck the costume designer, and Gill Hughes the make-up designer.

Thanks to the BBC Drama Village for sharing the photo.

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

Ray Holman: ‘This was my very first job at Pebble Mill. I was a dresser in the costume department through the filming and then all the studio days, I looked after Phil Daniels, pictured here.’

Patricia Hodge Robinson: ‘Ditto, Ray! I helped to dress the female extras on studio days or Supporting Artistes as they were called then. My first telly job too!’

Pickwick Papers – photos by Tim Savage

Photos by Tim Savage, no reproduction without permission.

‘Pickwick Papers’ was a BBC drama series from 1985. It was hosted at Pebble Mill. The director was Brian Lighthill, the producer was Barry Letts and the script was written by Terrance Dicks. Bob Chaplin was the lighting designer, Sue Peck and costume designer, Gill Hughes the make-up designer and Myles Lang, the production designer.

The series starred Nigel Stock, Clive Swift (gardening presenter Joe Swift’s father), Jeremy Nicholas, Alan Parnaby, and Colin Douglas.

The first photo features Paul Higton from costume. The subsequent photos show a horse drawn carriage hired for the shoot. The location was a stately home near Telford.

In the carriage photos (l to r): John Couzens (camera) in navy jumper, centre in blue short-sleeved shirt, Elson Godbolt, Dick Bentley, second from right, it is probably David Robinson, to the right of Dick.

‘Newcomers’ photo with some names from Kevin Lakin

The photo is of the 1960’s drama ‘Newcomers’, recorded at Gosta Green.

Myles Lang and Michael Edwards were from Design, Keith Bullock was from Lighting. Two back from Reg, white coast balding head, Fred Parsons, Lighting Electrician.

Thanks to Kevin Lakin, and Adrian Parsons for identifying some of the members of staff in the photo.
Please add a comment if you can identify others in it.