Nick Owen – Page 4 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Midlands Today – TV Ark link

Here is a link to ‘TV Ark’, a site which includes short clips from a number of ‘Midlands Today’ episodes. Clips include the first Midlands Today from 1971, as well as excerpts from presenters David Stevens, Alan Towers, Kathy Rochford, Nick Owen, Sue Beardsmore, Kay Alexander, Brian Conway, David Davies, Bernadette Kearney, Andy Knowles, Richard Uridge, Lawrence Lee, Michael Collie, Stuart Linnell and Suzanne Virdee. The last ‘Midlands Today’ to be broadcast from Pebble Mill is also included.

http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/bbc_midlands/news.html

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

Jane Ward: ‘I vision-mixed that last 6.30 prog….an honour to do it, but very emotional….’

Stuart Gandy: ‘If you spend a few minutes looking at TV ark, you will find quite a lot from pebble Mill. After all we did make a lot of programmes there, probably more than the average viewer realised’

Ewan Kiel: ‘That is great. I probably spent far longer than I should have done on Midlands Today … but looking back, it was really fun and hey, it was where I met my wife – and now I list people people who were – to me – cool: Kay, Brian, Darren, Fiona Barton, Richard (Uridge), Steve (Lee), Pete Lowe, Patrick (thank you, Patrick), Cathy, Martin Dowell, David Davies, Fiona (again), Steph, Pam, Gary (yes, Hudson), Will Trotter, Mike Johnston, Paul Freeman, Ian (Pedersen – very cool man), John Carney, Kathy Rochford (always had a crush), Liz (camera diary – huge crush… huge), Harvinder ( coolest guy in the office), Fiona ( the memory won ‘t go away), Barbara Steele (were the rumours true?), Darren (again coz he is my abiding friend from that time, and I honestly love him … although nothing gay has happened yet!), Jane Green (aaah), Julie (Etchingham … didn’t she do well), Pete Wilson (cool), John McLeod (very, very cool), Peter Poole (loved him), Howard (HOWARD!!?), Sue Beardsmore (especially in that button up the front grey dress), Nick Patten (and his tendency to direct standing up), Merrick Simmonds, Mel and her stockings, Lindsay, Ian Bellion (and his gorgeous sideburns) …and christ, I spent too long there.’

Lynn Cullimore: ‘yep, worked on that….gallery flush as we called it always evident as things went wrong and you had to be on your toes! Dear david stevens too – dont think he is any longer with us. kay alexander too – she is lovely. oh many many names….oh yes geoffrey green – i loved him and he was so funny. Wonder if he is with us still?’

Peter Poole: ‘I will never forget Alan Towers resigning on air and his comments about BBC management. What a great presenter.’

Good Morning with Anne and Nick, Guernsey OB – Laura McNeill

Photos by Laura McNeill, no reproduction without permission.

The photos are from an outside broadcast episode of ‘Good Morning with Anne and Nick’, from the Channel Island of Guernsey. I’m not sure of the year, but probably around 1993. Alan Whicker was a guest.

The photos feature Anne Diamond and Nick Owen, Steve Pierson (Floor Manager), Sally (make-up), Eileen Hubball (wardrobe), Will Hanrahan (reporter), Sue Robinson (multi-camera director), Duncan Howell (design), Laura McNeill (sound).

Despite the hard work, it looks like a good time was had.

Radio Birmingham Football Team

Thanks to Annie Gumbley-Williams for making this Radio Birmingham football team photo available.

Mick Murphy, Pete Simpkin and Jane Green have identified the following team members:

2nd from left, back row,Jim Rosenthal (ITV Sport), fourth from left is Denis Mcshane went on to become an MP, top right, Rick Thompson, Head of Regional Programmes, Midlands and Head of 9 O Clock News.

Bottom row, 1st left, Stuart Woodcock(?), 2nd left, Duncan Gibbons, third from left Roger Moody (early sports producer Radio B’ham went onto a satellite company afterwards), far right, Nick Owen.

Duncan Gibbons became a screenwriter in Hollywood. He died in the first high profile forest fires in California, a good few years ago, attempting to rescue his cat.

I think the photo dates from the mid 1970’s. If you can add information, or identify more of the players, please add a comment.

Radio Birmingham, Radio Car

The photo shows the Radio Birmingham, Radio Car. It probably dates from the mid 1970’s. The line up is made up of the station’s news team. According to producer/presenter Pete Simpkin, it includes (L to R): Chris Phipps,Stuart Woodcock, Nick Owen, Angela Jameson, Annie Gumbley, Jim Rosenthal, then the late Andy Roberts news producer, a newsroom Secretary who’s name escapes me,Roger Moody and Martin Henfield. Angela Jameson was the Newsroom Secretary and married to the Warks cricketer John Jameson. Martin Henfield went on to become News Editor Radio Birmingham, Roger Moody went to satellite TV.

Thanks to Annie Gumbley for making the photograph available.

Good Morning Summer 1995

‘Good Morning Summer’ was presented by Sarah Greene, and Will Hanrahan.

As the name suggests, the series was a summer version of ‘Good Morning with Anne and Nick’, but without Anne Diamond and Nick Owen. The production team was pretty much the same.

The photo includes: Katie Wright (deputy editor), Sue Walton (producer), Natasha Wood (PA), Tessa Finch (editor), Sue Robinson (director), Merrick Simmonds (director), Belinda Essex (researcher), Jane McLean (PA), Vanessa Jackson (producer), Sarah Greene (presenter), Will Hanrahan (presenter), Rosemary Edwards (producer), Sarah Jayne Phillips (vision mixer), Jane Lomas (producer), Claire Popplewell (PA), Julie Tanner (AP), Slavka (researcher), Sharon Fisher (researcher), Marco (FM), Jackie Deitrich (producer).

Thanks to Jane McLean for making the photo available.