Tag: Phil Franklin

Angela Rippon presenting Top Gear

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a screen grab of Angela Rippon presenting the first ever episode of the motoring magazine show, Top Gear, stood outside BBC Pebble Mill, from 1977. An excerpt of this episode is included in the following BBC show, Back in Time for the Weekend, episode 3, The 70s: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b071c07m/back-in-time-for-the-weekend-3-the-70s

Here is the Radio Times entry for an early episode of Top Gear, from July 1978, courtesy of the BBC Genome project: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/53d7caaca2db42e9af4b102cb6bb061b. You’ll see from the text that the programme was much more consumer and safety conscious than the current iteration of Top Gear:

“Top Gear with Angela Rippon and Barrie Gill
Rippon on the Road
The big holiday rush begins this weekend and many drivers plan to travel through Friday night. How dangerous is this practice? What are the stress factors and what are the signs of fatigue? Angela finds out for herself by night driving to the West Country. Twenty people are killed and over 200 seriously injured each week yet these figures could be cut to one tenth if we used our seat belts. Should we leave it to persuasion or is compulsion the final answer?
Director PHIL FRANKLlN Producer DEREK SMITH BBC Birmingham

TOP GEAR’S TOPICAL TIPS 1. Check over your car carefully, paying particular attention to: engine oil level, water level in radiator, water in the windscreen bottle, all lights working especially brake lights, windscreen wipers functioning properly, brake fluid up to the mark, tyre pressures – not forgetting the spare. 2. When were your brakes last checked and serviced? 3. Check your exhaust pipe is not loose and has no leaks. 4. Seat belts should be anchored securely and remember to use them. S. Most motorway problems are due to over-heating: check the condition of your fan belt and its tension (roughly lin. play). 6. Useful spares for your list: a fan belt; top and bottom radiator hoses; two spare sparking plugs; a set of contact breaker points; a roll of insulating tape; two spare bulbs. 7. Have a good rest before you start your journey. 8. Keep your distance from the vehicle in front. 9. Pull in every two hours, change drivers or stretch your legs. It can all be summed up in the word POWER: Petrol Oil Water Electrics Rubber”

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

Pete Simpkin: ‘How sad you have put this up on the day that Top Gear has reached the nadir of it’s existance with the dreadful news of the filming near the Cenotaph.’

Lynn Cullimore: ‘Better then, not like now with all this terrible publicity because of stupid people. I used to be so proud to work on that programme.’

Ray Lee: ‘I had a spell in VTC editing on Quad 2″ tapes, when this first series went out.’

Rally Report

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Copyright resides with the original holders, no reproduction without permission.

Rally Report was a BBC 2 series dating from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s, consisting of coverage of the Lombard RAC Rally of Great Britain, which was held annually in the autumn. The show went out each evening, and was quick turnaround. It was presented by Top Gear’s, William Woollard, from Rally headquarters with previews, live stages and twice nightly reports. It was shot on location, edited and transmitted from site. It was often a challenging production logistically. Tony Mason, presented the Rally stage reports. Rally Report was unusual as a sports programme, not made by BBC Sport. In later years it was renamed Top Gear Rally Report, to emphasise the fact that it wasn’t made by Sport, and that a lot of the Top Gear team were involved.

The producers included Phil Franklin, Brian Strachan (until 1986) and Tony Rayner with the executive producers including Derek Smith, Dennis Adams and Tom Ross.