Roger Casstles – Page 2 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Victoria Wood 1953-2016

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

Comedienne Victoria Wood died today, aged 62, after a battle with cancer.

Birmingham played an important part in launching Victoria Wood’s career. She studied Drama at Birmingham University in 1971, and as you’ll see from the excerpt of her obituary in the Telegraph today, one of her first professional engagements was at BBC Pebble Mill. Does anyone know what the ‘local television programme about Midlands Life’ was? Please add a comment if you do.

I think that Victoria was probably quite a challenging student at Birmingham University. I studied English and Drama there a decade later, and remember being told by one of our lecturers, Gerry McCarthy, that Victoria had refused to choose any of the options she was offered, and they had to put together a module on Farce especially for her!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/04/20/victoria-wood—obituary/

“In 1971 she enrolled at Birmingham University to study Drama and Theatre Arts and while working as a part-time barmaid in a pub frequented by BBC producers was invited to a party where she played a few of her songs. The following day she auditioned at the BBC studio, Pebble Mill, and was given a spot on a local television programme about Midlands life. This led to another audition, and two appearances on the ITV talent show New Faces, one of which she won.”

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

Lynn Cullimore: ‘I do know that John Clarke knew her and I think he was the producer. I was John’s Production Assistant after that time but I know they were friends. What an amazing lady though – so talented and so sad she is no longer with us. What has been happening lately that we have lost so many talented artists.’

Katie Cooper (Wright): ‘Apart from the regional news programme we also had the ‘Regional Opt Out’. Half an hour’s worth. Regionally based and ranging from news magazines to inter-town quizzes….travelogues, history, even live music + audience from Studio B!!!!. John Clarke and Roger Casstles were two of the Producers in the days of Victoria Wood. David Nelson and I amongst the Directors… Couldn’t name the specific programme she was involved in though…sorry.’

Malcolm Hickman: ‘Back in those days, Midlands News did 2 half hour opt outs a week. One on a Tuesday night and one on a Thursday night. They often featured a particular town or event. It may have been one of those programmes.’

Andy Walters: ‘I’m sure some of her As Seen On TV series was filmed around the corridors of Pebble Mill.’

Jane Clement: ‘A lovely lady, met her several times on the Mill. Another one gone too soon.’

Arthur Binnie – Roger Casstles

Arthur Binnie’s leaving do. Photo from Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission.

“I first met Arthur in 1977 when I was on attachment to BBC Glasgow to direct a series called ‘The Energy File’ with Raymond Baxter and Michael Buerk. Arthur was the producer drafted in from the oil capital of Britain, Aberdeen. He and I got on very well, we shared a sense of humour and a lack of admiration for the series producer we were working for. It was Arthur who weaned me back onto whisky – as a young man I’d had an unfortunate encounter with Uiscea Beatha – one New Year’s Eve in Kidderminster. The host was a Scot. I had arrived late – ‘you’ll be having a dram’ note the absence of the word ‘wee’ – I demolished the best part of a bottle of Johnnie Walker RED Label. ‘God, you weren’t drinking that toxic shite’ said Arthur. ‘What you need is a wee dram of the finest – The Glenlivet.’ One sip and I was cured… I have been a whisky drinker ever since.

I returned to Brum, left the BBC for a short time motivated by a lack of admiration for the Executive Producer running the department. In 1982 I got a job as producer/director Pebble Mill at One. There was a new Assistant Editor. Arthur and I were re-united!

In 1984 Arthur was approaching retirement and came up with the idea that PM@1 should do a series on Singapore – where he’d served his National Service. I got the plum job as director and off we set, for five weeks, based in Raffles Hotel – with Nicky Barfoot, Dick Bentley, Don Cooper, Norman McLeod, Ian Dewar, Nigel Evans, Andy Frizzell and Bill Youell and an effing sack truck carting a monitor (flat screen hadn’t been invented) an oscilloscope, an Ampex VPR20, and a load of car batteries… This was at the time that Sony had just launched the BetaCam. Crews from around the world congregated on Singapore for the annual Dragon Boat Race. They all came equipped with their shiny new Onesies. i.e.Betacams. We dragged our sack truck through the sand… got it a bit wet and the VPR20 crashed.

Throughout all the challenges in the humid Far East, Arthur remained calm, supportive and was full of his memories of life in Singapore as a squaddie. We were there with another great, late, Scotsman Donny McLeod and a wee laddie called Paul Coia. Oh yes, and there was a contribution from Essex boy Peter Seabrook, who refused to eat anything ‘foreign’ and lived on Dunkin’ Donuts…

We returned to the UK with a great deal of satisfaction, having produced a wealth of material for the 84/85 season of PM@1. Arthur retired later that summer. His retirement party was a wonderfully moving occasion which I remember most for the way he delivered his farewell speech – leaning nonchalantly against a pillar in the boardroom on the 5^th floor of ‘t Mill, telling it like it was, or had been, without a wee dram of bitterness or regret. A lovely man, and although we lost contact, I shall miss him, yet treasure the memories.

Sadly, Arthur’s happy and positive retirement was overshadowed by the untimely death of Donny in September at the very young age of 52.

I was shocked to learn this week of Arthur’s death on Radio 4’s PM programme. It not just announced the loss to the world of journalism by one of Scotland’s finest but also told a story which, in all the time I knew him, Arthur never mentioned… dear reader you can find out more here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-35493518

Roger Casstles,
The Ancient Civil Parish of Stowe,
Shropshire”

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

Johannah Dyer: ‘Is that Ellie Lacey (Baldwin) on the left? And Fran in the window at the back?’

Ellie Lacey: ‘Well spotted Joh! Yes, that’s me back in the very early eighties and Fran too. Arthur was a lovely and very dear man, popular with everyone – especially the girls! I was so sad to hear of his death but happy to know he had such a long life. RIP Arthur.’

Arthur Binnie

Arthur Binnie’s leaving do from Pebble Mill at One. Photo from Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission

“It is with great sadness that I tell you all that Arthur died last night at the age of 89. During 10 years at Aberdeen Journals, Arthur was a general reporter, gossip columnist for the Evening Express and latterly the paper’s chief sub-editor. In 1964, he joined the BBC to oversee an expanding output from its Aberdeen newsroom. Later in his career he co-produced a documentary series on the offshore industry, worked as assistant editor on the Pebble Mill show and worked for Aberdeen Cable TV.”

Helen Straine (BBC)

Here is one of the Radio Times entries for the 6 part series on North Sea oil, from the BBC Genome project, you’ll notice that Roger Casstles (later on Pebble Mill at One and The Clothes Show) was the director: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/d27f1b1e94f04b458b0bc804fb22ba1f

“The Energy File: Sweet Oil

A series of six programmes with Raymond Baxter and Michael Buerk
Sweet Oil – The words were used by BP to announce the discovery which launched Britain into the age of oil. In less than ten years oil has become our most booming industry and the one which largely will determine how our future can be shaped.
So why do oil companies go to extraordinary lengths to keep their information secret? How much more remains to be discovered? How far and how deep can we go into the turbulent northern seas? And what’s involved in getting the oil ashore?
BBC Scotland

Contributors

Presenter: Raymond Baxter
Reporter: Michael Buerk
Director: Roger Casstles
Producer: Arthur Binnie
Producer: David Martin”

The Terrace

The Terrace was transmitted on BBC1 in the autumn of 1996 at 3pm in the afternoon.

Here is the Radio Times entry for the first episode of the DIY series, courtesy of the BBC Genome project http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/4825eb4df786444886a38f8c60168826:

“First of a new twice-weekly DIY and interior design series presented by ex-EastEnders star Mike Reid. Leaving the fictional dramas of Albert Square behind him, Reid experiences the real-life troubles of families living in a row of terraced houses in urgent need of repair in the heart of Birmingham. With Simon Biagi and Brenda Emmanus.”

The presenting team included Simon Biagi, who later presented Real Rooms, and Brenda Emmanus, who had presented on The Clothes Show.

Jane Lomas was probably the producer of this series.

Thanks to Ian Collins for sharing this titles grab, and to Nicola Silk for adding information.

Mark Westcott left the following message on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

‘Jane Lomas did produce this, I worked on this show. Out of Roger Casstles’ department, exec’d by Mark Kershaw. My first network Director credit. Sharon Fisher, Paul Venezis, Sarah Marshall too I think were all involved.’

Real Rooms – Children in Need special

These photos are of the Real Rooms team, during a makeover to coincide with Children in Need day. The show went out on Friday 21st November 1997, and was the last episode of that series. The makeover was of a centre used by special needs children, somewhere in south Birmingham.

Included in the first photo are left to right: back row, Elaine Walker, Jon ?, Richard White, John Gregg, Robert David, ?, front row Beverley ?, Leah ?, Kieran Kelly, Simon Biagi (presenter), Fiona Quigley, Dee Mortimer.

Working on Real Rooms was my first programme as a series producer, with Mark Kershaw as executive producer, and Roger Casstles as Managing Editor. We had an initial commission for 20 programmes, but the series proved very popular and it was recommissioned many times over. I worked on the first 80 programmes, before moving on to other series.

It was one of the first programmes at Pebble Mill to extensively use self shooting by researchers and assistant producers, on Sony VX1000s. Some of the quality was mixed, but it was only through self shooting that the programmes were cost effective. We used to have a full Beta crew for all presenter, Simon Biagi’s pieces to camera, and the opening and reveal, as well as the ‘inspiration’ and ‘shopping’ trips. The self shooting was reserved for the makeover happening in the actual room.

Vanessa Jackson