Terry Wogan – What Was Pebble Mill?

Memories of working with Terry Wogan

Points of View team, photo from Gail Herbert, no reproduction without permission

Looking through some of the many comments on Facebook about Terry Wogan, following his death yesterday, it was striking how positive everyone was about their memories of working with him at Pebble Mill. I’ve collected a few of those comments here.

Linda Flavell: So sad to hear of Sir Terry’s death. Such a funny man to work with, glad to be one of the lucky ones to have spent time with him.

Kate Hillman: All those lovely trips to Cliveden. Yes, a privilege to have worked with him.

Helena Taylor: He was such a gentleman, and always had time to have a word with his ‘fans’ in the audience of Call My Bluff. Indeed a privilege to have worked with him as Kate Hillman says. So so sad he has passed away.

Sangita Manandhar: Such sad news about Terry Wogan. Had the pleasure of working with him on Points of View many years ago…always so charming. So sad.

Paul Taylor: He was a joy to work with… So spontaneously witty, he had me fighting not to laugh out loud during recordings…..

Sir Terry Wogan 1938-2016

Dave Baumber (sound) with Terry Wogan (photo by Paul Vanezis, no reproduction without permission)

Vanessa Jackson (producer) with Terry Wogan (photo by Paul Vanezis, no reproduction without permission)

Steve Saunderson (camera), Vanessa Jackson, Gail Herbert (PA), Michelle Furey (AP) with Terry Wogan (photo by Paul Vanezis, no reproduction without permission)

Dave Baumber (sound, crouching), Michelle Furey (AP) Steve Saunderson (camera), Vanessa Jackson, Gail Herbert (PA), ?, ?, with Terry Wogan (photo by Paul Vanezis, no reproduction without permission)

Terry Wogan, Vanessa Jackson (photo by Paul Vanezis, no reproduction without permission)

Terry Wogan, Dave Baumber, Vanessa Jackson (photo by Paul Vanezis, no reproduction without permission)

Terry Wogan died today (31st January 2016) after a short battle with cancer.

“It’s very sad that Terry Wogan is no longer with us. I remember an old BBC special, an hour of watching fireworks and fronted by Tel! He actually made it sound exciting. I only worked with him once in 2002, but I took these in September 2004, when the BBC opened Europe’s most modern, state of the art studios, promising the people of the Midlands broadcasting security for the next 25 years at least. Of course, that was a lie. But none of us knew that then, not even Terry who was presenting here a Points of View special. On camera, Steve Saunderson, producer Vanessa Jackson. Sound is by the late, great Dave Baumber. Gail Herbert is in there as well, as is Michelle Furey. Just 11 years ago.”

Paul Vanezis

“I remember this shoot well, especially how patient and generous Terry was with members of the public who were continually asking to have their photo taken with him – the rest of the production team certainly weren’t as patient about that! I used to really enjoy writing the Points of View script for Terry, it was very easy to get his voice in your head as you were writing. I also loved the way he would look over the script in a couple of minutes, and ‘Terryise’ it – changing the odd phrase, so that it sounded like he’d written it in the first place. I also remember Gail Herbert, who was the production assistant on Points of View for many years, saying to me that Terry Wogan was someone she considered a real star – and she was right, he really was!”

Vanessa Jackson

Children in Need – Institute of Conductive Education

‘Children in Need’ in the Midlands gave funding to the Institute for Conductive Education in Moseley, Birmingham. It was opened in 1995 by Princess Diana. Marie Phillips, who was the co-ordinator of ‘Children in Need’ at Pebble Mill was invited to the opening. This is the invitation, and a photograph of Princess Diana meeting Marie.

Marie adds the following:

“Children in Need regularly funded the Foundation for Conductive Education which is based in Cannon Hill Park. It uses the Hungarian Peto method of helping children with cerebral palsy to achieve improved mobility. Believe it or not, part of the treatment involves the use of Ladderback chairs. Princess Diana was a Patron of the Institute and visited on that day to officially open a new wing. I was invited to represent Children in Need which was exciting enough and when I went along I had absolutely no idea that I was part of the group to be presented to her. I was astonished when I was told this and incredibly delighted and honoured. It was electric when she entered the room – her blue, blue eyes and dazzling smile captivated us all. She moved from group to group and she knew a surprising amount about ‘Children in Need’ and asked who that year’s programme Presenters would be. I told her it would be Terry Wogan and Gabby Roslyn and she was very complimentary about Gabby as well as the work of our Charity. A day I will always cherish.”

Thanks to Marie Phillips for making these stills available.

Terry Wogan with Pudsey Bear

Photos from Marie Phillips, no reproduction without permission.

The photos include Children in Need organiser, Marie Phillips with Terry Wogan and Pudsey bear.

These date from the mid 1990s, and were taken on the ‘Good Morning with Anne and Nick’ set in Studio C at Pebble Mill.

Marie Phillips adds the following information:

‘Terry Wogan was a Trustee of Children in Need and went round the Regions in the weeks prior to Appeal Night and asked particularly to meet each Regional Co-ordinator. He was very supportive and very appreciative of our work.

I told him that there were 90 calls on my answer machine from potential fundraisers, waiting to be dealt with. He was amazed and although I didn’t hear it, apparently on his next day programme he expressed his astonishment at “Marie in Birmingham having 90 calls in one day”. He was very friendly and interested in what we did. I am not sure if he did appear on Good Morning.’

Points of View – blog by Sue Watson

My main claim to fame while working at Pebble Mill was renting a hotel room by the hour with Sir Terry Wogan. Every Thursday afternoon we would meet in the hallowed portals of Lady Astor’s former home, Cliveden and as the twinkling eyed Sir Terry entered the bedroom I would greet him from the four poster bed, ready and waiting for our time together. Lying with the ghosts of the sixties Profumo scandal (and under the firm hands of Nick Patten), I would tell Sir Terry exactly what I wanted him to do.

This of course was in my capacity as the Producer of ‘Points of View,’ and for about twelve months the programme was filmed at Cliveden on Thursday afternoons. Far from being the Christine Keeler of my day, I was merely producing a weekly TV programme albeit with a wonderful team and one of the best presenters I’ve ever worked with.

Once the crew (and catering) had arrived, there wasn’t much room for the producer, so the best place for me to see Terry and be out of shot was on the elaborately dressed bed. This became my regular position; the cameraman would place the monitor at the bottom of the bed and I would take my place. Imagining I looked ‘Pre Raphaelite,’ (in reality more ‘Beryl Cook!’) I would drape myself seductively across the counterpane and for several hours I would ‘produce,’ Sir Terry until he couldn’t take any more.

Hard times at Pebble Mill… a tough job, but someone had to do it!

Sue Watson

Sue is involved in the online auction, Authors for Japan; To make a bid log on to http://authorsforjapan.wordpress.com/tag/sue-watson/

Sue’s first novel, Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes out on July 8^th is a humorous and heartbreaking tale TV, love, revenge – and cake.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fat-Girls-Fairy-Cakes-Watson/dp/0956536824/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300209306&sr=1-1

Sue Watson