Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
‘Boogie Outlaws’ was a 3 part drama about a recording company owner, Manfred Holt, who forms a band from a group of musicians who are on the run from the police. It was produced by Carol Parks at Pebble Mill, directed by Keith Godman and written by Leslie Stewart. It was transmitted in 1987.
The drama starred Ian Hogg, David Schofield, Isla Blair, John Judd, Francesca Brill, Sara Crowe, Claire Parker and Chris Tummings.
Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
The Chain was a four part thriller which went out in 1990, written by Desmond Lowden. It told a tale of murder and corruption in the world of business takeovers. The series was produced at Pebble Mill by Carol Parks. Don Leaver directed the series, John Kenway was the cameraman. Brian Wright was the script editor and Nigel Jones the designer.
The series starred Peter Capaldi, Susan Kyd, Robert Pugh, Julia Hills, and Michael Troughton amongst others.
The photos show the lowering of a ‘body’ into the concrete foundations of a building. The model used as the body looks fairly convincing.
This little booklet documents the first 50 years of BBC broadcasting in the Midlands – from 1922-72. The forward is written by Phil Sidey, the Head of Network Production Centre at Pebble Mill in the 1970s and early 80s. The booklet tells the story of broadcasting in the Midlands, from the first studio in Witton in 1922, to the premises in New Street, followed by Broad Street, Carpenter Road (Edgbaston), Gosta Green and then Pebble Mill.
Many of the photographs were taken by Willoughby Gullachsen.
Thanks to Pete Simpkin for making the booklet available.
Gavin Davies on Dead Head
Photo copyright Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
Dead Head was a four part thriller produced at Pebble Mill. It went out between 15th January and 5th February 1986. It starred Denis Lawson as a minor villain who becomes linked to a gruesome murder, when he discovers a severed head in a hat box he is meant to deliver.
The series was produced by Robin Midgley, directed by Rob Walker and written by Howard Brenton. Dave Bushell was the lighting director, Vivien Oldham the make-up designer and Kathryn Ayerst the costume designer and Keith Salmon the camera supervisor. Gavin Davies, shown spraying down a traffic mirror in the photo was the production designer.
The series also featured George Baker, Simon Callow, Peter Attard, Lindsay Duncan and Norman Beaton.
The Continental
Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
The Continental was written by John Godber, directed by John Godber and Martin Shardlow, and produced at Pebble Mill by Chris Parr.
The drama was a sequel to The Ritz (a television adaptation of John Godber’s play Bouncers), where the staff of The Ritz, a northern nightclub, set about opening a new disco in Spain. It was transmitted in 1987.
The Continental starred Richard James Lewis, Andrew Livingstone, Richard Ridings, Paul Rider, Andrew Dunn, Frank Bruno, Martin Ronan and Mark Addy.
The pool scene was shot in the Copthorne Hotel, Birmingham.
A list of most of the crew is contained on the Script front page.
The Continental 1
The Continental, Script front page