Rediffusion's main studio complex at Wembley[6] was leased to London Weekend Television by order of the ITA[10] before being sold to Lee International in 1977. Television fanatics can use this list to find some Thames Television TV shows that they haven't seen before. The Pistols later twisted the knife in the lyrics to the myth-making but embarrassing No One Is Innocent (The Biggest Blow): God save television/ Keep the programmes pure/God save William Grundy/From falling in manure.. Within 18 months he was working for ATV as a presenter of children's shows, sports magazines and schools' programmes. The camera's from 1970's children's TV Show 'Finding out' gave viewers the opportunity to discover how Thames Televisions 'Magpie' is produced and put on air. In the aftermath of the programme, Grundy, who in articles for Punch had developed a self-styled image as a Dean Martin-style drunk, protested to The Guardian that he was stone-cold sober. Tony Bastable, who has died at the age of 62, was one of the bright and breezy Mr Clean children's television programme presenters of the 1970s, with a fringe, a winning . [1] In 1983, he joined Thames Television's Thames News as Sports Editor and co . The auction method used to conduct the new franchise round was a significant change from previous rounds and was brought about by the Broadcasting Act 1990. Once Thames learned it was to lose its franchise to Carlton, the ITV-branded ident was dropped in favour of the local ident which was used at all times from 4 November 1991 until 31 December 1992. In many ways the careers of Grundy and the Pistols never recovered from the confrontation. A Guide to British television programmes shown at Christmas time, throughout the years. I could talk to Bill through his ear-piece and tell him to cut the interview right there and then and we could actually get into a film very quickly. Its northern base in Didsbury, Manchester was used by Yorkshire Television prior to its Kirkstall Road studios in Leeds being completed, and eventually sold to Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, with a lease on sales offices in central Manchester being surrendered. "There was a lot of arrogance and mavericks working in telly then, and presenters did have a drink, and expect guests to just be thrilled to be on the telly. Control of the new company would be given to ABC, a move unpopular with Rediffusion. Later, the presenter claimed hed been pursuing a deliberate strategy to prove that these louts were a foul-mouthed set of yobs and that is what I did prove., Mike Housego sensed danger but decided that letting the interview continue would be less problematic than trying to clear the Pistols from the studio. Moira Stuart's career in radio and television spans more than two decades. Fact and fiction: the Sex Pistols terrorise Bill Grundy, in real life and on Disney's Pistol series, The front page of the Mirror, 2nd December 1976, Host Bill Grundy leaving the BBC offices the day after the Sex Pistols interview, (Image credit: David Ashdown/Getty Images ), Def Leppard's Joe Elliott hospitalised by altitude sickness in Colombia, Always wanted to record a Kiss song with Gene Simmons? Who knows what damage would have ensued if he had called while the Pistols were still in the Green Room. The outcome proposed by the ITA was a "shotgun marriage" between ABC and Rediffusion. The children's department also spawned the independent production company Tetra Films, which would later revive some classic Thames children's programmes for ITV The Tomorrow People (19925, in association with Thames-owned Reeves Entertainment for ITV and Nickelodeon) and Rainbow (199496, for HTV) along with a range of original film and television productions. That subsidiary was split into four new production companies at the start of 2012, with the new Thames producing light entertainment programming. Thames at 6 [12/09/77] presenter. RM 2HXKBTB - Mick Robertson, Douglas Rae and Jenny Hanley, the presenters of Thames Television's . It seems that the warning was not taken seriously if it had been, its doubtful that the band would have been put into a Green Room (a TV term for a room in which guests are offered refreshments before going on air) with a fully stocked bar. The Times (London, England), Thursday, 25 October 1984; Thames TV to join market with value of 91.2m. Shows. Presenters The first ident was used to signify programmes made at Rediffusion's old studios at Adastral House, the latter, shows that came from ABC's former Teddington Studios. Responding to the incident, Thames said in a statement: "Because the programme was live, it was impossible to foresee the language that would be used."[12]. BEN SHEPHARD spent an afternoon at Queen Anne's School in Caversham as guest adjudicator for its drama competition. In Pistol, Lydon's character corrects that, saying: "It's a great matter of pride to the Irish people that the first person to say 'fuck' on TV was Brendon Behan'." Thames's subsidiary production company Euston Films continued to produce many of Thames's highest-profile drama contributions to ITV network programming to the end of its ITV franchise. [20] For Thamess management, this was a materialist operation with a clear dimension, and to weed out unscrupulous bargaining and working practices. [30] A few days afterwards speculation appeared that Carlton had attempted to buy a sizable number of shares; Michael Green, chairman of Carlton, was quoted saying "I can't possibly comment" but a Thames spokesperson pointed out "It does seem quite likely, however, no one share holder can own more than 10% of our equity so it's difficult to see what they might have in mind". Thames said: "We are delighted in the outcome of the dispute which we believe is in the best interests of everyone who works at Thames". These programmes were made in the then standard 'hybrid' studio video/location film format, but the British industry was in the slow process of dropping the multi-camera studio format for drama, excepting soaps, to making the genre entirely on film. "CBTV" "CBTV," standing for "Citizens Band Television," was a subversive children's show in the early 1980s. It was originally shot by stop-frame animation on 16mm film, then shot again on 35mm film in 1976 and finally digitised on computer in 1984. John Andrews "Eric and Ernie take their sunshine to ITV". [58] However the ITC rejected the bid as a result of concerns about its business plan and investor backing. I knew the moment the autocue lady threw up her hands and her bag, her make-up cascading through the air, that we had smashed the deception. I always hated the Beatles, and as it happens I still do. ( 1992-12-17) This Week was a British weekly current affairs television programme that was first produced for ITV in January 1956 by Associated-Rediffusion (later Thames Television ), running until 1978, when it was replaced by TV Eye. The programme used animation and graphics created by Cosgrove Hall, a Thames subsidiary founded in 1972, which made animated series for children. In this era, Euston also made single one-off dramas such as The Naked Civil Servant (1975). However, five years ago Classic Rock exclusively obtained internal files from Thames Television which give a unique insight into what happened on the day: memos criticising personnel, and hand-written notes by producers recording what happened in the aftermath were all inside the files. The outcome of a damaging and costly dispute has resulted in substantial progress towards a more realistic and effective way of working". One of the early anchor presenters was radio DJ Tom Edwards. The company also produced the children's show Magpie, which began in 1968 and was intended as a rival for Blue Peter on BBC 1, and The Tomorrow People (197379), a science fiction series. Entertainment and arts reporter, BBC News. Geographical and structural changes to the network led to the first significant shakeups of the network, a process that started in 1967 to take effect from 1968. The handwritten sheet was given to the founder of the inaugural David Bowie fan club by the star. Each week Thames broadcast from the start of transmissions on Monday until its handover to London Weekend Television at 19:00 on Friday. 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[35], Carlton's owner, Michael Green, claimed that the decision left him 'bewildered' and said: 'We are surprised at the IBA's decision. Allan Hargreaves (1977). Thames TV/ ITV. Itv billing may fail to attract bidders. Heres how it works. [20][29] Profits at Thames dropped from 14.1M in 1983/84 to 8.75M in 1984/85 during the strike period, but were able to recover back to 14.6M in 1985/86 just before flotation on the stock market. Producers don't often get credit for great TV series but they are an integral part of the creation process. Today was launched on 30 July 1968 when ITV switched from their ATV/Rediffusion contracts to the new Thames Television/LWT model. Both of the company's logos were accompanied by a fanfare called Salute to Thames, composed by Johnny Hawksworth. "The combination of these two companies," announced ITA Chairman Lord Hill, "seemed to the Authority to offer the possibility of a programme company of real excellence. The following year, in 1989, Thames ended the contract of Benny Hill, a stalwart at the station since 1969. [citation needed]. [2] Questioning the ITA's decision, Rediffusion attempted to slow down the merger: only the threat of giving the licence solely to ABC made it relent. It has been said that Carlton chief executive Michael Green talked to the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the matter, which in turn may have helped to shape the 1990 Parliamentary Act which replaced the IBA with the Independent Television Commission and the change in franchise allocation procedures. Melinda Wittstock. Stuart, Vivien. Bona! This site is not affiliated with any broadcaster, production company or design/marketing/talent agency. The Thames TV papers also seem to put paid to the conspiracy theory that the group's appearance was some kind of publicity scam concocted between Thames TV and their part-owners, EMI. Grundy (and British television audiences) would never forget 1 December 1976 the day he attempted to interview theSex Pistolslive to air. Mary Green. The group started answering the phones and dishing out even more abuse. Following the loss of Thames's franchise, the Euston Road base of Thames was sold off and demolished. According to the interviewer, Malcolm Muggeridge, Behan "was drunk and did not utter throughout it one single comprehensible word". It brought punk to the masses and some say killed it stone dead. The most controversial programme Thames broadcast was the documentary "Death on the Rock", part of the current affairs This Week series. When approached by reporters the next day for comment, Grundy told them to fuck off, and his photo later appeared under the headline in theDaily Mirror, The Filth and the Fury. A new ident was launched on 3 September 1990, featuring a redesigned triangle logo containing Big Ben, the British Telecom Tower, the dome of St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower Bridge. He joined the company in the 1960s and stayed with its , Hilary was a Central Television and Thames Television announcer (1980s). He had a , Mike is a former ATV continuity announcer. Ultimately, pressure from several ITV companies (especially Yorkshire Television) to the IBA, forced Thames to sell the series back to the BBC at a loss. The structure of the new company was also a problem. Its storylines became overly melodramatic and focussed far more directly on particular police characters rather than the crime from 1998 and its return to the hour long slot and then became much more a soap opera in 2002 (when individual story titles were dropped) until coming full circle dealing predominantly with crime again in about 2007 for the last few years of its existence. It began after the IBA allowed non-schools broadcasting in this period of the day, when the government relaxed the regulations around daytime television and featured interview editions undertaken by such broadcasters as Mavis Nicholson, and a weekly consumer programme, which eventually became a programme in its own right; Money-Go-Round. Lorry driver Jason Holmes, 47, told the papers he was so outraged that his eight-year-old son Lee had heard the swearing that he kicked in the screen of his brand new, 380 TV. This broke a gentlemen's agreement between the two sides not to poach each other's imported shows. Michael Clark. Des Withey has worked for me on Radio Seagull for over two years. Jack was a popular BBC TV forecaster (17th May 1969 - 4th May 1983) and for many years was the Bona to vada your jolly old eek. Hill spent most of the rest of his career with Thames. This is inevitable since it was squarely devised as the ITV rival to the BBC show. The Nostalgia Central website has been a labour of love for me since 1998. The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937-2013. [34], In 1985, Carlton Communications had executed a failed take-over bid for Thames after Thorn EMI and British Electric Traction decided to sell their share of Thames. ThamesTelevision issued an apology, Grundy was suspended for two weeks, and theTodayprogramme was scrapped five months later. With unforeseeable dramatic consequences. However, on 1 January 2012, the Thames brand was revived and Talkback Thames has now been split into four different labels: Boundless, Retort, Talkback and Thames, within the newly created FremantleMedia UK production arm. The former Made In . Our TV presenters are all true professionals who have years of experience within the industry, so know how to entice an audience, and they feel more than confident on camera too. The station continued formats inherited from its predecessors. Another sitcom, Man About the House (197376), was successful enough for two spin-offs, George and Mildred (197680) and Robin's Nest (1977-81). One theory is that Grundy was drunk, with some allegations that hed had the kind of long lunch that was popular in the 70s. Pistol on Disney+ dramatises the Sex Pistols' appearance on the Bill Grundy Show in December 1976. By the time of the 1967 negotiations, Rediffusion believed that its contract renewal for London weekday service was a formality, and its application reflected this complacency: the company had treated the ITA high-handedly in interviews.[2]. Even more abuse Grundy ( and British Television audiences ) would never forget 1 December 1976 the day he to... Called while the Pistols never recovered from the start of 2012, with the new company also! Website has been a labour of love for me on radio Seagull for over two.. Robertson, Douglas Rae and Jenny Hanley, the presenters of Thames was sold off and demolished fan... 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