The following year, in 1989, Thames ended the contract of Benny Hill, a stalwart at the station since 1969. The IBA said it had nothing against Carlton owning part of an ITV company, but believed 'any' single ownership of an ITV company was undesirable.[36]. "CBTV" "CBTV," standing for "Citizens Band Television," was a subversive children's show in the early 1980s. R.I.P. Heres how it works. As part of these changes, the separate weekend service was eliminated in the Midlands and North, who would instead be served by a single seven-day schedule. To assist Rediffusion financially, the ITA insisted that the new company have two sets of shares: voting shares which would allow ABC to have control (with 51%) and 'B' shares which were to be split equally between the two, thus sharing profits fairly.[6]. He was carpeted and suspended for two weeks for provoking the obscenities. Simon is best-known for his long stint as a BBC Radio 1 DJ and radio presenter on several other Bona! In 1992, studio producer Mike Housego remembered: They were only allotted 90 seconds, and I thought, Well, not much can go wrong However, in one of the Thames documents outlining just what had gone wrong, an unnamed producer writes that the programmes researcher, Christine Whitehead, had warned Mike in advance that they might say fuck. 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. By Kenneth Gosling. He had a , Mike is a former ATV continuity announcer. The truth is even better than the show. This article is about the former ITV franchise holder and production company. He had spent eight years treading the boards before becoming a TV announcer on a number of regional . 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. In his acclaimed punk tome Englands Dreaming, Jon Savage says that the impact of the Today appearance had a totally disastrous effect on the group: from then until their demise in January 1978, they added only four new songs to their repertoire and their approach to their audience and their music remained the same. To shock the nation then, an easy way to do it would be to pin down someone like my dad and get yourself on every single national newspaper in the country., However, watching the interview it seems pretty clear that the Pistols were just badly handled by Grundy. Melinda Wittstock. The Times, Tuesday, 27 November 1990, Thames TV cuts. It won an Emmy as the best series in its category, as Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978), about the abdication crisis, did later. Television fanatics can use this list to find some Thames Television TV shows that they haven't seen before. When Thames was formed, the new company acquired numerous other properties of the former franchise holders. Home. After management restored power, the technicians walked out. The Bill (19842010) began as a one-hour series of separate stories in 1984, but from 1989 until 1998 was broadcast several times a week, usually in a 30 minute slot. Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! 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. Producers don't often get credit for great TV series but they are an integral part of the creation process. Consequently, ABC applied for both the Midlands seven-day operation and the contract to serve London at the weekend, preferring the latter. Pistols bassist Glen Matlock says the band werent keen on being dragged out of rehearsals but had their arm twisted. 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. This site is not affiliated with any broadcaster, production company or design/marketing/talent agency. RIP the beautiful Stella Stevens, who has died at the age of 84. Thames finally floated on the stock market in July 1986, after being blocked by the IBA in late 1982. The Times, Saturday, 27 December 1980 pg. The original host was Eamonn Andrews, with Bill Grundy taking over in 1976. In 1983, she had a spell as a BBC TV network announcer. Thames's corporate base moved to its newly constructed studios and offices on Euston Road (next to Euston Tower) in 1970, when it relinquished Television House, Rediffusion's former London headquarters. On Wednesday 17 October, another strike was instigated, as talks failed to reach agreement. Radio presenter on various shows, Currently broadcast 2 shows a week on Radio Seagull 1395 & 1602 am. Mr Punter said: "The competition was a lot of fun and the students had . A patronising introduction didnt ingratiate him with the Pistols, and he then clearly got irritated by them as they started mimicking him reading the autocue. In March 1990, EMI and BET tried once again to sell off their shares in Thames, with Cartlon and CLT (a Luxembourg-based media company) both in the running. Great British Presenters can help! During the hours after Rainbow and before the children's slot, Good Afternoon was transmitted, a magazine programme. Following the loss of Thames's franchise, the Euston Road base of Thames was sold off and demolished. Thames's telephone switchboard was jammed by complaining viewers. Through the early 1980s, Thames experienced a series of local disputes while management deliberately confronted contractual rackets, and pursued the introduction of new technologies based on operational requirements rather than precedent. This station was more highly regarded by the ITA (amongst others) than Rediffusion whose programming was seen as downmarket and whose management-style was viewed as high-handed. [27], The strike ended on 3 November 1984, after 62 film editors agreed to the new conditions, while the ACTT agreed as well to start negotiations about the introductions of new technology. [40][41], However, by October talks had stalled, with EMI and BET still controlling Thames before heading into the 1991 franchise round.[42]. [64] Pearson Television was itself sold by Pearson plc to CLT-UFA in 2000, thus merging to become the RTL Group, and rebranded as FremantleMedia in 2001. A Guide to British television programmes shown at Christmas time, throughout the years. ITV Thames TV presenters (1968 1992). Other successful series in the genre from this period include Shades of Greene (1975-76), Rock Follies (1976), and Armchair Thriller (1978-80). 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.. Hill spent most of the rest of his career with Thames. Were doing our best.. "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. Thames TV blackout goes on as unions meet. Melinda Wittstock "Thames, a wounded Phoenix, takes flight into production", Thames wins ITV dispute. By April 1972, this had become Good Afternoon, after which her TV career spanned the next 25 years. Bryan Cowgill said: "The need for sensible change in the way we conduct our operations has been at the heart of this dispute. Additional episodes of network productions were screened to help clear the backlog, since no outside programmes were broadcast. The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937-2013. Its station management and presentation style were also well-admired. It caused the biggest stink in British TV history. The BBC Breakfast weather presenter and the police officer live together in Carol's 2million home in a gated community in Berkshire, on the banks of the Thames. RM 2HXKBTB - Mick Robertson, Douglas Rae and Jenny Hanley, the presenters of Thames Television's . Thames is often quoted as a prime example of a good commercial public-service broadcaster with shows covering all aspects of the spectrum and the largest producer in the network. Each week Thames broadcast from the start of transmissions on Monday until its handover to London Weekend Television at 19:00 on Friday. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. It's a little known fact that the writer Behan was the first person to swear on British TV, in1956, in an interview with Panorama. The original host was Eamonn Andrews, with Bill Grundy taking over in 1976. Bona to vada your jolly old eek. Broadcaster who was hugely popular as the presenter of the BBC's early evening TV show Nationwide Torin Douglas Sun 10 Jul 2022 15.14 EDT Last modified on Tue 12 Jul 2022 00.22 EDT This name had been previously considered and rejected by London Weekend Television.[7]. She is a former actress, who went on to become an in-vision continuity announcer for TWW in the 1960s and its successor, HTV West (spring 1968 - c. 1985). Eamonn Andrews (1968) Enjoy this retrospective about this British-designed and assembled car, and then take some time to delve into Thames TV's treasure chest. She was a presenter on BBC Radio 2 (1980), and also an announcer there (1980 - 1982). He later participated in the relaunch of TV-am in . Grundy, in his introduction, said they are "as drunk as I am", but later claimed his comment was a joke, and had allowed the bad language to illustrate the character of the individuals in the group. The company believed it would become "Europe's most powerful Independent producer and programme distributor. [38], During 1989 reports appeared that talks were taking place with Carlton about an agreed merger,[39] which resulted in no action. Tape and film editing - entertainment. One theory is that Grundy was drunk, with some allegations that hed had the kind of long lunch that was popular in the 70s. Thames paid 55,000 a show compared to the 29,000 of the BBC. [20] For Thamess management, this was a materialist operation with a clear dimension, and to weed out unscrupulous bargaining and working practices. [3] It was reported that Rediffusion's chairman Sir John Spencer Wills felt the ITA owed his company a 'debt of gratitude' for this, a comment which particularly annoyed the authority. Australian Museum. Carlton chose to commission the vast majority of its production content from third parties, and rent studio and broadcasting space at LWT's London Studios. 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. If you find the site informative or enjoyable, please consider a donation to help me with the running costs of the site. He was shitting himself.. Walker is a renowned English journalist, newsreader and television presenter. 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. A two-week technicians strike in the summer of 1975 shut down the whole of ITV with the technicians being bought off with a 35% pay rise. This led to a serious problem for the ITA as ABC was a popular station, whose productions earned vital foreign currency - one such series was The Avengers. We are keen to appoint an enthusiastic individual to join our team at Lecturer level to lead the Professional Experience components of our courses. Rest in peace Dickie Davies. 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