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Peter Eckersley (TV Producer)
Peter Eckersley (7 April 1936 – 27 August 1981) was a British television producer. His television career began on Granada's Scene at 6.30 programme where he worked with his friend Michael Parkinson. He went on to become Head of Drama at Granada Television in the 1960s and '70s. In the 1960s, he was also a writer and producer on '' Coronation Street''. He wrote 62 episodes between April 1962 and November 1969. There he met and married one of its stars, Anne Reid, who played Valerie Barlow. He also produced the sitcom ''Nearest and Dearest'' with Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel. During the late 1970s he spotted and developed a young comedian Victoria Wood, who went on to become one of the UK's most successful comedy stars. He produced the TV version of her play '' Talent'' and its sequel '' Nearly A Happy Ending'' as well as the play '' Happy Since I Met You'' (also by Wood). He also produced the pilot of ''Wood and Walters'', but died before the series was made. Wood cited him a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, on low-lying land northwest of Chat Moss. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire, Leigh was originally the centre of a large ecclesiastical parish covering six vills or townships. When the three townships of Pennington, Greater Manchester, Pennington, Westleigh, Greater Manchester, Westleigh and Bedford, Greater Manchester, Bedford merged in 1875, forming the Leigh Local Board District, Leigh became the official name for the town, although it had been applied to the area of Pennington and Westleigh around the parish church for many centuries. The town became an Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district in 1894 when part of Atherton was added. In 1899 Leigh became a municipal borough. The first town hall was built on King Street and replaced by the present building in 1907. Originally an agricultural area (noted for dairy farming), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills in observational comedy and in satirising aspects of social class. Wood started her career in 1974 by appearing on, and winning, the ATV talent show ''New Faces''. She established herself as a comedy star in the 1980s, winning a BAFTA TV Award in 1986 for the sketch series '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' (1985–87), and became one of Britain's most popular stand-up comics, winning a second BAFTA for '' An Audience with Victoria Wood'' (1988). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1981 Deaths
Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán Department, Morazán and Chalatenango Department, Chalatenango departments. * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican City, Vatican. * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is First inauguration of Ronald Reagan, sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis. * January 21 – The first DMC DeLorean, DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. * January 24 – An 1981 Dawu ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1936 Births
Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII. * January 28 – Britain's King George V state funeral takes place in London and Windsor. He is buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle * February 4 – Radium E (bismuth-210) becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically. * February 6 – The 1936 Winter Olympics, IV Olympic Winter Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. * February 10–February 19, 19 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Amba Aradam – Italian forces gain a decisive tactical victory, effectively neutralizing the army of the Ethiopian Empire. * February 16 – 1936 Spanish general election: The left-wing Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front coalition takes a majority. * February 26 – February 26 Inci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ITV (TV Network)
ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, it has been legally known as Channel 3 to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time, BBC1, BBC2 and Channel 4. ITV was for four decades a network of separate companies which provided regional television services and also shared programmes between each other to be shown on the entire network. Each franchise was originally owned by a different company. After several mergers, the fifteen regional franchises are now held by two companies: ITV plc, which runs the ITV1 channel, and STV Group, which runs the STV channel. The ITV network is a separate entity from ITV plc, the company that resulted from the merger of Granada plc and Carlton Communications in 2004. ITV plc holds the Channel 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Liddiment
David Liddiment (born 20 September 1952) is Creative Director of the independent production company All3Media. He is also an associate of The Old Vic Theatre Company and a member of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Liddiment was director of programmes and channels at ITV (1997–2002), a role in which he was portrayed by actor Risteárd Cooper in the ITV drama Quiz in 2020. He later became head of entertainment at the BBC (1993–1995). His programme commissions included ''Pop Idol'', ''Fat Friends'', and ''Men Behaving Badly''. While working for Granada Television, he was an executive producer on ''Coronation Street'' (1987–1991). In 2003, Liddiment was presented with the Royal Television Society's Gold Medal for outstanding services to television. On 1 November 2006, Liddiment was appointed as one of the founding members of the BBC Trust, which along with a formal Executive Board replaced the former BBC Board of Governors as the govern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telegraph Media Group
Telegraph Media Group Limited (TMG; previously the Telegraph Group) is the proprietor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Sunday Telegraph''. It is a subsidiary of Press Holdings. David and Frederick Barclay acquired the group on 30 July 2004, after months of intense bidding and lawsuits, from Hollinger Inc. of Toronto, Canada, the newspaper group controlled by the Canadian/American businessman Conrad Black. In 2015, TMG made an operating profit of £51 million. Profits before tax were £47m, and turnover for the 53 weeks up to 3 January 2016 was £319m, according to unaudited accounts leaked to ''The Guardian''. If these figures are accurate, then this was an increase from 2014 levels on both accounts. Telegraph Media Group operates as a multimedia news company. The holding publishes daily and weekly publications in printed and electronic versions, which provide news on politics, obituaries, sports, finance, lifestyle, travel, health, culture, technology, fashion and cars. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as ''The Daily Telegraph & Courier''. Considered a newspaper of record over ''The Times'' in the UK in the years up to 1997, ''The Telegraph'' generally has a reputation for high-quality journalism, and has been described as being "one of the world's great titles". The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", appears in the editorial pages and has featured in every edition of the newspaper since 19 April 1858. The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, descending further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2019, having declined almost 80%, from 1.4 million in 1980.United Newspapers PLC and Fleet Holdings PLC', Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1985), pp. 5–16. Its si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood And Walters
''Wood and Walters'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Julie Walters and Victoria Wood for Granada Television and written entirely by Wood. The show was short-lived, with one pilot in 1981 and a series of seven shows in 1982. Background Both women had first met at Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, Wood was hoping to enroll, and Walters was coming to the end of her course. They met again in 1978 when they both appeared in the same revue '' In at the Death'' at The Bush Theatre in London. Wood had been initially spotted by Granada's head of drama, Peter Eckersley, performing in her self-written play '' Talent'' at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, who asked her to recreate it for television (his widow is actress Anne Reid, who would appear as Jean in Wood's 1998 sitcom '' dinnerladies''). The TV version of ''Talent'' and its sequel '' Nearly a Happy Ending'', would also co-star Walters. Pilot – ''Wood and Walters: Two Creatures Great and Small'' * Broadcast 1 Janua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Happy Since I Met You
''Happy Since I Met You'' is a television play written by Victoria Wood, and broadcast on ITV on 9 August 1981. It stars Julie Walters and Duncan Preston and was directed by Baz Taylor as part of ITV's ''Screenplay'' series. In ''Happy Since I Met You'', Duncan Preston, who would later become one of her regular co-stars, worked with Victoria Wood for the first time. It was the last full-length drama by Wood to be televised for some years, the next being ''Pat and Margaret'' (1994). The film was notable for early TV appearances in minor roles by rising stars Maggie Steed, Tracey Ullman and George Costigan. Although Wood does not appear in the film, she sings several of her compositions including the opening song and other songs performed over the on-screen action. Plot The story takes place over three consecutive Christmases. At the first, drama teacher Frances is defiantly single and enjoying living alone, but shortly after spending Christmas with her family, she meets an actor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talent (1978 Play)
''Talent'' is a play written by Victoria Wood, first performed in 1978. It centres on two friends, one of whom is about to enter a talent contest in a run down nightclub. Commissioned for the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, it received much acclaim and transferred to a London run in 1979. That same year a television adaptation was broadcast. It was the first time Victoria Wood and Julie Walters appeared together on TV. A mixture of dialogue and music, one of its tunes inspired The Smiths song ''Rusholme Ruffians''. The script was published by Methuen in 1988, along with another play by Wood, '' Good Fun''. Origins After receiving much acclaim for her writing and performance in a 1978 revue at The Bush Theatre titled '' In at the Death'', Wood was commissioned by then theatre director David Leland to write a play for Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. The initial commission was for Wood to co-write, with fellow revue writer Ron Hutchinson, a play about strippers. According to Wood: "The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
