Bill Podmore on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Edgar William Podmore (15 August 1931 – 22 January 1994) was a British television producer. Born in
Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to:
Places
* Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England
** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich
* Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England
** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency)
* Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, he is best remembered for his long association with the soap opera ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'', a series he produced for twelve years (1976–1988).
Biography
Initially a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
pilot, he became a TV cameraman for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, shortly after with
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
and later, a
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
. When, as a relatively young man, he was called upon to direct an episode of ''Coronation Street'',
Violet Carson
Violet Helen Carson, OBE (1 September 1898 – 26 December 1983) was a British actress of radio, stage and television, and a singer and pianist, who had a long and celebrated career as an actress and performer during the early days of BBC Rad ...
(
Ena Sharples
Ena Sharples (née Schofield) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by Violet Carson. She appeared in the first-ever episode, broadcast on 9 December 1960, and stayed with the show until 2 April ...
) with a massive twinkle in her eye, drew herself up to her full height and confronted him - "Hello Bill, welcome...my train leaves at 5.30 p.m.!"
Bill was asked to take over as producer of "the Street" in 1976. Initially he turned the offer down flat. As former Street writer
John Stevenson recalled in a
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
documentary, "''Coronation Street'' was on a downward slope at the time. Stevenson stated that no-one wanted to work on it, the quality of the scripts had dropped, the storylines were poor and it was becoming something of a joke within the TV industry to have to work on it".
Podmore helped steer the programme back onto an even keel. He referred to this as "re-decoration, not demolition" meaning that he intended to capitalise on the strengths he already had there. Thus the Ogdens became a comedic double act yet again, and
Eddie Yeats
Edward Jeremy Timothy "Eddie" Yeats is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Geoffrey Hughes. He made his first screen appearance on 23 December 1974 and remained a regular until 1983, when Hugh ...
, who before Podmore's stewardship had been nothing more than a petty thug, became the Ogdens' surrogate son and was revealed to have a heart of gold. Bill brought in new characters, such as
Renee Bradshaw
Irene "Renee" Roberts (also Bradshaw) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by Madge Hindle. The character was created by producer Bill Podmore as a new shop keeper. He wanted a mature female t ...
, and brought minor characters, such as
Fred Gee
''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 1975, by order of first appearance.
Donna Parker
Donna Parker, played by Rachel Davies, made her fir ...
and
Vera Duckworth
Vera Duckworth (also Burton) is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Liz Dawn. Vera is known for her long-standing marriage ...
, to the fore.
However, it was not all plain sailing. In the early 1980s,
Peter Dudley
Peter Dudley (21 June 1935 – 20 October 1983) was an English character actor best known for his role as Bert Tilsley in the ITV television series ''Coronation Street''; a role he played continuously from 1979 until his death in 1 ...
was arrested in a Manchester public lavatory for
importuning. Podmore stood by Dudley steadfastly, insisting that although he was involved in a "shameful" court case in reality, whatever Dudley did in his private life was his own business. Dudley later suffered a stroke caused by the stress of the case, and finally suffering a fatal heart attack after asking to be "written-out" of the show.
Podmore though was no easy touch. The cast referred to him as "the Godfather" for he could be very ruthless. In 1980, he killed Renee Roberts off as he deemed her marriage to
Alf Roberts
Alfred Sidney "Alf" Roberts, OBE is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by Bryan Mosley. He ran a grocery shop at No. 15 and was involved in local politics, including two spells as mayor of ...
was "not working". Podmore was quoted as saying that Alf Roberts was allowed to emerge "from the shadows of a rather humdrum marriage". When
Stephen Hancock
Philip Stephen Hancock (24 November 1925 – 1 November 2015) was a British television and stage actor, musical director and pianist.
He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham and attended the Chorister School, Durham and the Darlingt ...
refused to sign a new contract, Podmore had his character
Ernest Bishop
''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 1967, by order of first appearance.
Steve Tanner
Stephen Edward "Steve" Tanner, played by Paul Maxwe ...
killed off, having him shot dead in a bungled wages snatch at Baldwin's factory.
Podmore also sacked
Peter Adamson who played
Len Fairclough
Leonard Franklin "Len" Fairclough is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', portrayed by Peter Adamson between his introduction in 1961 and the character's axing in 1983.
Storylines
Len was from Liverp ...
. Adamson had been suspended from the programme after allegations that he had indecently assaulted two young girls at a
Haslingden
Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,96 ...
swimming pool in April 1983. Adamson, faced with high legal fees, sold his story to ''
The Sun'' along with stories about several fellow cast members without permission. Podmore called this "indefensible" and sacked him. Podmore left the series in 1988.
His memoirs, entitled ''Coronation Street - The Inside Story'', were published in 1990.
[Podmore, Bill; Peter Reece (1990). ''Coronation Street: The Inside Story''. London: Macdonald. ]
Podmore died in 1994 at
Cheadle Royal Hospital
Cheadle Royal Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Heald Green, Greater Manchester, England, built between 1848 and 1849. The main building is Grade II listed.
History
The hospital was founded at a time when only two other similar institutions ...
.
References
External links
BBCiList of Bill Podmore's credits
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Podmore, Bill
1931 births
1994 deaths
British television producers
British television directors
People from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
English aviators
Royal Air Force officers
20th-century British businesspeople