''Pebble Mill at One'' is a British
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
magazine programme that was
broadcast live on weekdays at one o'clock on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
, from 2 October 1972 to 23 May 1986, and again from 14 October 1991 to 29 March 1996. It was transmitted from the
Pebble Mill
Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne on ...
studios of
BBC Birmingham
BBC Birmingham is one of the oldest regional arms of the BBC, located in Birmingham. It was the first region outside London to start broadcasting both the corporation's radio (in 1922) and television (in 1949) transmissions, the latter from th ...
, and uniquely was hosted from the centre's main
foyer
A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, reception area or an entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cinema, etc. ...
area, rather than a conventional
television studio
A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for ...
.
Broadcast
![BBC Pebble Mill, Birmingham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/BBC_Pebble_Mill%2C_Birmingham.jpg)
Until 1972, broadcasting hours on British television were tightly controlled and limited by the British government. There were restrictions on the number of hours per day which could be used by the BBC and ITV for regular television programming. In the 1960s, it was set at a 50-hour allowance per week (with exemptions for schools programmes, adult education, state occasions, Welsh language programming, and outside broadcasts of sporting events) and gradually increased by the government at regular intervals. In 1972, the government – under Conservative Prime Minister
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
– announced its plan to completely lift all restrictions and limits on broadcasting hours, and allow the BBC and ITV to set their own schedules. This was introduced in January of that year.
With the lifting of the restrictions, ITV planned to launch a full daytime schedule in the autumn of 1972, with the broadcasting day gradually increasing throughout that year. To counter this, the BBC planned to launch a selection of new programming along with repeats and films, to expand their daytime schedules; now that broadcasting restrictions were gone, they planned to launch a brand new lunchtime magazine series, so to anchor their BBC1 new daytime schedules around this new programme, which became ''Pebble Mill at One''. When this was launched, it was always preceded by the five-minute BBC lunchtime news summary at 12:55pm, which would lead into the programme commencing at 1:00pm.
The programme was broadcast from the foyer of Pebble Mill, because a planned third studio was never constructed on the site, and existing facilities were fully booked for network drama production and local news. In the beginning, visitors to the studios were seen arriving in the background as the programme was transmitted. Gradually, as the programme became more successful, the foyer became a studio, and visitors had to use a new entrance. Two weeks after ''Pebble Mill at One'' began,
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
launched a brand new daytime line-up, including an
ITN News
Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, ...
bulletin at lunchtime, placing it in direct competition with ''Pebble Mill at One''. One of the more frequently repeated scenes from ''Pebble Mill at One'' was in 1986, when Marian Foster introduced pop singer
Owen Paul
Owen Paul (born 1 May 1962) is a Scottish singer best known in the UK for his 1986 No. 3 hit single, " My Favourite Waste of Time", a cover version of a song that was originally written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw ...
, who was to perform his hit cover of
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as " Someday, Someway," a US top 40 hit in 1982, " Cynical Girl," and " Whenever You're on My Mind." He ...
's "
My Favourite Waste of Time
"You're My Favorite Waste of Time" (also known as "Favorite Waste of Time" and "My Favourite Waste of Time") is a song written and first released by American singer Marshall Crenshaw. His 1979 home demo of the song was released as the B-side of ...
". He was expected to mime to a backing track, but as he could not hear the foldback loudspeaker as it had failed, Paul was left standing looking into the camera, while viewers heard him singing to the music.
On 20 September 1979, ''Pebble Mill at One'' was visited by a
Sea Harrier
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/ vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered servic ...
aircraft from
RNAS ''Yeovilton'' (aircraft FRS.1 ''
XZ451'' of
700A Squadron) flown by
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
Nigel "Sharkey" Ward, which landed (and later took off) vertically, on the adjacent BBC Social Club's
football pitch
A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural tu ...
. The programme returned the favour on 7 April 1986 by transmitting a live programme from the newly launched aircraft carrier
HMS ''Ark Royal'' in the English Channel. This programme, which was produced by
Tom Ross and directed by Tony Rayner, got the show's highest ever audience of nearly six million viewers.
Until 1986, there were few television programmes transmitted on BBC television during daytime hours. For this reason, ''Pebble Mill at One'' acquired a unique following from those who found themselves at home at lunchtime. Housewives, students, and those recovering from an illness remember it with fondness for its variety and the problems inherent with live television.
Only a few editions of ''Pebble Mill at One'' are known to survive. One that does survive from the early years celebrated the tenth anniversary of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' in 1973, featuring interviews with
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...
and visual effects designer Bernard Wilkie; this is included among the special features of the DVD release of ''
The Three Doctors''. Some other ''Doctor Who''-related interviews from ''Pebble Mill at One'' have also survived due to early domestic video recordings and have been released on DVDs.
Presenters during the show's long run included
Jan Leeming
Jan Leeming (born Janet Dorothy Atkins; 5 January 1942) is an English TV presenter and newsreader.
Early life and personal life
Leeming was born in Barnehurst, Kent, and educated at the Assumption Convent, Charlton and St Joseph's Convent Gr ...
,
Donny MacLeod
Donald B. MacLeod (1 July 1932 – 6 September 1984), popularly known as Donny MacLeod and Donny Bee, was a Scottish TV presenter . MacLeod is best known for appearing on the BBC 1 afternoon show '' Pebble Mill at One''.
Early life and career ...
,
Fern Britton
Fern Britton (born 17 July 1957) is an English author and television presenter. She co-presented '' Breakfast Time'' in the 1980s, coming to mainstream national attention when hosting cookery game show ''Ready Steady Cook'' between 1994 and 200 ...
,
Marian Foster,
Gloria Hunniford
Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regular appear ...
, Debi Jones,
Bob Langley, Tom Coyne, David Seymour,
Magnus Magnusson
Magnus Magnusson, (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, a ...
,
Alan Titchmarsh,
Chris Baines
Chris Baines (born 4 May 1947) is an English people, English naturalist, one of the UK's leading independent environmentalists.[Judi Spiers
Judith Marilyn Spiers (born 15 March 1953) is a British radio and television presenter.
Career
Initially training to be an actress at the Rose Bruford College, Spiers began her broadcasting career at Westward Television in 1977, then the ITV ...](_blank)
, and
Paul Coia
Paul Coia (born 19 June 1955 in Glasgow) is a Scottish television presenter and continuity announcer who was the first voice to be heard on Channel 4 on its launch in 1982. His career originally began in the late 1970s as a DJ and in the early 19 ...
. Editors included Terry Dobson, Jim Dumighan, and Peter Hercombe. A regular cookery slot was presented by Rev John Eley, popularly known as
the Cooking Canon.
The programme's
signature tune
A signature song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established recording artist or band is most closely identified with or best known for. This is generally differentiated from a one-hit wonder in th ...
was initially "As You Please", written by
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
composer
Raymond Lefèvre
Raymond Lefèvre (20 November 1929 – 27 June 2008) was a French easy listening orchestra leader, arranger and composer.
Biography and career
Born on 20 November 1929 in Calais, France, Raymond Lefèvre is best known for his interpretation of ...
. It was later changed to "Miller's Tune" by
Patchwork
Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeating patterns built up with different fabric shapes (which can be different colors) ...
.
End
In 1986,
Bill Cotton
Sir William Frederick Cotton (23 April 1928 – 11 August 2008) was a British television producer and executive, and the son of dance band leader Billy Cotton. The TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton is related to him, as he was her paternal ...
, managing director of television at the BBC, decided that a full daytime service was required on BBC1. As part of this new service, the decision was taken by BBC1 controller
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 ( ...
to replace ''Pebble Mill at One'' with a new lunchtime news bulletin, the ''
One O'Clock News''. Over 30,000 viewers wrote to the BBC to complain. A previous Assistant Editor of the programme, Roger Laughton (later to become a senior executive with the BBC and
Meridian Broadcasting
ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...
) was given responsibility for planning the BBC's new daytime schedule. The Pebble Mill format returned on 21 October 1987 as ''Daytime Live'',. It was renamed as ''Scene Today'' in October 1990 and finally ''Pebble Mill'' in October 1991 though none of these programmes were broadcast at 1:00pm.
Spin-offs
There were several Pebble Mill spin-offs, particularly in the 1970s, such as the late night chat show ''Saturday Night at the Mill'' which began in 1976.
Kenny Ball
Kenneth Daniel Ball (22 May 1930Larkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music''. (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), p. 29; ) – 7 March 2013) was an English jazz musician, best known as the bandleader, lead trumpet player and vocalist in Kenny Ball and ...
and His Jazzmen were the regular house band, and they performed the signature tune. Until 1978, the spin-off was hosted by
Bob Langley and
Donny MacLeod
Donald B. MacLeod (1 July 1932 – 6 September 1984), popularly known as Donny MacLeod and Donny Bee, was a Scottish TV presenter . MacLeod is best known for appearing on the BBC 1 afternoon show '' Pebble Mill at One''.
Early life and career ...
, who was replaced by
Tony Lewis
Anthony Robert Lewis CBE (born 6 July 1938) is a Welsh former cricketer, who captained England, became a journalist, went on to become the face of BBC Television cricket coverage between 1986 and 1998, and became president of the Marylebone C ...
, and who in turn was replaced in 1980 by
Arianna Stassinopoulos
Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of ''Th ...
, though she was dropped after just five editions. For the remainder of the season, Langley was joined by a different female co-host each week, which included
Hayley Mills,
Sue Cook
Sue Cook (born Susan Lorraine Thomas, 30 March 1949) is a British television presenter and author. She is best known for co-presenting (with Nick Ross) the BBC One factual crime show ''Crimewatch'' from 1984 until 1995.
Early life
Sue Cook ...
,
Liza Goddard
Louise Elizabeth Goddard (born 20 January 1950) professionally known as Liza Goddard, is an English television and stage actress, best known for her work in the 1970s and 1980s.
Early life
Goddard was born in Smethwick, Staffordshire.Before 1 ...
,
Maureen Lipman
Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...
,
Jill Townsend
Jill Townsend (born January 25, 1945) is an Anglo-American actress best known for her roles as Elizabeth Chynoweth in ''Poldark'' and Dulcey Coopersmith in the 1967 western television series ''Cimarron Strip''.
Life and career
Townsend was born ...
,
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on ''The New York Time ...
and
Jenny Hanley
Jenny Hanley (born 15 August 1947) is an English actress. She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie''.
Early life and education
Hanley is the daughter of actors Dinah Sheridan and ...
, who became the permanent co-host to Langley for the final season broadcast in 1981.
In its final year, an early evening version called ''Six Fifty-Five Special'' surfaced when ''Pebble Mill'' was on its summer break, presented by
Sally James,
Paul Coia
Paul Coia (born 19 June 1955 in Glasgow) is a Scottish television presenter and continuity announcer who was the first voice to be heard on Channel 4 on its launch in 1982. His career originally began in the late 1970s as a DJ and in the early 19 ...
,
David Soul
David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...
and Bob Langley. In 1986, ''
The Clothes Show
''The Clothes Show'' is a British television show about fashion that was broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000, and from 2006 on UKTV Style and Really. At its height, ''The Clothes Show'' had around 9 million viewers every Sunday night. It al ...
'', presented by
Jeff Banks
Jeff Banks PPCSD (born Jeffrey Tatham-Banks, 17 March 1943) is a Welsh fashion designer of men's and women's clothing, jewellery, and home furnishings. Born in Ebbw Vale, Wales, Banks co-founded the fashion chain Warehouse in the late 1970s. ...
and
Selina Scott
Selina Mary Scott (born 13 May 1951) is an English television presenter who co-hosted the first dedicated breakfast television programme in the UK before crossing the Atlantic to join '' West 57th'', a prime-time current-affairs show broadcast f ...
, was created from a strand produced by Roger Casstles, first shown on ''Pebble Mill at One''.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Pebble Mill at Oneat
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
Pebble Mill at Oneat
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
1972 British television series debuts
1996 British television series endings
1970s British television talk shows
1980s British television talk shows
1990s British television talk shows
BBC Birmingham productions
BBC Television shows
Lost BBC episodes