Pebble Mill at One

History

Until 1986 there were few television programmes transmitted on BBC Television during daytime hours. For this reason, Pebble Mill 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.

The show 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 show became more successful, the foyer became a studio, and visitors had to use a new entrance.

Two weeks after the show began, ITV launched a brand new daytime line-up, including an ITN News bulletin at lunchtime, placing it in direct competition with Pebble Mill.

Only a handful of the programmes are known to survive. However, one episode that does survive from the early years celebrated the tenth anniversary of Doctor Who in 1973, featuring interviews with Patrick Troughton and visual effects designer Bernard Wilkie, which is included on the special features of The Three Doctors DVD. Some other Doctor Who related interviews from the series have survived due to early domestic video recordings and have been released on DVDs.

Axing

In 1986, Bill Cotton, then 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 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. Ironically it was a previous Assistant Editor of the programme, Roger Laughton, later to become a senior executive with the BBC and Meridian Broadcasting, who was given responsibility for planning the BBC's new daytime schedule.

The Pebble Mill format returned in 1987 as Daytime Live, renamed Scene Today and finally Pebble Mill though no longer at 1pm.

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. Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen were the regular house band, and they performed the show's signature tune. In 1981 an early evening version called Six Fifty-Five Special surfaced during Pebble Mill's summer break, presented by Sally James, Paul Coia, David Soul and Bob Langley. In 1986 The Clothes Show presented by Jeff Banks and Selina Scott was created from a strand produced by Roger Casstles, first shown on Pebble Mill at One.

HMS Ark Royal live broadcast

On 20 September 1979, the show was visited by a Sea Harrier aircraft from RNAS Yeovilton (aircraft FRS.1 XZ451 of 700A Squadron) flown by Lieutenant Commander Nigel "Sharkey" Ward, which landed (and later took off) vertically, on the adjacent BBC Social Club's football pitch.

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, near the end of the show's life, was produced by Tom Ross and directed by Tony Rayner. It attracted the programme's highest ever audience of nearly six million viewers.

Owen Paul miming incident

One of Pebble Mill at One's more frequently repeated scenes was in 1986 when Marian Foster introduced pop act Owen Paul who was to perform his hit "My Favourite Waste of Time". He was to mime to a backing track but could not hear the foldback loudspeaker as it had failed, so was seen standing looking into camera while the music played and his recorded voice was heard.