111 Pebble Mill At One

First  watched : Uncertain

Pebble  Mill  At  One  started  in  October  1972   so  my  best  guess  at  when  I  first  watched  it  is  the  Christmas  fortnight  1972-73  but  it  could  have  been  later.  It  was  a  live  show  broadcast  from  the  foyer  of   the  Beeb's  Pebble  Mill  studio  building  because  hilariously  the  two  studios  were  too  busy  to  accommodate  it  so  decorators. postmen  etc  had  a  good  chance  of   appearing   on  the  telly  over  Bob  Langley's  shoulder  if  they  timed  their  arrival  right.

It  was  basically  a  chat  show  with  a  lip-synching  musical  interlude  ( famously  going  wrong  on  Owen  Paul  on  almost  the  last  broadcast ).  It  was  used  as  something  of  a  testing  ground  for  new  presenting  talent   some  of  whom  established  careers  ( Fern  Britton )  while  others  ( David  Seymour, Josephine  Buchan )  are  long-forgotten. They  had  to  make  do  with  whoever  was  available  at  that  time  and  willing  to  come  in  so  the  results  were  varied.

Despite  that  I  can't  remember  a  single  feature  except  through  resurrection  on  list  shows. I never  saw  the  Morrissey - Paul  Coia  summit  meeting  illustrated  above. The  name  just  conjures up  vague, grey   memories  of  sickness  or   the  boredom  of  being  penned  in  by  heavy  rain  during  the  school  holidays , the only  circumstances  under  which  I'd  ever  watch  it.

Pebble  Mill  At  One  was  scrapped  in  May  1986  when  the  Beeb  adopted  a  full  daytime  schedule  and  Michael  Grade  wanted  a  news  programme  at  one  instead.   It  was  back  in  all  but  name  the  following  year  as  Daytime  Live    and  then  Pebble  Mill  in  the  nineties  though  not  at  one  o  clock.  The  building  was  demolished  in  2005.

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