Weekends: 24/09/1955 - 29/07/1968
Emergency Ward Ten1957-1967 British TV's first ever medical soap opera, set in the fictional Oxbridge Hospital, was shown twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays. The cast included 21 year-old John Alderton as Dr Moore, and Richard Thorp as Dr Rennie - Thorp is now better known as Emmerdale's Alan Turner. Other doctors and specialists were played by Gabriel Woolfe and Desmond Carrington. Among the patients were Albert Finney, Joanna Lumley & Ian Hendry. The clip is from an episode that caused a stir in the early 60s, in that it contains the first trans-racial kiss ever to be seen on British TV.
Emergency Ward Ten - ATV Trailer1957
This sixty-second trailer was shown on ITV in 1957, with two members of the cast addressing the camera in character. A nurse tells us which patient annoys her the most, while a smug-looking doctor tells her to tell us not to miss the show. They don't make 'em like this anymore!
George and the Dragon1966 A brilliant sitcom which combines ideal casting with top scripts by Vince Powell and Harry Driver. Each of the stars is on top form. Sid James cackles and letches as chauffeur George, Peggy Mount waves her battle-axe as housekeeper Gabrielle Dragon, while John le Mesurier, as Colonel Maynard, ambles about the place as a prototype Sergeant Wilson. When Gabrielle arrives as the Colonel's housekeeper, she soon whips chauffeur George and gardener Ralph (Keith Marsh) into shape. Director Shaun O'Riordan had previously played Mount's son in The Larkins, and went on to produce and direct ATV's Sapphire and Steel.
George and the Dragon1967
A total of 26 episodes were made, in four series between 1966 and 1968. Special mention should be made of each of the three title sequences to grace the series, in that the lettering of the stars' names is animated in such a way that their characters' temperaments are brought vividly to life: instantly we understand Peggy Mount and Sid James will be vying for the top spot, yet neither will fully have the upper hand. Tom Springfield's theme tune is also a great piece of work.
George and the Dragon1968 The final set of titles move away from animated lettering to show us symbolic cartoon characters, in the form of St. George going into battle against a very feminine and moody dragon. The series always attracted intriguing character actors as guest stars and in supporting roles, and the third series episode "The 10.15 Train" is of interest for the then-unknown performer Tom Baker walking on in the guise of a railway porter. The seeds of his trademark mania are already quite visible in this early performance.
The Golden Shot1967 Introduced in 1967, The Golden Shot became most popular game show of the year. Canadian singer Jackie Rae was the launch host. Rae is reputed to have hated the shows because of their live, unscripted nature. His successor Bob Monkhouse described him as "a lovely man, but the sort of guy who couldn't ad-lib a belch after eating a Hungarian ghoulash." The show survived ATV's loss of the London Weekend franchise and became a mainstay of ATV's entertainment output until 1975, with two further hosts Norman Vaughan and Charlie Williams.
Studio 641964 This drama strand from 1964 comprised six original hour-long plays. Among them were "Happy Moorings" by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, "The Close Prisoner" by Clive Exton, "Better Luck Next Time" by Stanley Mann, "The Devil and John Brown" by Ken Taylor and "A Wicked World" by Giles Cooper. The best-remembered play, and arguably the best of the six, was "The Crunch," written by Nigel Kneale (19/01/1964). Harry Andrews stars as a British Prime Minister struggling to avert an imminent nuclear explosion in London. A bomb has been constructed in the basement of the London embassy of a fictional former British colony, Makang, and their despotic leader (Wolfe Morris) reneges on an agreement not to detonate. This stunning and taught work co-stars Maxwell Shaw, Anthony Bushell and Peter Bowles.
Sunday Night at the London Palladium1958 This variety show ran from 1955 to 1967, networked live across the UK from the London Palladium, to more and more ITV regions as they set up to receive it. The original host was Tommy Trinder, who appears in this clip making topical jokes about medical TV dramas - this would have been one of his last shows, since he was replaced by Bruce Forsyth in 1958. The conductor seen at the start of the clip is Cyril Ornadel, who later composed and performed the theme music to ATV's 1978 classic, Sapphire and Steel. It's a great variety bill, packing in everything from Tiller Girl dancers to stand-up acts, slapstic routines to classical singers, and there's an audience game show slap bang in the middle, Beat The Clock.
Sunday Night At The London Palladium1961 Bruce Forsyth was arguably the most popular host of the Palladium show. This famous edition from 1961 features him performing with guest star Norman Wisdom; they fill the entire hour-long programme on their own, with songs and routines including a decoratoring sketch, which ends with vast amounts of wallpaper paste being emptied over Norman's head by Brucie. The only regular item in this edition is the game show segment Beat The Clock, in which Bruce times members of the audience as they take part in simple challenges, in order to win cash prizes. All great fun!
The New London Palladium Show1965
From 1965-67, the series became The New Palladium Show, hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck. He had made his debut on the show in 1963, as an unknown 23 year-old comic. He over-ran by three minutes, causing Xavier Cugat and his band, who topped the bill with singer Abbe Lane, to cut their act and allow for him. During his stint as host, he once completely forgot Petula Clark's name, and introduced her as "someone who needs no introduction".
