Television & Radio 1980
The official IBA guide to Thames Television in 1980
THAMES
TELEVISION
LONDON
WEEKDAYS
Thames Television House,
306-316 Euston Road, LONDON NW1 3BB
Tel: 01-387 9494
International House,
149 Tottenham Court Road,
LONDON WIP9LL
Tel: 01-388 5199
Teddington Studios, Teddington Lock,
TEDDINGTON, Middlesex TW11 19NT
Tel: 01-977 3252
Sales Office: Norfolk House,
Smallbrook Queensway,
BIRMINGHAM B5 4LJ Tel: 021 -643 9151
Directors. The Rt Hon Lord Bametson (Chairman); Bryan Cowgill (Managing Director); Mrs Mary Baker; The Lord Braboume; John T Davey; D R W Dicks; H S L Dundas, CBE; J M Kuipers; Sir John Read; Ian M Scott (Deputy Managing Director & Director of Finance); James F Shaw (Director of Sales & Marketing); Colin S Wills.
Executives. Ben Marr (Director of Administration and Company Secretary); Richard Dunn (Director of Production Resources); R G J Godfrey (Engineering & Technical Director); John O’Keefe (Industrial Relations Director); F J Atkinson (Technical Controller); Donald Cullimore (Controller Public Relations); John Frankau (Controller of Drama); John Hambley (Controller Children’s Programmes); R J Hughes (Sales Controller); Philip Jones, OBE (Controller Light Entertainment); Max Lawson & Derek Hunt (Assistant Directors of Finance); Sam Leitch (Controller Sport & Outside Broadcasts); Geoffrey Lugg (Head of Programme Liaison); Pat Mahoney (Head of Purchased Programmes); Ian Martin (Controller of Features, Education & Religion); Malcolm Morris (Controller Programme Administration); Peter Pagnamenta (Head of Current Affairs); A C Parkinson (Controller Administration); Eric E Parry (Controller Programme Services); Mike Phillips (Controller Advertising & Publications); Tim Riordan (Head of Programme Planning & Presentation); Brian G Scott (Chief Engineer); Douglas Thornes (Sales Principal of Research & Marketing); Mike Wooller (Head of Documentaries).
Thames Television International (for Programme Sales) Howard Thomas, CBE (Chairman); Muir Sutherland (Managing Director).
Enquiries. Enquiries about artists and programmes should be addressed to Viewers’ Correspondence, Thames Television House, 306-316 Euston Road, LONDON NW1 3BB.
Sales and Marketing. Thames operates a full marketing and merchandising service and offers special rates for local advertisers, holiday and travel advertisers, etc. Details are available from the Sales Controller.
Programmes. Thames Television’s area covers over twelve million people in and around London from Monday morning to 7 p.m. on Friday. But the company’s fame reaches throughout the world. In 1976 Thames programmes won two of the three prizes awarded in the prestigious Prix Italia – the Documentary prize for Beauty, Bonny, Daisy, Violet, Grace and Geoffrey Morton, and the Drama prize for The Naked Civil Servant. Then in 1977 a Thames programme, an outside broadcast recording of Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicolas Cantata won the third Prix Italia, the Music prize. Also in 1976 Thames bought a week on WOR-TV, New York’s Channel 9, and showed New Yorkers nothing but Thames programmes. That project was repeated with equal success in Los Angeles last summer when Thames bought time on KHJ-TV and showed a little British enterprise to the home of show-business.
All this international fame was achieved with programmes made specifically for British viewers. Thames’ contract covers the whole range of television, and most of its programmes are made in the riverside studios at Teddington, while others come from the company’s headquarters at Euston. The outside broadcast units, from their base at Hanworth, near Teddington, cover many major events.
Working from its own independent base at Hammersmith is Euston Films, the fourth important element of Thames’ production structure. As well as pleasing viewers abroad, and winning major overseas awards, Thames has also regularly won the top British prizes – winning awards in recent years from the Broadcasting Press Guild, and from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Royal Television Society. But the main aim is still to please British viewers, and, in terms of ratings, Thames remain dominant.
DRAMA: Drama series: The Sweeney; Hazell; Armchair Thriller; Danger UXB; Rumpole of the Bailey; Edward and Mrs Simpson; Quatermass; Minder; Macbeth. CHILDREN’S: Magpie; Rainbow; Fanfare for Musicians; The Boy Merlin; Jukes of Piccadilly; Horse in the House; Sooty; Paperplay; We’ll Tell You a Story; The Great ChiIdren’s Party; Cinderella; Chorlton and the Wheelies; Jamie and the Magic Torch; Just So Stories. LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT – COMEDY: The Kenny Everett Video Show; Robin’s Nest; George and Mildred; Shelley; The Plank; Chalk and Cheese. VARIETY AND SPECIALS -This Is Your Life; Morecambe and Wise; The Benny Hill Show; London Night Out; Bornie; Lingalongamax; Quincy. PANEL SHOWS: Give Us A Clue; Looks Familiar. CURRENT AFFAIRS: TV Eye; Thames At Six; Inside Business; Thames Report; Thames Debate. DOCUMENTARIES: Hollywood; Mickey Duff: Matchmaker; Elkie & Co; Sport of Kings. SPORT AND OUTSIDE BROADCASTS: Football; Racing; Snooker; Darts; Show Jumping; Gymnastics; Swimming; Boxing; Specials; The World Disco Dancing Championship; Wish You Were Here…?; Star Games; Star Gardens; Big Top Variety Show; Britain’s Strongest Man; Miss Thames TV. FEATURES After Noon Plus; Money Go Round; Help; Childhood; Song and Dance; The Hands of Katherine Stott; Crits. SCHOOLS: Seeing & Doing; Finding Out; It’s More Life; Writer’s Workshop; The English Programme; French Studies; Music Round; It’s Your Future; Teacher Training; Botanic Man; History the Future. ADULT EDUCATION: Our People; The English Garden; The National Gallery. RELIGION: Christmas Pie; The First Christmas Crisis; The Cross on the Donkey’s Back; The Guinea Pig Club; The Journey of the Magi; Cardinal Hume.
About the author
Eric Croston was editor of the ITA and IBA yearbooks from 1963 until 1985