主播大秀

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. We spoke to three couples who met during their time working at the 主播大秀 to find out what they were doing when love struck. Join us as we celebrate romance in the workplace as discovered by members of the . 

Pauline and Paul Kay

I worked as a Secretary to Albert Stevenson, Light Entertainment Producer, TVC and during the late 1950's we were mainly engaged on Saturday night variety shows from the regions. On one occasion we visited the Theatre Royal, Bolton to televise The Ken Dodd Show using the OB Unit, based in Manchester. Paul was attached to this unit for about a year from TVC (he had previously worked on some of Albert's programmes from the TV Theatre in Shepherds Bush, London) so we recognised each other as 'familiar' faces.

It was bitterly cold in Bolton and I kept on complaining of the fact. It was still cold when we had finished the transmission, whereupon Paul offered me his (a very warm lightweight waterproof jacket issued to OB staff). Naturally, I thanked him, and offered to buy him a coffee when he returned to TVC. I had this chance approximately 6 months later.

We were engaged on St. Valentine's Day 1962 and married in October the same year. So, now we have been married for 53 years, have two children and six lovely Grandchildren.

Thank you 主播大秀.

PS. In this particular variety show Ken Dodd performed his song, very comically dressed with a saucepan on his head. Whenever we hear this it brings back fond memories, we even had it played at our Silver Wedding.

Debbie and Jim Deeney

Debbie Deeney (née Tuff) was a Production Manager for 主播大秀 Children’s, based in East Tower until 2008. She is now Production Executive for a couple of small regional indies based in Winchester where she says “no” a lot, shakes her head and taps away furiously on a calculator. Jim Deeney is a freelance rigger and is also the Lock Manager of Richmond Lock. Jim and Debbie are married and have three children.

I never particularly thought about working in television and it’s a bit fluky how I ended up at the 主播大秀.

Following a 'random' degree in French and Politics that wasn’t going to get me a 'grown up' job (I really am not that politically-minded), I did a secretarial course and took a temp job at 主播大秀 Worldwide. At that time the 主播大秀 ran a TV Production Assistant training scheme and I was lucky enough to be accepted onto it - I think I was the only trainee who hadn’t come from a television background. I'd never even been in a TV studio before.

I met my husband, Jim, in Skegness when we were both working on the Blue Peter Roadshow - a big touring event to mark the 2002 Silver Jubilee Year. Jim was the tour rigger: responsible for assembling the PA sound towers, hanging lights and designing bits and pieces; I was the Production Manager.

Our first conversation was something to do with the public address tower - he had to re-build it because the Skegness sea front and wind wasn’t being particularly kind to us. He was very lovely about it… then probably walked away and said something rude under his breath. We were a large crew of around 60 people who worked together in 8 locations over five weeks. You can imagine, it became quite sociable. Everyone would go for drinks after a de-rig. It was hard work, but it was also fun.

Jim and I stayed in touch and coincidentally ended up working together a few months later on the C主播大秀 Great North Run Concert in Gateshead. After that we went on a few dates, we got on, had fun and started going out which took me completely by surprise. My job had taken me all over the world and I’d met different people, on different shows, at different times, but I really wasn’t looking to find love. Within a couple of years we’d bought a house, had a baby, got married and started living happily ever after.

I feel very lucky to have worked at the 主播大秀. Just wandering around the corridors of TV Centre and getting stuck in the East Tower lift was a real privilege (no, really). If I hadn’t worked for the 主播大秀, I never would have met Jim.

Steve and Judy Ellis

Stephen and Judy Ellis met and worked together at Television Centre in the mid 80’s, when Steve was a Promotion Producer and Judy was a Graphic Design Assistant They are both retired, have two grown up children and live in Chester.

Judy: Steve and I got together around 1985 but worked with one another before that. I worked in the Graphics department doing the live on-screen typography – end credits, graphics, live sport results, things like that, and Steve worked in Presentation We worked together in the main gallery at TV Centre with Steve as producer at the centre of things.

Steve: In addition to making trailers I was also a Transmission Controller directing live output. There was a lot of pressure in live TV and I tried to make those sessions fun. Judy was great, we could share a joke and she was good at keeping things light.

J: I was never fazed by live television, I loved it.

S: It was part of the buzz and, at that time, working in network control was a big deal. I remember working Christmas Day once, and I was pressing the button to run VT for ‘The Good Life’ which had something like 18.5million viewers. It’s nerve-wracking now.

Often a live session would finish at 8pm and we wouldn’t be needed again until the weather at 9.25pm, so there’d be a bit of time to kill. Our gallery was located on the same floor as the Bar so…

J: …inevitably, we’d end up there. Wednesday night was Top of The Pops night which was brilliant; lots of bands came to the bar and it was a wonderful atmosphere. Our friends wanted us to sign them in to the bar on a Wednesday night which made us very popular.

S: It was a fun and friendly time and that’s really how Judy and I got together, in a social setting. There was no email, no messaging, no mobile phone, we had to actually talk to one another in those days. It’s nothing like that now!

J: And Steve was taller than me which I found attractive - I must have worked with a lot of short men. Anyway he was the nicest one there.

After a while I moved to News and Current Affairs where I often worked away on things like Live Aid, the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games and the Eurovision Song Contest. Live Aid was just brilliant. There were two of us putting up the graphics, telephone numbers, addresses, band names and such, not an awful lot to do. We were put in a cupboard-y type room off a maze of corridors behind the stage, but because there were two of us we could take in in turns to go and watch the bands. It was a stunning day, boiling hot and the atmosphere was unbelievable. After the show had ended, there was this incredible storm that lit up the sky and we watched it from the balcony. All utterly memorable.

S: I left the 主播大秀 around that time and went to start up Superchannel, the first European satellite channel and a joint venture between ITV and the 主播大秀. The idea was to broadcast British TV via satellite to Europe, it was ground-breaking stuff.

J: We’ve moved around a bit since leaving the 主播大秀 and ended up living in Chester when Steve was offered a job with Granada. We’ve been here for 17 years and we absolutely love it, but those were very happy days at the 主播大秀!

Natasha Maclean is Alumni Relations Manager, 主播大秀 Alumni

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