Flicking
through the Christmas edition of the Radio
Times - no special artwork on the cover just an EastEnders, it was the year of that
Den and Angie episode – BBC radio offered
very traditional fare, with the highlight of the day being a 30 year-old
repeat.
On Radio 1 there
was a throwback to the days when Leslie Crowther and Ed Stewart used to trek
round children’s wards with Peter Powell, Janice Long and Simon Mayo broadcasting
from hospitals around the UK. It was pretty much a first team line-up during
the day with Bates, Read, Mayo, and Brookes with the day rounding off with P and V’s Christmas Party (The Ranking
Miss P and Robbie Vincent).
Radio 3’s
day including a live concert from Amsterdam, simulcast on BBC2, with Tony
Scotland introducing the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard
Haitink.
Radio 4 was
living in the past that year. In the morning we had the Vintage Archers with the Archer family sharing memories and events
from the last 35 years. That 30 year old
highlight was The Goon Show edition Operation Christmas Duff, originally
broadcast on the General Overseas Service in 1956 but never heard on domestic
radio until 1986. There was a 27-year old repeat in the evening with the start
of a re-run of Paul Temple and the Conrad
Case. In fact there was a whole
stack of drama to enjoy: part one of John Tydeman’s adaptation of Emma, Rattigan’s French Without Tears, Murder
for Christmas was The Nine Tailors
starring Gary Bond as gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey and a binaural
production of Jenny Hursell’s A Winter’s
Tale.
Tucked away
at 23.30 was Project Santa Claus, an
early Punt and Dennis collaboration with Steve providing the script and Hugh
doing some of the voices. In fact it was almost a Week Ending spin-off. At the time Steve was writing for the
programme, added to which Ending
regulars David Tate and Sally Grace (she gets to do her Thatcher impersonation)
were in the cast and David Tyler was the producer. You’ll recognise some of the
musical cues too.
Project Santa Claus starred Tony
Slattery as Michael Downhill, Joan Sims as Beryl Downhill, David Tate as Mr
Claygate, Hugh Dennis as James and Richard O’Brien as Ambridge.
1 comment:
This won't be in your issue, but BBC Radio London had something similarly nostalgic - a programme about the "round the Empire" link-up which used to be broadcast, latterly simulcast on the Home Service & Light Programme, before the Queen every Christmas afternoon, the last one being in 1957.
The Dad's Army 'Broadcast to the Empire' - an insert to the 1972 Christmas Night with the Stars - was based around one of these, although the extended radio episode made out of it, 'Ten Seconds from Now', wasn't.
Post a Comment