Outstanding contributions to the company’s programmes were recognised last month by the award of four £1,000 [about £16,500 in today’s money, allowing for inflation – Ed] Golden Star Awards. The awards were made by the board of directors from names nominated by the staff and recommended to the board by a preliminary selection committee. The award winners were:

Assistant head of engineering Basil Bultitude for his creative engineering contribution to programmes, particularly ‘The General Election’ on March 31 and April 1, 1966.

Programme director Charles Squires, M.B.E., for his direction of ‘Warship Eagle’, transmitted on July 13, 1966.

Author Paul Jones for his play ‘My Friend Corby’, transmitted as one of ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ series on May 9, 1966. (Paul Jones died on October 30 so the award was presented to his widow.)

Actor Ian Hendry for the regularly high standard of his performance in the leading role in ‘The Informer’ series transmitted between August 1 and September 19, 1966.

Another award made last month went to Grahame Turner from the Guild of Television Producers and Directors for his work as one of the two executive producers on the television coverage of the World Cup. In addition, Alastair Burnet won the Richard Dimbleby Award for his work on a number of programmes including the Rediffusion productions of ‘This Week’, ‘Pay and Prices – the Crunch’ and ‘Division’.

BASIL BULTITUDE was born in October 1927 in Bangor, C. Down, N. Ireland. In 1943 he joined the BBC as a trainee engineer working in sound control in Belfast, Glasgow and Broadcasting House, London, and eventually became senior maintenance engineer at Aldenham. He was transferred to the BBC Television Service at Alexandra Palace in 1949 where he worked in vision control, telecine and maintenance. From there he went to Lime Grove, was promoted to assistant to superintendent engineer, BBC Television Service, and spent two years engaged in the design of the Television Centre.

In 1958 he joined Rediffusion Television as assistant head of engineering and still holds that post. He has acted as co-ordinating engineer for ITV on such programmes as Princess Margaret’s Wedding, the general election and the State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill and as the ITV engineering representative to the BBC/ITV World Cup Consortium.

He is married with two children.

CHARLES RICHARD SQUIRES, M.B.E. Born February 13, 1928. Joined the film cutting room of the Crown Film Unit in 1942. Served in the Royal Navy for two years as a telegraphist. Left Navy in 1948 and returned to the film industry. Worked as first assistant editor, assembly editor and film editor at Shepperton, Denham and Pinewood Studios.

Joined Rediffusion Television in November, 1955 as a film editor. Main productions he worked on were the major documentaries: ‘Tyranny’, ‘Israel Rises’, ‘Two Faces of Japan’, ‘The Quiet War’, ‘One Man’s Hunger’ and ‘Watch on the Mekong’. Also produced the ‘Take Four’ film and music items.

Appointed programme director in 1965. Directed such documentaries as ‘Beat City’, ‘Airport’ and ‘The Grafters’, ‘Paradise Street’, ‘Walk Down Any Street’ and ‘H.M.S. Eagle’. Awarded M.B.E. in Queen’s Birthday Honours List, 1965.

Married with two children, a son aged 15, and a daughter aged 12.

PAUL JONES was born in Hampstead on September 28, 1921. As a freelance writer he produced scripts for the BBC and also the West End. He wrote television plays exclusively for Rediffusion from 1958. They included ‘Fate and Mr. Browne’, ‘The Problem of Girlfriends’, ‘The Two-Seater Bachelor Days’ and ‘A Couple of Dry Martinis’.

An actor before he became a playwright, Paul Jones had his first play ‘Birthday Honours’ produced at the Criterion Theatre in the West End in 1953. Of his work Maurice Wiggin, television critic of The Sunday Times, commented in 1964: ‘He never wrote a dull play yet’.

Paul Jones died on October 30, 1966. He left a widow and one son.

IAN HENDRY was born in Ipswich, Suffolk on January 13, 1931. He started his career in auctioneering and estate management but at the age of 22 turned to acting and trained for three years at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

His first professional engagements were in repertory at Hornchurch and Worthing. Later he played at Oxford where he took part in Anouilh’s ‘Dinner with the Family’ which transferred to the West End. He played in such films as ‘Simon and Laura’, ‘The Secret Place’, ‘Room at the Top’ and ‘Live Now, Pay Later’. Since then he has appeared in ‘Girl in the Headlines’, ‘This is my Street’, ‘The Beauty Jungle’, ‘Repulsion’, ‘The Hill’ and ‘Casino Royale’.

I lis first lead in a television series was in i960 when he appeared in ‘Police Surgeon’, playing Dr. Geoffrey Brent, a character which in 1961 was developed into Dr. David Keel, one of the leading parts in ‘The Avengers’, which he also played.

He is married to actress Janet Munro and they have a daughter.

GUILD OF TELEVISION PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS AWARD

Grahame Turner born September 1927 in Westminster, he joined the BBC as control room engineer in 1944 and in 1948 was transferred to BBC Television. Later he joined BBC outside broadcasts at their Wembley headquarters. As a cameraman with the BBC be covered a wide range of O.B.’s from the ‘Coronation’ to the ‘Cup Final’.

At the start of Independent Television in 1955 he joined Rediffusion Television as senior cameraman, outside broadcasts. In 1958 be became a programme director and directed a wide variety of programmes including Sir Winston Churchill’s State Funeral and major sporting events such as The Derby and Wimbledon. In 1964 be was appointed producer for the ITV coverage of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo and in 1967 was appointed Senior producer for Rediffusion’s outside broadcasts. He and Alan Chivers of the BBC were joint executive producers on the World Cup.

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1. What kind of programme fields would you like to see us entering more strongly ?

In a sense we anticipated this question in January by the appointment of Buddy Bregman and Peter Eton and also by the brief which Peter Willes has for 1966-67 plays. Music, stars and comedy are the short answer on the entertainment front. As far as plays are concerned, I feel we ought to be reflecting more the quite unique position we have in ITV. This is our proximity and involvement with the London theatre. It is logical that the London station in the heart of theatre-land should shape and direct its play output accordingly.

2. Is the single television drama dying?

No, and the evidence of this belief is in the transmission this month of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge’. There will be other similar important single play productions in the future.

But I believe nobody has really challenged the assumption that plays have a natural place in television. Somehow, it has been assumed that because drama is a part of entertainment and art, it has an automatic place on television. This is not supported by the facts or common sense. It is not a common working-class or even middle-class experience to go to the theatre. It is therefore dangerous to assume that it is common practice to watch drama on television. Public affairs and documentary television have had to create interest in these areas of broadcasting. Similarly, television drama has to create a new interest in the theatre. Single plays need a sense of occasion, similar to that experienced when one goes to a theatre for an evening out. We must do more to stimulate the viewer and create this sense of occasion.

3. Do we get too much politics on the screen?

No, we can’t have too much politics. But perhaps we do have too many politicians. Politics aren’t (and shouldn’t be seen to be) dry-as-dust debate. Politics enter every field of human activity. The pre-Christmas ‘This Week’ item on poverty-stricken families was a human interest story. It was also a social story and, therefore, political.

4. How do you see documentary programmes developing?

Documentaries are in a critical phase. When public affairs programmes like ‘This Week’, ‘Division’ and ‘Shop Talk’ largely concerned themselves with short items, then there was some validity in having one-hour documentaries covering subjects in length and depth and using techniques which the magazine programmes neglected.

Now there is a trend in current affairs programmes to make more considered studies of single contemporary themes. So now we must re-think what is put into a documentary. The problem faces all broadcasting organisations. One answer lies in encouraging producers and directors to make more ‘personal’ documentaries by taking a subject and illuminating it from a personal view. (Any self-indulgences, of course, must be kept right out.)

If the subject is strong enough, this might be developed further by tackling different aspects of it in different ways, and by spreading the results over consecutive weeks, so that the total may be three or four hours of transmission.

5. Do we have enough sport?

Sport is an area of television where we must apply very strong discipline. There is danger in making wild assumptions about it. Because it exists, people seem to believe that it must also automatically be a staple part of television. Sport, however, is a minority activity in television terms, despite the ‘vast’ crowds that are said to attend major sporting events. From the company’s point of view, major midweek sporting activities are limited. Further, while we are subjected to the absurdity of short licence periods, we are inhibited in making arrangements with athletic associations, race courses and so on over a long term. But we must be alert to make sure we cover the best and most important sporting events. We must also attempt experiments with new techniques for covering sport, and not always adopt the conventional way.

6. What are your views about the long running series such as ‘No Hiding Place’ and the quizzes?

Firstly, these are popular by any objective criterion that a reasonable man, and not an intellectual snob, would apply whatever his personal view.

Secondly, the criterion is not whether they are old or long-running, but whether they are valid programme material in their own context. Nobody pretends they are high art. Third, I would not classify ‘Take Your Pick’ and ‘Double Your Money’ as quiz shows. I think the audience watches them because they are hosted by popular entertainers. I personally haven’t much time for the question-and-answer quiz shows which depend entirely on the contestants’ knowledge of the longest river in the world. That hasn’t got much to do with television.

These long-running shows will be replaced when we have got something better to offer. I’m preoccupied first with creating programmes, not destroying them.

7. What are your views on press criticism of programmes?

Critics can play an important and a constructive part through trend analysis. An example of this was the almost universal assumption by reviewers that the television link-man was an obsolete figure. They came to this conclusion before viewers had realised it and almost before the managements in television had realised it. They made the removal of the link-man acceptable and thus helped in a decisive step. But a critic’s view of last night’s programme has not more value than your mother’s.

8. How far do TAM ratings affect your judgements?

Except for the chap who likes to talk to himself, we all want an audience – especially programme-makers. TAM just means television audience measurement. It is a useful and efficient way of measuring audience response. It shouldn’t be used to motivate action or decisions.

9. Anything else you’d like to say?

Yes. We need all the teamwork and ideas available. We’re going to get up and go.

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