0:00:03 > 0:00:06This is the British Broadcasting Corporation.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13Behind every BBC programme, there lies a network of correspondence.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14Get me London Airport, will you?
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Today, it happens electronically but in the past it was processed
0:00:18 > 0:00:21through a typewriter, usually in triplicate,
0:00:21 > 0:00:26having been dictated to a bored woman in a tweed suit. Very quaint.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31Each of these messages was filed away within the BBC's written
0:00:31 > 0:00:36archives - four and half miles of letters, memos and manuscripts.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39They contain almost a century's worth of hopes, fears,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42disagreements and consents.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46They are The Secret Files Of The BBC.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54What better way to begin our journey through the archives
0:00:54 > 0:00:57than in the company of two of my favourites?
0:00:57 > 0:00:59I couldn't understand what slapping Derek's face
0:00:59 > 0:01:01had to do with the play.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04- No. No.- My name is not Derek. My name is Eric.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Oh, I am sorry, Mr Moron. You see, all...
0:01:06 > 0:01:09LAUGHTER
0:01:09 > 0:01:11'Today, my erstwhile sparring partners,'
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Eric and Ernie, need little in the way of introduction,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19but in 1948, they were just another young double act
0:01:19 > 0:01:21searching for their big break.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25And like many other eager hopefuls of their generation,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27they put pen to paper.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29"Dear Sirs,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31"We would like to give an audition for television
0:01:31 > 0:01:32"if it could be arranged.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35"We do modern cross talk and song and dance.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38"Have done variety and broadcasting and did television way
0:01:38 > 0:01:41"back in 1939 with Jack Hylton.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45"Awaiting your reply, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise."
0:01:45 > 0:01:50The audition was granted but wasn't rapturously received.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54"Description - Two young men in Healthy Hank
0:01:54 > 0:01:56"and Lingering Death make-up.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00"Remarks - Parts of this might be suitable.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05"Suggestive material and dancing together should be omitted."
0:02:05 > 0:02:07They went on to have success on radio.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12And, in 1954, were offered their own BBC television series,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15which, famously, failed.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18However, this didn't deter them
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and they continued to stay in touch with their BBC colleagues.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25"Dear Johnny,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28"It seems like a long time since we saw everybody in Manchester
0:02:28 > 0:02:30"but we often think about you all
0:02:30 > 0:02:32"and wonder how you are all getting on.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35"We have done very well in Australia having had two good seasons
0:02:35 > 0:02:39"in Melbourne and Sydney. Also appeared on TV and radio.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42"Should be back in England about March 7th,
0:02:42 > 0:02:47"so after that date we will be OK for radio or TV bookings.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50"We managed to see the test in Sydney.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53"Of course we were very upset about losing the Ashes but believe me,
0:02:53 > 0:02:58"the Australians fielded a wonderful side and played some great cricket.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00"Please give our regards to everybody
0:03:00 > 0:03:03"and we are looking forward to seeing you in the near future.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04"Cheerio. Ernie Wise."
0:03:08 > 0:03:11That letter was written to the producer John Ammonds,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14a man who would be instrumental in the enormous success
0:03:14 > 0:03:16of their later television series.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Which is why this recently uncovered internal memo
0:03:20 > 0:03:23to scriptwriter Edward Taylor is such a surprise.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28"From - John Ammonds.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31"Dear Ted, I like the ideas in the script
0:03:31 > 0:03:34"but after seeing Morecambe and Wise the other week
0:03:34 > 0:03:37"in their show from the Central Pier, Blackpool,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41"I am not at all sure as to their strength on a TV programme.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44"It seems to me that they have learnt very little
0:03:44 > 0:03:46"over the past five years or so.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49"Still working the old gags and, in my opinion,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52"frequently working the wrong type of material.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56"They are quite a disappointment to me because when I first worked
0:03:56 > 0:03:59"with them in this region on Sound, I thought they had a great future,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02"but frankly, I don't think that they will ever be
0:04:02 > 0:04:04"in the Number One class.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06"It is even more depressing that it seems that they are quite
0:04:06 > 0:04:09"happy to jog along as they are doing at the moment.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11"I always have thought Eric Morecambe
0:04:11 > 0:04:13"to be a naturally funny man
0:04:13 > 0:04:16"and I still think that he could be very successful on Vision
0:04:16 > 0:04:19"but only if he could be detached from Ernie,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21"whom I think is the big weakness.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23"I'm sorry to be pessimistic
0:04:23 > 0:04:26"but I really cannot see them making the grade in a TV series.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28"Hope to see you when I am next in town.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31"All the best, yours sincerely, John E Ammonds."
0:04:33 > 0:04:38By early 1961, the TV series had still to materialise
0:04:38 > 0:04:41but their radio and stage careers were on a roll.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45'Here's holiday entertainment for the whole family.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47'The Morecambe And Wise Show - starring
0:04:47 > 0:04:51'Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise, and all-star company.'
0:04:51 > 0:04:54This, they thought, deserved a pay rise.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58"From Morecambe and Wise. To Patrick Newman.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00"Dear Mr Newman,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04"Would you consider giving us a rise in salary for radio?
0:05:04 > 0:05:08"We have advanced in show business and now our radio salary is too low,
0:05:08 > 0:05:09"in our opinion.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13"We enjoy doing radio and would like to continue.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18"The salary we had in mind was say, £100.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22"I know it seems a big jump but it's a long time since we asked for one.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25"We would appreciate your remarks on this matter.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29"Yours sincerely, Morecambe and Wise."
0:05:29 > 0:05:32To which Variety Bookings Manager Patrick Newman replied...
0:05:32 > 0:05:35"Thank you for your letter of June 10th.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37"The opening sentence was delightful
0:05:37 > 0:05:40"and I found the two query signs rather endearing.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43"Sentence number two was nicely put, and altogether things were going
0:05:43 > 0:05:46"very well considering it was Monday morning.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49"The first half of sentence number three kept up the good work,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52"when... Wham! Out of the blue it came.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55"Double. A big jump indeed.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57"Surely only Gagarin has jumped further.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00"Still, it's two years, I agree.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02"I have discussed this with the staff here and,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04"in our scale of fees,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06"we seem to think that you would fit at 60 guineas.
0:06:06 > 0:06:07"But then someone said,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10"'Well, that's only five guineas each, isn't it?'
0:06:10 > 0:06:12"which seemed a bit mouldy.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16"Right then, we will spring 70 guineas, but not I think more.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18"If you think you could lower your sights a little
0:06:18 > 0:06:20"and find this acceptable?
0:06:20 > 0:06:22"Yours sincerely, Patrick Newman,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24"Light Entertainment Booking Manager."
0:06:24 > 0:06:26"Dear Mr Newman,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29"It's quite remarkable that's the amount we had in mind.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32"If you had offered us 60 guineas, we would have replied
0:06:32 > 0:06:34"'Well, that's only five guineas each, isn't it?'
0:06:34 > 0:06:36"which seemed a bit mouldy.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40"I have discussed this with my staff, my staff being my wife,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42"Eric's wife, two children and two dogs.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45"Oh, I did mention it to Eric and he lowered his sights a little
0:06:45 > 0:06:47"and nodded his head.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50"Cheerio. Sincerely, Morecambe and Wise."
0:06:53 > 0:06:56To many, the BBC is defined by the people it puts
0:06:56 > 0:06:58in front of the camera
0:06:58 > 0:07:01but those working behind the scenes have had as much,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05if not more, of a hand in shaping the destiny of the Corporation.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11None more so than the BBC's founding father, Lord Reith,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15whose stated mission to "inform, educate and entertain"
0:07:15 > 0:07:18is still the bedrock of the company he created.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Did you consciously impose your own view of the world
0:07:22 > 0:07:25on the programmes and the practice of the BBC?
0:07:25 > 0:07:28That's a leading question, isn't it? Yes.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33Reith was a dour Scotsman of strong-held, intractable opinions
0:07:33 > 0:07:35who few dared to cross.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38But he met his match in Winston Churchill
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and their long-running
0:07:40 > 0:07:44feud would have far-reaching consequences for the BBC.
0:07:47 > 0:07:48Scene seven. Take one.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Do you think that Churchill was hostile to you?
0:07:52 > 0:07:57Yes, he was. We were at a distance, there was no doubt about that.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Where are we now?
0:07:59 > 0:08:04Their two huge egos first collided in 1926 when they fought over
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Churchill's attempts to take the BBC under government control.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Reith won that one, but from then on, the battle lines were drawn.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18In the early years, Reith tried to avoid political controversy
0:08:18 > 0:08:21by allowing the parties to decide which political speakers
0:08:21 > 0:08:26would be broadcast and they of course chose MPs who toed the line.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Not something Mr Churchill was known for,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and he became increasingly frustrated with what he saw
0:08:33 > 0:08:35as the censorship of his views,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39especially after he lost his cabinet post in 1929.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42"To Sir John Reith.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45"Dear Sir John,
0:08:45 > 0:08:50"I am very glad you liked my appeal on behalf of the blind.
0:08:50 > 0:08:56"I am about to make a public offer to the BBC of £100 out of my own
0:08:56 > 0:09:02"pocket for the right to speak for half an hour on politics.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06"How ashamed you will all be in a few years
0:09:06 > 0:09:09"for having muzzled the broadcast!
0:09:10 > 0:09:13"Exactly the same thing happened in the old days
0:09:13 > 0:09:17"when they were afraid of freedom of speech and writing,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21"but the obstructionists have gained no fame in history.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26"How absurd to have a complete democracy
0:09:26 > 0:09:30"and all access to them denied.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34"This is going to be a bad year."
0:09:37 > 0:09:41"Dear Mr Churchill, Thank you for your letter of 29th.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45"With regard to the offer which you are to make for the right
0:09:45 > 0:09:48"to broadcast for half an hour on politics.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52"Do you really think we should copy the American plan of allowing
0:09:52 > 0:09:55"what you realise so fully to be the immense
0:09:55 > 0:09:59"potentialities of broadcasting to be available on a cash basis,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03"irrespective of any consideration of content or balance?
0:10:03 > 0:10:08"We have more than once been offered £100 not for half an hour,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10"but for one minute.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13"We are not obstructing anybody at the present moment.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16"There has been no request from the parties
0:10:16 > 0:10:19"since the last General Election for political broadcasting.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21"Yours sincerely, John Reith."
0:10:23 > 0:10:26"Dear Sir John,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30"I am sure the American plan would be better than the present
0:10:30 > 0:10:35"British methods of debarring public men from access to a public
0:10:35 > 0:10:37"who wish to hear.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40"With regard to your last paragraph -
0:10:40 > 0:10:43"you are certainly obstructing me.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48"I wish to broadcast on grave political issues
0:10:48 > 0:10:50"before the end of January.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56"On what legal ground do you deal only with parties?
0:10:56 > 0:11:02"I was not aware that parties had a legal basis at all,
0:11:02 > 0:11:07"or that they had been formally brought into your licence."
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Between 1930 and 1939,
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Churchill spoke only six times on political matters for the BBC.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19Even after Reith's resignation in 1938, he continued to write
0:11:19 > 0:11:21to try to get his views heard,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and continued to complain bitterly when he was rejected.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29A fierce critic of appeasement,
0:11:29 > 0:11:35Churchill vented his spleen to a young BBC producer on the day after
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Chamberlain returned from Munich.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40"Mr Churchill complained that he had been very badly treated
0:11:40 > 0:11:43"in the matter of political broadcasts
0:11:43 > 0:11:46"and that he was always muzzled by the BBC.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50"He went on to say that he imagined that he would be even more
0:11:50 > 0:11:53"muzzled in the future, since the work at the BBC seemed to
0:11:53 > 0:11:57"have passed under the control of the Government.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59"I said that this was not, in fact, the case,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02"though just at the moment we were, as a matter of courtesy,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06"allowing the Foreign Office to see scripts on political subjects.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11"The point is, WSC seems very anxious to talk. Guy Burgess."
0:12:13 > 0:12:17A fascinating record of a conversation between Cambridge spy
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Guy Burgess - arguably this country's most infamous traitor -
0:12:21 > 0:12:25and the man who would become its most potent patriotic symbol.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Eventually, Churchill returned to the cabinet
0:12:30 > 0:12:32as First Lord of the Admiralty
0:12:32 > 0:12:34and began to broadcast more frequently.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39However, the BBC were still not convinced of his powers of oration.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43First Lord of the Admiralty answers Nazi propaganda.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48Nowadays we are assailed by a chorus of horrid threats.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52If words could kill, we should be dead already.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54We are in a very different...
0:12:54 > 0:12:57"In view of the fact that the opinion generally expressed about
0:12:57 > 0:13:00"Churchill's last broadcast was that it was deplorable
0:13:00 > 0:13:04"but probably good propaganda in Canada and America,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07"it might interest you to know that a young Canadian lawyer
0:13:07 > 0:13:10"who has just flown over on the Clipper, remarked to me
0:13:10 > 0:13:14"what an unfortunate effect it had had among his friends in Canada."
0:13:14 > 0:13:20The Nazi government exudes through every neutral state...
0:13:20 > 0:13:23"This is interesting, and makes one more doubtful than ever
0:13:23 > 0:13:27"regarding the value of Mr Churchill's broadcasts.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31"In addition, of course, he has managed to offend both Italy
0:13:31 > 0:13:34"and the US in successive talks."
0:13:34 > 0:13:37During the war years, Churchill's relationship with
0:13:37 > 0:13:42the BBC thawed somewhat as antipathy gave way to mutual need
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and the new Director General took a more conciliatory approach
0:13:46 > 0:13:47than his predecessor.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49AIR-RAID SIRENS WAIL
0:13:49 > 0:13:54'Tonight, I speak to you at your firesides,
0:13:54 > 0:14:00'wherever you may be, or whatever your fortunes are.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06'I repeat the prayer around the Louis d'Or,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09'"Dieu protege la France."'
0:14:11 > 0:14:13"My dear Prime Minister,
0:14:13 > 0:14:18"I was very sorry I was not able to come for your broadcast last night.
0:14:18 > 0:14:19"May I therefore be allowed to
0:14:19 > 0:14:22"congratulate you most warmly upon it?
0:14:22 > 0:14:25"It came through here superbly in both languages and it will
0:14:25 > 0:14:29"obviously have a profound effect in France and all over the world.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33"You will be sorry to learn that a bomb exploded
0:14:33 > 0:14:36"right in the middle of our cake here last week,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40"unhappily with the loss of seven lives, several other casualties,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43"and the wrecking of most studio and other facilities above ground.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45"All of our broadcast services,
0:14:45 > 0:14:47"however, went on without interruption.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49"Yours sincerely, FW Ogilvie."
0:14:50 > 0:14:52"Dear Mr Ogilvie,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56"Thank you so much for your letter of October 22nd
0:14:56 > 0:15:01"and for your kind remarks about my French broadcast.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05"I am indeed sorry to hear that you have suffered
0:15:05 > 0:15:10"so much from air raids and that seven people lost their lives.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15"It is a great tribute to your organization
0:15:15 > 0:15:19"that broadcasting continued uninterrupted."
0:15:21 > 0:15:25However, with war over and Churchill out of office,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28normal service resumed.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31It is an uphill road we have to tread.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36"Mr Winston Churchill rang me from Chartwell at 3pm
0:15:36 > 0:15:39"to protest in vehement terms against his election broadcast
0:15:39 > 0:15:42"tonight being followed in the Home Service
0:15:42 > 0:15:45"by a programme entitled We Beg To Differ.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48"He said that this indicated pro-government bias
0:15:48 > 0:15:52"on behalf of the BBC and that unless the programme was changed,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55"he would deal with the matter in his broadcast
0:15:55 > 0:15:58"and would see to it that the BBC heard a great deal more
0:15:58 > 0:15:59"of the matter thereafter.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03"I said that the programme was a regular weekly fixture,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06"was a light-hearted entertainment programme with no political
0:16:06 > 0:16:09"connotation and that to alter the programme would attract
0:16:09 > 0:16:13"attention in a way which was most undesirable.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18"Mr Churchill did not agree and said that the title must be changed."
0:16:19 > 0:16:22During Churchill's second term as Prime Minister,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25he didn't give a single television interview.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27He had never forgiven the BBC for what
0:16:27 > 0:16:32he saw as the censorship of his views during his wilderness years.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37And now he broke the television monopoly for which Lord Reith had
0:16:37 > 0:16:41fought so bitterly, introducing legislation that would pave the way
0:16:41 > 0:16:47for ITV, thus ending the BBC's role as the nation's only broadcaster.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52'I think one of the most deplorable mistakes ever made in public
0:16:52 > 0:16:54'affairs was made when the BBC monopoly was broken.'
0:16:54 > 0:16:56I think it was shocking.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02During his time in office,
0:17:02 > 0:17:07Lord Reith kept an iron grip on the organisation he'd created.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11He was a firm believer in giving his listeners what they needed
0:17:11 > 0:17:15rather than what they wanted. And this even extended to music.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20"Jazz, in its place, is all right,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23"but do you not agree that it has got altogether out of its place
0:17:23 > 0:17:25"in the life and interest
0:17:25 > 0:17:27"of a considerable section of the community,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30"and that to some extent anyhow it is degrading?"
0:17:30 > 0:17:33# The moon was all aglow
0:17:33 > 0:17:35# And heaven was in your eyes
0:17:35 > 0:17:37# The night that you told me... #
0:17:37 > 0:17:39"Do you think it is a tribute to our
0:17:39 > 0:17:43"educational - apart from any other - standards that the personnel
0:17:43 > 0:17:46"of jazz bands should be a matter of public interest,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50"and are you happy in encouraging it?
0:17:50 > 0:17:54"You feel we have a serious responsibility, intellectual
0:17:54 > 0:17:58"and ethical and that we have been right in declining to
0:17:58 > 0:18:03"cater down on the 'give the public what it wants' basis.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09"Please keep an eye on the matter because it is only by vigilance
0:18:09 > 0:18:12"that good will come and ill be averted."
0:18:14 > 0:18:18After Lord Reith's departure, the BBC's protectors of virtue
0:18:18 > 0:18:21were the Dance Music Policy Committee.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I've been having second thoughts about this
0:18:24 > 0:18:27and I'd like to hear more from the music department about the idea.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31A secret group of senior employees who would decide which songs
0:18:31 > 0:18:34were suitable to be played on the radio, and later on television.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37That's all right, isn't it? We'll put that one in.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40They wielded an inordinate amount of power
0:18:40 > 0:18:43having the ability to ban a song completely
0:18:43 > 0:18:45or insist on lyric changes.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Their comments are a wonderful barometer of the moral landscape.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52"From Director of Variety.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56"The following songs have been banned for broadcasting.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59"Hold It Joe - suggestive lyric.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04"Where Is My Sunday Potato - politically unsuitable.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09"The following song is passed but the word marriage must be
0:19:09 > 0:19:14"mentioned in the lyric - Baby, Move Into My Arms."
0:19:14 > 0:19:17"The Shiralee has a pleasant enough melody
0:19:17 > 0:19:20"but is a rather undistinguished ballad.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22"And what is a Shiralee?"
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Even after the committee disbanded in 1964,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30the BBC continued to keep a close watch on the nation's morals.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32CHEERING AND SCREAMING
0:19:32 > 0:19:35No matter how big the group,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37if your song was deemed inappropriate
0:19:37 > 0:19:39it was off the airwaves.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42MUSIC: I Am The Walrus by The Beatles
0:19:42 > 0:19:45"From Tom Sloan, Head of Light Entertainment Group, Television,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48"to CP Tel.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50"In The Beatles film, so far uncompleted,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52"The Magical Mystery Tour,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55"they sing a number called I Am A Walrus."
0:19:55 > 0:19:56# Crabalocker fishwife
0:19:56 > 0:19:58# Pornographic priestess
0:19:58 > 0:20:01# Boy, you been a naughty girl You let your knickers down... #
0:20:01 > 0:20:04"The lyrics contain a very offensive passage
0:20:04 > 0:20:06"and after talking to Anna Instone,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10"we have both agreed not to play it on radio or television.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12"Although not officially banned,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16"it will not be heard on Top Of The Pops or Juke Box Jury.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18"I should be grateful if you would ensure that
0:20:18 > 0:20:22"any other possible outlets are similarly blocked off."
0:20:22 > 0:20:25In fact, the whole advent of rock and roll
0:20:25 > 0:20:28presented myriad problems for the BBC.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32To start with, a whole new breed of star was being created -
0:20:32 > 0:20:37one whose musicianship was less important than their record sales.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Now I want you to meet another boy who
0:20:39 > 0:20:40specialises in writing his own numbers.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Very successfully too, I might say,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45because his first disc sold over a million copies.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48His name is Russ Hamilton and we think he's onto another winner
0:20:48 > 0:20:51with a number called I Had A Dream.
0:20:53 > 0:20:59# I had a girl who loved no-one but me
0:21:01 > 0:21:07# And this girl She said she'd marry me
0:21:08 > 0:21:09# Something happened... #
0:21:09 > 0:21:12"From Josephine Douglas, Producer, 6.5 Special
0:21:12 > 0:21:15"to Head of Light Entertainment, Television.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18"The announcement 'singing to his new record'
0:21:18 > 0:21:22"was intended to convey the fact that a record was being played
0:21:22 > 0:21:25"to a public who do not seem to grasp the significance
0:21:25 > 0:21:29"of the word miming. This whole issue of miming to records
0:21:29 > 0:21:33"is an extremely difficult one in this particular programme
0:21:33 > 0:21:36"as on many occasions the live work of the artists
0:21:36 > 0:21:40"bears no relation whatever to their record performance.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45"For example the 6.5 Special public wanted to hear Russ Hamilton.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48"The Russ Hamilton of record fame, who is in fact
0:21:48 > 0:21:53"the bestselling ever British artist in America, does not exist.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56"He cannot play the guitar
0:21:56 > 0:21:59"neither does his singing voice resemble that on the record.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06"The fact remains that the record personality is
0:22:06 > 0:22:09"the one in which our public are interested.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12"Is it right therefore to present him, a record personality,
0:22:12 > 0:22:17"which is all he is, in a mediocre performance?
0:22:17 > 0:22:21"Is it wiser indeed not to present him at all?
0:22:21 > 0:22:25"This is the problem facing us with many artists of this type."
0:22:25 > 0:22:27# Tell me I'm the one
0:22:27 > 0:22:32# You love... #
0:22:38 > 0:22:41It wasn't only stars that created problems,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44the rise of 1960s counter-culture
0:22:44 > 0:22:49left the solid gentlemen's club of the BBC perplexed in the extreme.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53PSYCHEDELIC ROCK MUSIC PLAYS
0:22:57 > 0:23:00"We would like to have your advice also
0:23:00 > 0:23:04"on the use of the word psychedelic. In our opinion,
0:23:04 > 0:23:09"this word derives exclusively from the use of the drug LSD,
0:23:09 > 0:23:15"and it might be wise if we were to instruct all DJs not to use it.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18"On the other hand, this is only our opinion,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22"and other people claim that the word is not connected exclusively
0:23:22 > 0:23:24"with drugs at all.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27"Would you please advise us on both points,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31"and on our policy regarding all discs alleged to contain
0:23:31 > 0:23:36"references to, or be based on, drugs and drug taking?"
0:23:36 > 0:23:40CLOCK CHIMES
0:23:47 > 0:23:51'Good morning, everybody. It's 6.30 and the BBC Light Programme's
0:23:51 > 0:23:53'beginning another day's broadcasting.'
0:23:56 > 0:23:59For the first 24 years of its existence,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03the BBC was an almost entirely masculine preserve,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06certainly in terms of its presenters.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09There had been a Children's Hour from the very start in 1922
0:24:09 > 0:24:15but it wasn't until 1946 that women were accorded the same privilege.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19And that seems to have been a direct result of a request from a listener.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24"Dear Sir, I enclose for your perusal a page taken from
0:24:24 > 0:24:26"a little monthly paper called Housewife
0:24:26 > 0:24:30"which I think is read by a great many middle class, educated women
0:24:30 > 0:24:34"who have perforce to spend much time in their homes
0:24:34 > 0:24:37"doing their own chores and who feel that their brains
0:24:37 > 0:24:40"are in danger of becoming thoroughly mouldy.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44"It is for women such as us that I appeal for a woman's hour
0:24:44 > 0:24:49"on the radio at a time - preferably - between 2.00 and 3.00
0:24:49 > 0:24:51"each afternoon when we can relax
0:24:51 > 0:24:54"and listen to one thing really interesting.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58"In view of the fact that the BBC pays large sums to dance bands
0:24:58 > 0:25:01"and crooners, I think they might engage a woman with the right
0:25:01 > 0:25:05"personality to host a woman's hour on the lines I have suggested.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09"I assume the right type of person would make a big success of it
0:25:09 > 0:25:12"and it would be appreciated by a very deserving
0:25:12 > 0:25:16"part of the community who have not had much consideration of late.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19"I hope you will be able to do something about this.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23"Yours Truly, JM Schofield."
0:25:23 > 0:25:25While the BBC obviously took note,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29they didn't agree with all Mrs Schofield's suggestions
0:25:29 > 0:25:31and appointed a man as the host.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35'Good morning, ladies.'
0:25:35 > 0:25:38"Dear Norman, I think you should get talkers who
0:25:38 > 0:25:43"know how to broadcast and spend a lot of money on that important hour.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48"You want a compere of the Christopher Stone type, I feel.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50"Someone with that human touch.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54"You are right I feel in putting a man in 'talking' charge,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58"for women can't bear being talked at by other women.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02"What they will take from a man, I speak purely radiographically,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05"they will resent from a woman."
0:26:06 > 0:26:11Talks in the first-ever episode included Mother's mid-day meal
0:26:11 > 0:26:14and putting your best face forward.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16And the programme in the early days
0:26:16 > 0:26:19generally concentrated on domestic matters.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23"Would you please send a booking sheet to AA Talks
0:26:23 > 0:26:28"for the following people used in Woman's Hour - 29th October -
0:26:28 > 0:26:33"Ruth Drew - marrow jam, Marion Cutler - old age pensions.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35"30th October -
0:26:35 > 0:26:38"Ruth Drew - dyeing nylons, corn on the cob.
0:26:39 > 0:26:45"31st October - Ruth Drew - mice, Margaret Reekie - Wellingtons.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50"1st November - Marion Cutler - National Insurance."
0:26:50 > 0:26:53However, these weren't particularly highly regarded
0:26:53 > 0:26:56by the male echelons of the BBC.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00"From Mr Norman Collins to Mrs Bradney.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03"Would you, by the way, please be specially careful
0:27:03 > 0:27:07"to see that the fatal word 'expert' does not creep back into
0:27:07 > 0:27:11"Woman's Hour in contexts where such a thing as an expert
0:27:11 > 0:27:14"cannot possibly exist."
0:27:14 > 0:27:17There seems to have been quite a proscriptive attitude
0:27:17 > 0:27:19about what women would enjoy
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and that certainly didn't include a story about the world's first
0:27:22 > 0:27:25commercial jetliner, the De Havilland Comet.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29'With The Comet scheduled by British Overseas Airways Corporation
0:27:29 > 0:27:32'to start the world's first jet passenger air service.'
0:27:32 > 0:27:36"I should have thought this quite unsuitable for Woman's Hour.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39"Surely the yardstick for this sort of thing is to say
0:27:39 > 0:27:42"'Is this more suitable elsewhere?'
0:27:42 > 0:27:46"If you have to say yes, then put it there.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51"In this case, your most interested audience is obviously children.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54"Why not have made up a feature of all the worry, work
0:27:54 > 0:27:57"and general preparation leading up to the dress show
0:27:57 > 0:27:59"the Queen went to at Claridge's?
0:27:59 > 0:28:02"There are plenty of things reported in the papers which are of exclusive
0:28:02 > 0:28:07"interest to women and I'm dead certain the Comet isn't one of them!
0:28:07 > 0:28:11"Women, on the whole, distrust anything mechanical."
0:28:12 > 0:28:17One of the most popular items in the programme was Housewives Exchange,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20where ordinary housewives would speak about their lives
0:28:20 > 0:28:23often giving recipes and describing how they went about
0:28:23 > 0:28:25their day-to-day business.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Innocuous enough, but they occasionally got
0:28:28 > 0:28:31the show into seriously hot water.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35"The Ministry of Food in London have approached us to say that the
0:28:35 > 0:28:38"recommendation of Mrs Finnis for bottling peas
0:28:38 > 0:28:41"and sealing the bottles with mutton fat,
0:28:41 > 0:28:46"can, in certain cases, lead to toxic poisoning.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49"You may remember that before I came, there was some trouble about
0:28:49 > 0:28:54"another housewife who recommended the use of uncooked dried egg.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57"We really do have to take the utmost precautions
0:28:57 > 0:28:59"not to poison our audience."
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Woman's Hour was determined to broadcast on women's health issues
0:29:05 > 0:29:07and despite the fact that they warned listeners,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11giving the exact duration of the piece and advising them
0:29:11 > 0:29:14to turn down the volume on their radios if they were worried about
0:29:14 > 0:29:19being offended, they often received stern memos from their bosses.
0:29:20 > 0:29:25"From Mr John McMillan to Mr TW Chalmers.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29"I queried the wisdom of the talk entitled The Older Woman
0:29:29 > 0:29:32"by a woman gynaecologist with Newton and Boyd
0:29:32 > 0:29:36"and was assured that it was in line with current practice.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40"Consequently, I didn't exercise our editorial right to censor.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43"But I do believe that the inclusion of such a talk
0:29:43 > 0:29:46"represents a lowering of broadcasting standards.
0:29:46 > 0:29:52"It is acutely embarrassing to hear about hot flushes, diseases
0:29:52 > 0:29:56"of the ovaries, the possibility of womb removal and so on
0:29:56 > 0:30:01"being transmitted on 376 kilowatts at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06"This view is shared by the female staff of our department."
0:30:07 > 0:30:11"I don't think that this sort of talk does represent a
0:30:11 > 0:30:14"lowering of broadcasting standards, as McMillan thinks.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18"Nevertheless, I would myself have been embarrassed if listening
0:30:18 > 0:30:24"at home to have heard such intimate physiological details described.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28"Is it in line with current practice? TW Chalmers."
0:30:33 > 0:30:37One woman who remained unbowed in the face of BBC intractability
0:30:37 > 0:30:41first wrote to the Corporation with a novel idea for a radio talk.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46'Now meet Queenie and friends of Stoke Mandeville.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49'They've been wearing their winter overcoats during the night but,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52'as it's warmer this morning, their owner - Mrs Barbara Woodhouse -
0:30:52 > 0:30:55'decides to put them into thinner coats for the day.'
0:30:55 > 0:30:56"Dear Mrs Woodhouse,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00"We have now fully considered you script Rugs For Cows
0:31:00 > 0:31:03"and regret that in view of its comparatively limited appeal,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06"we are unable to find space for it in our programme."
0:31:09 > 0:31:13Undaunted, Barbara Woodhouse's response set the tone
0:31:13 > 0:31:15for her future correspondence.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17"Dear Mr Dunnett,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20"Thank you very much for your letter, and my script.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22"I am sorry you have had to reject it,
0:31:22 > 0:31:26"as I feel so strongly that it has a very wide appeal.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29"A small letter I wrote three years ago, which was published in the
0:31:29 > 0:31:33"Farmer And Stockbreeder, brought me over 300 letters
0:31:33 > 0:31:34"from all over the world.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37"In England, nearly all the daily papers put
0:31:37 > 0:31:39"photographs of the cows before the public
0:31:39 > 0:31:42"and so many farmers rugged their cows with great success."
0:31:42 > 0:31:45'If it's wet, the cows wear raincoats.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48'In cold weather, they have jute and wool-lined rugs.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51'While in summer, Mrs Woodhouse turns them out in cotton.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54'So far, she hasn't bought them any underwear.'
0:31:54 > 0:31:57"Being a doctor's wife, we see so much hardship with old people
0:31:57 > 0:32:01"being short of milk that anything we can do to stop it, we do.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04"Don't bother to answer this, when milk rationing becomes very
0:32:04 > 0:32:09"severe, you may feel this is more important a subject than you think.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12"Yours sincerely, Barbara Woodhouse."
0:32:12 > 0:32:14She had more luck with Woman's Hour
0:32:14 > 0:32:18where she gave a talk on "taking my cows on holiday"
0:32:18 > 0:32:23but her further suggestions for talks on domestic service,
0:32:23 > 0:32:28rain, original ideas for children's parties
0:32:28 > 0:32:31and men were rejected.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Not content with making the odd guest appearance,
0:32:34 > 0:32:38she wrote to the BBC offering herself as a regular commentator.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42However, the powers that be didn't even think she was
0:32:42 > 0:32:43worth an audition.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45"To Mrs B Wontner.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49"Dear Madam, Thank you for your letter
0:32:49 > 0:32:52"and for your application for a commentary test.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55"As I am sure you will appreciate, we have received a great
0:32:55 > 0:32:59"number of similar applications from would-be commentators.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03"It is only possible to shortlist a very few of them for interview,
0:33:03 > 0:33:07"audition and training. I regret, therefore, that I am unable
0:33:07 > 0:33:10"to place your name on this shortlist.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13"Yours faithfully, CFG Max-Muller."
0:33:13 > 0:33:17Unsurprisingly, Barbara didn't take this lying down.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20"Dear Sir, Thank you for your letter
0:33:20 > 0:33:23"turning down my request for a commentary test.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26"I feel that it must be very difficult to shortlist anyone
0:33:26 > 0:33:30"without hearing them speak, and to turn any applicant down
0:33:30 > 0:33:33"just on a letter seems very short-sighted to me, especially
0:33:33 > 0:33:37"as you obviously don't even know who I am as you got my name wrong.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40"I don't mean this rudely, but I have been told so many times
0:33:40 > 0:33:43"I have the perfect voice for broadcasting, that it seems
0:33:43 > 0:33:48"queer to me that so many people can be possessed of the same thing.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52"I got my first job on broadcasting simply by someone hearing me
0:33:52 > 0:33:55"speaking to the receptionist at the BBC.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57"Yours faithfully, Barbara Woodhouse."
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Are you ready? Forward.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02- Heel.- Heel.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05Don't forget to jerk your dog.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08That's right. About turn.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12Undeterred, Mrs Woodhouse continued her assault
0:34:12 > 0:34:14and when her idea for a television programme on
0:34:14 > 0:34:18making clothes for children was rejected,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20wrote to the producer pushing other ideas.
0:34:20 > 0:34:26"My subjects are varied having, I think, done more in my 46 years
0:34:26 > 0:34:28"than most women would have done in 100 years,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30"and I don't mean this boastingly.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34"To mention just a few of my previous occupations,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37"I have a diploma in 17 subjects
0:34:37 > 0:34:41"including building construction and surveying, engineering, etc.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44"I was a teacher of dancing, I dress designed,
0:34:44 > 0:34:46"I was a hospital receptionist.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49"Dance hostess for the Cadena Cafes, school teacher,
0:34:49 > 0:34:51"professional swimmer and diver,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53"played county tennis and hockey.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56"Won two motor reliability trials.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01"Besides living years on a lonely estancia in the Argentine
0:35:01 > 0:35:03"breaking horses for Oxo,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06"I have been a government milk tester,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09"a farmer, still am.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12"I have written and published two books myself,
0:35:12 > 0:35:16"and had three further ones published by Faber and Faber.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21"I have written, directed and made four films.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24"I am a doctor's wife with three children
0:35:24 > 0:35:28"and know more quick new dishes for busy housewives
0:35:28 > 0:35:31"than most people, as cookery is my pet hobby.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38"Besides this, of course, I run four dog training schools,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41"and write for innumerable papers overseas.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45"If any of my experiences are ever any use to you,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47"I should be pleased to be of use.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49"Yours sincerely, Barbara Woodhouse."
0:35:50 > 0:35:55And as if all that wasn't enough, she added a post-script.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00"PS - I have just been on the Hamburg television for one hour,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03"all in German, self taught in three weeks."
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Over 30 years after she first wrote to the BBC,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Barbara's dogged persistence finally paid off.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15And in 1980, she was given her own series.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18It was a letter, of course, that did it.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21"Dear Mr Cotton,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24"I know you realise animal programmes are popular
0:36:24 > 0:36:28"because for the umpteenth time you are showing sheepdog trials
0:36:28 > 0:36:31"but from the dozens of people who write to me and say, 'When are you
0:36:31 > 0:36:34"'going to have a series on television training dogs
0:36:34 > 0:36:35"'your quick method?'
0:36:35 > 0:36:37"I feel you are missing out on something
0:36:37 > 0:36:39"that would draw an enormous audience."
0:36:39 > 0:36:41Come on. Walkies.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Walkies.
0:36:43 > 0:36:44Sit!
0:36:44 > 0:36:46"This may sound all very boasting to you
0:36:46 > 0:36:50"but I am going to boast. I have a gift of training animals
0:36:50 > 0:36:54"which I doubt if anyone else in the world has."
0:36:54 > 0:36:55Sit!
0:36:55 > 0:36:57OK, off you go. Walkies.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01"I have trained 16,000 dogs plus,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03"and am in the Guinness Book of Records
0:37:03 > 0:37:06"as the world's top dog trainer.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08"Yours sincerely, Barbara Woodhouse."
0:37:08 > 0:37:13There's no such thing as a bad dog, only an inexperienced owner.
0:37:13 > 0:37:14Little jerk.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16Wheee! Oh, that's rather fast.
0:37:16 > 0:37:17I can't keep up, I'm old.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20- Come! Good girl. - Put her on the lead.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23The peke hasn't come. We've lost the peke in the grass.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29However, not everyone was as confident of their potential for
0:37:29 > 0:37:32television success as the indefatigable Mrs Woodhouse.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37I've got a story to tell you. It's all about spies.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Impossible as it is to believe now,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Alec Guinness was less than convinced of his suitability to
0:37:46 > 0:37:50play George Smiley, despite a direct approach by John Le Carre.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53"Dear Sir Alec,
0:37:53 > 0:37:57"I write to you as an unbounded admirer of your work for many years.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00"The BBC has just acquired television rights in
0:38:00 > 0:38:02"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy -
0:38:02 > 0:38:04"a novel which I wrote a few years back,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07"of which the plot, narrative and heart
0:38:07 > 0:38:10"are all sustained by one character - George Smiley.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13"Already we are all of us agreed on one thing.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15"That if we were to cry for the moon,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17"we would cry for Guinness as Smiley,
0:38:17 > 0:38:19"and build everything else to fit."
0:38:21 > 0:38:23"Dear Mr Le Carre,
0:38:23 > 0:38:27"Thank you so much for your very handsomely generous letter.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29"There is no question
0:38:29 > 0:38:32"that I would love to have a shot at playing Smiley.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37"I have a few reservations about my ability to do so satisfactorily.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40"My anxieties can be listed simply, I think.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46"One - at the age of 64, as I shall be shortly,
0:38:46 > 0:38:51"I am about ten years too old for Smiley, I imagine.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52"Though I suppose make-up and acting
0:38:52 > 0:38:55"can knock off perhaps four or five years.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02"Two - although thick-set, I am not really rotund and double-chinned
0:39:02 > 0:39:06"and both things would be helpful in presenting him.
0:39:06 > 0:39:12"Three - I have done very little TV indeed - three or four, I think -
0:39:12 > 0:39:13"and never a series.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17"What worries me about the likely schedule,
0:39:17 > 0:39:22"so far as a series is concerned, is my slow memorising.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25"I know hasty learning would interfere disastrously
0:39:25 > 0:39:27"with performing.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31"Four - I am rather anxious about the fact that Arthur Lowe,
0:39:31 > 0:39:35"an actor I greatly admire, has already been seen in the part.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39"Are you confident about the change over? I'm not."
0:39:39 > 0:39:42So I can tell the minister you'll do it, can I?
0:39:42 > 0:39:45You'll take the job, clean the stables?
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Go backwards, go forwards, do whatever's necessary.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50It's your generation, after all.
0:39:51 > 0:39:52Your legacy.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Another performer the BBC were keen to sign up was Tony Hancock,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02who impressed from the start
0:40:02 > 0:40:05when he auditioned with his comedy partner, Derek Scott.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12"Two pleasant young men in lounge suits.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14"Not untalented and perform with verve.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18"Should prove suitable TeleVariety or Revue."
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Hancock was soon making regular radio appearances
0:40:23 > 0:40:27but as his star rose so did his neuroses.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31He felt he deserved star billing in the Radio Times
0:40:31 > 0:40:33for his role in the series Educating Archie,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37but the BBC thought that belonged to another of the show's stars -
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Alfred Marks.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42Hancock's concern is shown in this letter from his agent to
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Pat Hillyard, Head of Variety.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49"I am sorry to have to take up your time with the following matter,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52"but trivial as it may seem to you, with us it is all-important
0:40:52 > 0:40:56"and we find ourselves in a somewhat difficult position with
0:40:56 > 0:40:58"our client, Tony Hancock.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01"In today's issue of the Radio Times, other than for the fact
0:41:01 > 0:41:04"that Mr Marks' name is not in the heavy type,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07"he has been given top position after the title,
0:41:07 > 0:41:11"which we feel is unfair to Tony Hancock and, I repeat,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14"it has placed us in a most difficult position with him."
0:41:17 > 0:41:22By 1953, Hancock's status was such that when an inevitable mistake
0:41:22 > 0:41:27was made, the BBC were quick to try and mitigate the situation
0:41:27 > 0:41:28with their touchy star.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32"Dear Tony, If you have not already seen
0:41:32 > 0:41:36"next week's edition of Radio Times you will get something of a shock
0:41:36 > 0:41:38"when you look at the billing for the Saturday repeat
0:41:38 > 0:41:40"of Forces All-Star Bill.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45"We seem, inadvertently, to have starred Messrs Jewel and Warriss
0:41:45 > 0:41:48"and I have written to them explaining that this is a mistake
0:41:48 > 0:41:49"on the part of Radio Times
0:41:49 > 0:41:53"for which they take full blame and, indeed apologise.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57"Anyhow, it occurred to me that it may be even more galling
0:41:57 > 0:41:59"to the leading comedian who really is in the show
0:41:59 > 0:42:03"and I therefore write to tell you that we are jolly sorry and
0:42:03 > 0:42:07"I am posting it today in an effort to get it in first before you come
0:42:07 > 0:42:11"on the telephone and challenge me to a bout of golf if not fisticuffs.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13"Yours sincerely, Pat Newman."
0:42:14 > 0:42:19The more in demand he got, the harder Hancock became to pin down,
0:42:19 > 0:42:23goading Variety Booking Manager Patrick Newman to write...
0:42:23 > 0:42:26"Tony, it's a damn sight easier to book
0:42:26 > 0:42:30"the 14 Lai Founs than it is to book one Hancock.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32"Various gentlemen have been on the phone to me
0:42:32 > 0:42:35"and what I have set out in my letter is what they tell me
0:42:35 > 0:42:39"you require so I hope everything is now in order.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42"I toyed with the idea of coming up to see your epic
0:42:42 > 0:42:46"but I know one young lady who lives there and who says,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49"'Nottingham is not very pleased with your friend Tony Hancock.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52"'They think he acts in the manner that a Nottingham panto
0:42:52 > 0:42:55"'is beneath him.' I am sure such is not the case
0:42:55 > 0:42:57"but there would not be much point in my expressing any judgment
0:42:57 > 0:42:59"even if I got up there to see it,
0:42:59 > 0:43:03"for I suspect I'd probably much prefer you acting in the manner
0:43:03 > 0:43:06"that a Nottingham panto is beneath you."
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Unsurprisingly, given Hancock's need for approval -
0:43:09 > 0:43:12of which Newman was fully aware -
0:43:12 > 0:43:15the response was Hancock at his most humble.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19"Regarding the remarks of the young lady from Nottingham,
0:43:19 > 0:43:23"I found them a little hard to take after carting 14st of exhausted
0:43:23 > 0:43:25"Hancock twice a day, to The Grand,
0:43:25 > 0:43:27"solely for the pleasure of the children.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30"However, we had excellent press and the theatre is full.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34"I hope the lady's remarks won't stop you coming up here if you can.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38"Best wishes, head down, left arm stiff, foot pointing to the sky.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40"Happy New Year to you too. Tony."
0:43:44 > 0:43:46BBC Television presents...
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Hancock.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53APPLAUSE
0:43:53 > 0:43:54What's my girl like, Sid?
0:43:54 > 0:43:56- Well, I've told you. - Go on, tell me again.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58You know I'd like to hear it. Go on.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02She's about five foot three, or four.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06Beautiful auburn hair cascading down to her alabaster shoulders.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09After a slow start, Hancock's Half Hour became
0:44:09 > 0:44:13one of the most popular programmes on radio and television.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16In fact, it was almost a victim of its own success.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18LAUGHTER
0:44:18 > 0:44:19What's her name?
0:44:20 > 0:44:21Gladys.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24LAUGHTER
0:44:24 > 0:44:27"This series has been the first occasion on which I have ever had to
0:44:27 > 0:44:31"ask my studio manager to hold audience laughter down -
0:44:31 > 0:44:34"and with some of the mad hysterical fan audiences we have had,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38"this has often proved extremely difficult.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41"At present, I have taken the only three practical steps I can -
0:44:41 > 0:44:44"short of actually stopping the general public getting
0:44:44 > 0:44:46"hold of tickets for the show. These are...
0:44:46 > 0:44:50"A - I have had the position of the audience microphone shifted.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53"B - have asked the studio supervisors to see that no
0:44:53 > 0:44:55"hysterical-looking bobby-soxers
0:44:55 > 0:44:58"get near the to the front of the theatre.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01"C - I have been telling audiences that whilst we welcome their happy
0:45:01 > 0:45:05"laughter, we want neither applause or hysteria after gags.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09"Short of barring these hysterical guardians of Britain's
0:45:09 > 0:45:12"future from the studio, I don't see what else we can do.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14"Dennis Main Wilson."
0:45:17 > 0:45:19Despite the show's huge popularity,
0:45:19 > 0:45:23the BBC were starting to lose patience with their difficult star.
0:45:24 > 0:45:29"He is a highly nervous, and to a degree, temperamental artist
0:45:29 > 0:45:32"and 13 weekly shows are just about the limit of his capabilities.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35"In fact, his 'rest' when Asian flu
0:45:35 > 0:45:38"took him out of the series for a week was a blessing in disguise.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41"And without this enforced break, I believe the latter shows
0:45:41 > 0:45:45"in the series would have suffered in performance."
0:45:45 > 0:45:49References to Hancock's health problems pepper the archive
0:45:49 > 0:45:53with only a couple hinting at one of the real sources of the problem.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57In a short 1961 letter,
0:45:57 > 0:46:00the Chief Assistant, General Light Entertainment
0:46:00 > 0:46:03wrote to Hancock's agent.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06"My dear Roger, I hesitate to approach you
0:46:06 > 0:46:09"concerning a couple of small debts incurred by Tony
0:46:09 > 0:46:12"during his recent series for us.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16"They are in respect of a bottle of gin, 37 shillings sixpence,
0:46:16 > 0:46:18"and brandy, ten shillings,
0:46:18 > 0:46:21"bought by two dressers and supplied in his dressing room.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23"If you could arrange payment
0:46:23 > 0:46:26"of two pounds, seven shillings and sixpence,
0:46:26 > 0:46:30"I will see the persons involved are reimbursed."
0:46:30 > 0:46:32And a letter from Tony Hancock
0:46:32 > 0:46:37sent from Enton Hall Dietetic and Osteopathic Hydro and Health Farm
0:46:37 > 0:46:40to Patrick Newman shows his ambivalence towards
0:46:40 > 0:46:43one of his many periods detoxing.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47"Very sorry I can't make it tomorrow but they made a special arrangement
0:46:47 > 0:46:49"for me to get in here for a week
0:46:49 > 0:46:52"and I feel I must take advantage of it while I can.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55"I would be only too pleased to exchange hot water and lemon
0:46:55 > 0:46:58"for a full-scale booze-up, but perhaps we can meet
0:46:58 > 0:47:00"sometime next week. Tony."
0:47:03 > 0:47:06Hancock's ruthless streak is evident.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09The files show he switched agents three times,
0:47:09 > 0:47:13refused to sign any sort of a long-term contract with the BBC
0:47:13 > 0:47:17and got rid of his co-star, Sid James.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21In 1962, he switched sides to ITV.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25A memo from Tom Sloan, Head of Light Entertainment,
0:47:25 > 0:47:27marks the closing of Hancock's file
0:47:27 > 0:47:31and reveals the frustration with which he was now held.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35"Basically, the situation is that Hancock was primarily
0:47:35 > 0:47:38"interested in making television films in which he could
0:47:38 > 0:47:41"retain full control of domestic and overseas rights.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45"I pointed out that the BBC did not do such deals.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48"Quite clearly he has found an organisation which does
0:47:48 > 0:47:51"and he has gone there for that reason.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55"His loss is to be greatly regretted but one must remember that he
0:47:55 > 0:47:57"will be without his producer, Duncan Wood,
0:47:57 > 0:48:02"and his scriptwriters, Galton and Simpson, and Sidney James.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05"The result could well be unfortunate.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09"Hancock is a moody perfectionist with a great interest in money
0:48:09 > 0:48:12"and no sense of loyalty to the Corporation.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15"I am satisfied that we did everything possible
0:48:15 > 0:48:17"to keep him within the fold."
0:48:26 > 0:48:31While some files shine a light on the all too human frailties of our
0:48:31 > 0:48:36televisual heroes, others show the fallibility of the BBC itself.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39CHEERING
0:48:42 > 0:48:47Harold Abrahams' win at the 1924 Olympics would be immortalized
0:48:47 > 0:48:49in the film Chariots Of Fire.
0:48:49 > 0:48:56By 1935, he was the BBC's most respected athletics commentator.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59This presented the Corporation with a dilemma.
0:48:59 > 0:49:04Should they send him to cover the Berlin Olympics the following year?
0:49:04 > 0:49:07The problem? Abrahams was Jewish.
0:49:07 > 0:49:12He was quite willing to go, but felt it would be safer for him to travel
0:49:12 > 0:49:17as an official BBC representative rather than as a private individual.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20I'll let the BBC's Director of Outside Broadcasts
0:49:20 > 0:49:22take up the story.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26"You will remember that at a programme board meeting
0:49:26 > 0:49:29"in the late autumn we discussed the advisability
0:49:29 > 0:49:34"of using Mr Harold Abrahams as our commentator at the Olympic Games.
0:49:34 > 0:49:35"It was then felt that,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38"while we were not prejudiced against him for racial reasons,
0:49:38 > 0:49:42"it might be advisable to postpone a final decision as to
0:49:42 > 0:49:45"his employment by us until nearer the time, when we should be able to
0:49:45 > 0:49:49"see the state of feeling in Germany and the consequent probability
0:49:49 > 0:49:53"of their differentiating against him in the matter of facilities.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58"Mr Abrahams came to see me a few days ago,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02"and while he had no wish to force us into a decision that we did
0:50:02 > 0:50:05"not wish to make, he said that it would be a great help to him
0:50:05 > 0:50:09"to know now whether he was likely to be our official commentator.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13"His point is that he does not feel justified in provoking
0:50:13 > 0:50:16"a possible unpleasantness by going as a private individual, but he
0:50:16 > 0:50:20"would not have any scruples about going in some official capacity."
0:50:22 > 0:50:26"The point about this is, of course, that Abrahams is a Jew.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29"He is our best commentator on athletics.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32"Apparently, if we are prepared to come out into the open
0:50:32 > 0:50:36"and label him the BBC commentator for the Olympic Games,
0:50:36 > 0:50:38"he is quite ready to go to Germany.
0:50:38 > 0:50:42"The question arises as to whether or not we should do this.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45"We all regard the German action against the Jews as quite
0:50:45 > 0:50:50"irrational and intolerable and on that score we ought not to hesitate,
0:50:50 > 0:50:56"but should we, as between one broadcaster and another, put aside
0:50:56 > 0:50:59"all views of this kind and take the line that however irrational
0:50:59 > 0:51:02"we regard another country's attitude to be,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05"it would be discourteous to send a Jew commentator
0:51:05 > 0:51:07"to a country where Jews are taboo?"
0:51:09 > 0:51:12It seemed no-one had an answer to that question
0:51:12 > 0:51:16as the various executives argued it out by memo.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19"I am inclined to think it would be wise not to
0:51:19 > 0:51:22"send Abrahams to the Olympic Games.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25"I noticed the other day that the American Games authorities
0:51:25 > 0:51:30"had only by a small margin agreed to participate in the games at all.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32"As a result, I imagine,
0:51:32 > 0:51:35"of the restrictions alleged to be imposed in Germany upon
0:51:35 > 0:51:37"the training and entry of German athletes.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43"There are so many possibilities of friction in the situation
0:51:43 > 0:51:46"that I feel it would be wiser to avoid the risk.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50"There is even the minor danger that if Abrahams went, and were
0:51:50 > 0:51:54"courteously received, Germans would make capital out of their courtesy,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57"as showing that their ways with the Jews were misrepresented."
0:51:59 > 0:52:02"I don't agree with the control of public relations since
0:52:02 > 0:52:05"by all accounts, there will be no discrimination
0:52:05 > 0:52:08"and Abrahams is a good commentator.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12"I think CPR's first argument might be used to show that we should
0:52:12 > 0:52:16"leave the Games alone - not so as to rule out Abrahams.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20"His second argument is, with great respect, a shade far-fetched."
0:52:21 > 0:52:25In the end, the BBC decided not to send him.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28Not because they were worried about his safety
0:52:28 > 0:52:31but because they didn't want to offend the Germans.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36"I have had the opportunity of talking unofficially with someone
0:52:36 > 0:52:38"closely connected with the German Embassy.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41"He was reluctant for me to pass on anything he said
0:52:41 > 0:52:43"but I think you should know that his opinion about Abrahams
0:52:43 > 0:52:46"and the Olympic Games was that it would be definitely
0:52:46 > 0:52:50"impolitic for us to send Abrahams as our official commentator, but
0:52:50 > 0:52:53"that there would be nothing unwise in using him if he was out there.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56"I would suggest therefore that we stick to Control Board's
0:52:56 > 0:53:00"ruling against sending Abrahams as our special commentator,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03"and feel free to use him discreetly for some of the athletics.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06"If you approve of this, I will explain the position to him
0:53:06 > 0:53:08"and there the matter can rest."
0:53:11 > 0:53:15Ich verkuende die Spiele von Berlin
0:53:15 > 0:53:19zur Feier der elften Olympiade
0:53:19 > 0:53:22neuer Zeitrechnung als eroeffnet.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28So the most respected athletics commentator in the United Kingdom
0:53:28 > 0:53:31travelled to the Olympics as a freelancer
0:53:31 > 0:53:34with the BBC still planning to use him,
0:53:34 > 0:53:37but without offering him the protection of their name.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39A truth carefully hidden in this letter
0:53:39 > 0:53:42to the German broadcasting organisation.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47"The names of the two representatives we are sending
0:53:47 > 0:53:52"to the Games are Mr AM Wells and Mr TBR Woodrooffe.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54"As we previously explained, it is the intention
0:53:54 > 0:53:57"of our representatives to secure the services of commentators from
0:53:57 > 0:54:01"among the sportsmen and journalists who are present at the Games.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03"Perhaps you could therefore be kind enough to provide them
0:54:03 > 0:54:06"with a sufficient number of passes to admit the commentators
0:54:06 > 0:54:09"as well as themselves to the microphone positions.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11"No doubt you will give these to them on the spot,
0:54:11 > 0:54:13"but meanwhile we should like to know with whom
0:54:13 > 0:54:16"they are to get in touch on their arrival in Berlin.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19"Yours faithfully, The British Broadcasting Corporation."
0:54:20 > 0:54:23But Abrahams would have the last word -
0:54:23 > 0:54:25rather a lot of them in fact -
0:54:25 > 0:54:28as his emotional commentary on the 1,500-metre race
0:54:28 > 0:54:30would become a landmark,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34changing the face of sports commentating forever.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38'Come on, Jack. 100 yards to go.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40'Come on, Jack!
0:54:40 > 0:54:41'Jack, come on!
0:54:41 > 0:54:45'Lovelock wins. Five yards, six yards. He wins! He's won!
0:54:45 > 0:54:46'Hooray!'
0:54:56 > 0:55:00And that almost ends our delve into the secret files.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02But before we sign off,
0:55:02 > 0:55:05I couldn't resist one last little diversion
0:55:05 > 0:55:08via a man who is perhaps the most celebrated person
0:55:08 > 0:55:11in the history of British television.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15The subject of our finale foray joined the BBC on
0:55:15 > 0:55:17a three-month training scheme.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20And in a career that has spanned seven decades,
0:55:20 > 0:55:23he's produced party political broadcasts,
0:55:23 > 0:55:28hand-reared baby parrots, grappled with foreign governments,
0:55:28 > 0:55:30trekked his way across the world,
0:55:30 > 0:55:32been Controller of BBC TWO
0:55:32 > 0:55:37and changed the face of natural history programming.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45David Attenborough's letters to his colleagues
0:55:45 > 0:55:49provide a wonderful record of his early travels as a producer
0:55:49 > 0:55:52and presenter in the Talks Unit. Here's just one of them.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57"Dear Leonard,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00"How I wish I were doing party politicals in London.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03"Please do not take this as a permanent wish,
0:56:03 > 0:56:05"it will fade in three months' time.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08"We are, however, having a frightful time.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11"In spite of all our letters and assurances from the
0:56:11 > 0:56:13"Indonesian Embassy in London,
0:56:13 > 0:56:17"everyone here is being as difficult as possible.
0:56:17 > 0:56:22"On arrival, our travellers' cheques and English pounds were confiscated
0:56:22 > 0:56:25"and all our gear and film impounded in customs.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29"Forms, regulations and restrictions are everywhere.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33"So far, we have encountered the following problems.
0:56:33 > 0:56:39"A - import duty on the equipment and film of £2,600.
0:56:39 > 0:56:44"B - absolute refusal to allow us to catch the wretched dragon.
0:56:44 > 0:56:49"C - a state of terrorism in most of the places we want to visit.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52"D - a warning that each island has its own customs department
0:56:52 > 0:56:55"which resents any instruction from Jakarta.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59"E - an artificial exchange rate which trebles
0:56:59 > 0:57:01"the price of everything.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04"If these, at the moment, are our major worries,
0:57:04 > 0:57:07"we have, of course, numerous minor ones which I need not detail.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10"As fast as we hobble over the hurdles however,
0:57:10 > 0:57:14"new and more formidable ones arise in front of us.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17"If all we had to do was bash through jungles
0:57:17 > 0:57:20"and catch a few animals, our lives would be easy.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23"I know I am in no position to complain.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25"Well, the boy would go.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29"And, in fact, I am not doing so with any seriousness, for I feel
0:57:29 > 0:57:34"sure that we shall at last get free of officialdom and into the islands.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37"When we do, I am convinced we shall get material
0:57:37 > 0:57:40"which will knock ants into a cocked hat.
0:57:40 > 0:57:45"Meanwhile, I am afraid our expenses are going to be more than
0:57:45 > 0:57:49"I anticipated and we may be sailing close to the limit of our bank
0:57:49 > 0:57:52"balance by the time we approach the end of our trip.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55"For safety's sake, would it be possible for Cyril to
0:57:55 > 0:57:59"arrange for another £500 to be put to our credit in the bank?
0:57:59 > 0:58:03"I don't think we shall need it but we should assuredly
0:58:03 > 0:58:06"be in a frightful mess if we did and hadn't got it.
0:58:07 > 0:58:11"Remember me to anyone in the department who still recalls me.
0:58:11 > 0:58:17"I feel we've been here for years. Yours, as ever, David."