The Lime Grove Story

From the archive

On 13th June 1991, BBC2 arts programme the Late Show became the final production to be recorded at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd’s Bush, London, bringing an end to the studios’ 76 years as a major part of British film and television history. On 26th August of that year, BBC2 paid tribute to this history, with an entire Bank Holiday Monday of retrospective programmes interspersed with a selection of notable film and television productions from across the nine decades the studio was in operation. This archive collects the entirety of the day’s programming that I’ve been able to find, the bulk of which comes from @stickytapenrust6869 on YouTube. The times and descriptions are taken from the Radio Times via the BBC Genome Project. The Radio Times feature on the event can be found here. 10.50 Edd the Duck’s Silent Movie – Stardom beckons for Edd. Includes a segment of TNT with Andi Peters in which Peters explores the remains of Lime Grove Studios. 11.00 Children’s Compilation – Lime Grove classics, including Muffin, Bunter, Toytown, Bill and Ben.... 11.30 Whack-O! S07Ep01 "The Pools Win" (22/11/60) – Jimmy Edwards stars as the scheming headmaster of Chislehurst School. 11.55 Continuity 12.00 The Wicked Lady (1945) – Classic melodrama made at Lime Grove studios starring Margaret Lockwood as the bored Lady Skelton, who turns to highway robbery for excitement. 13.40 A-Z of Light Entertainment: The Lime Grove Story – E for Eyelash, so who else but Dusty Springfield? The biggest names of BBC Light Entertainment performing in the studios at Lime Grove and the Television Theatre. Including Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Jack Benny and Woody Allen. 14.15 Doctor Who Sn01E01 "An Unearthly Child" (23/11/63) – The pilot episode of Doctor Who, made in 1963. 14.45 Limelight: The Film Years – Stars such as Stewart Granger, John Mills and Phyllis Calvert recall the heyday of the prolific Lime Grove film studios, the setting for some of the finest moments in British film history. 15.30 Tonight: The Films – Tonight pioneered the art of the short film made by directors like John Schlesinger, Jack Gold and Kevin Billington, with reporters such as Fyfe Robertson and Alan Whicker. Presented by Trevor Philpott. 16.00 The Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice: Alma Cogan – A look at British television's first female singing star. With Bruce Forsyth, Denis Norden and Bill Cotton. 18.30 The Staggering Story of Lime Grove – Dr. MacFaddyan and his team of midwives attended the birth of television and nurtured it through to its first faltering transmission. Told by Enn Reitel, Jon Glover, Arabella Weir and Joe Brookes. 18.40 Let’s Go Nationwide – During the 1970s Nationwide scoured the country five nights a week to bring some extraordinary stories to our screens. But was Nationwide tea-time trivia, tabloid television or the BBC's first and last truly populist current affairs programme? With contributions from former presenters Michael Barratt, Frank Bough and Sue Lawley - and a llama. 19.00 What’s My Quiz? – Frank Muir remembers What's My Line?, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral and Ask Dad. Contestants include Gilbert Harding, Isobel Barnett, Barbara Kelly, and a rather young Frank Muir. 19.30 The Grove Family – In the mid 1950s the Groves were central to the lives of millions of people in Britain. Using stars from current soaps including EastEnders, Brookside and Coronation Street, the world of The Grove Family, Britain's very first soap, is re-created. 20.00 This Is Your Life – Highlights from some of the recently discovered editions from the 1950s and 1960s. Tonight's victims include John Mills, Kenneth More, Dame Sybil Thorndike, Richard Attenborough, Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, Richard Todd and Harry Secombe. 20.30 Dixon of Dock Green S02Ep10 "The Rotten Apple" (11/08/56) – In 1956 Jack Warner first strolled on to the screen in a series of weekly stories about a London policeman. In this episode PC George Dixon has to deal with a wayward colleague played by a very young Paul Eddington. 21.00 Lime Grove: The Television Years – Lime Grove began broadcasting in 1950 with the children's favourite Muffin the Mule. Ludovic Kennedy evokes the ghosts of Lime Grove from its days as the home of live BBC TV to its golden days as the centre of BBC current affairs. With excerpts from programmes such as Panorama, Tonight, Monitor and Sportsview and people like David Attenborough, Cliff Michelmore, Alan Whicker, David Dimbleby, Esther Rantzen, Charles Wheeler and Edward Heath. 22.05 Quatermass II Ep03 "The Food" (05/11/55) – By Nigel Kneale. Classic episode of the spine chilling sci-fi thriller first transmitted in 1955. Alien objects have landed on the earth, but where could they possibly have come from and why does everybody seem to be behaving like zombies? Professor Quatermass decides he should investigate – with terrifying results. 22.30 Continuity 22.35 The 39 Steps (1935) – Alfred Hitchcock's superb version of Buchan's classic adventure story made at Lime Grove. Starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. An innocent man accused of murder is pursued by both the police and an international spy ring. The beleaguered Richard Hannay eventually finds himself fleeing across the desolate Scottish moors - handcuffed to a beautiful but unpredictable blonde. John Laurie, later known as Private Frazer in the comedy series Dad's Army, is a formidable crofter, and Peggy Ashcroft makes her mark on-screen as the timid wife who tries to help the fugitive escape. 23.50 Continuity