Associated Television for the Midlands

ATV’s advance party leaves to seek Midlands talent

THE STAGE, NOVEMBER 10th 1955

AN advance party connected with commercial television leaves London for Birmingham on Monday, November 21. Its orders are to look for talent and facilities for producing light entertainment.

The party consists of three people – Stephen Wade, Noele Gordon and Pauline Tyler. They are all executives with Associated Television, the contractor responsible for the Monday to Friday programmes from Birmingham.

Their headquarters will be the Queens Hotel, Birmingham.

Stephen Wade says of the mission; “Our company is most anxious that programmes should be built to suit the taste of the area which they serve. One of the drawbacks of national coverage is that you have to take material with an overall appeal, which means that in any one area only a portion of it will be exactly what that region wants.

“We already know that the Midlands are ardent supporters of all that is best in theatre world – like quick-fire variety and have a wide interest in their fellow men and what they do both locally and abroad. This coupled with a good love of sport gives us a pretty fair framework to start on.

“We are always interested to hear people’s opinion of television. One thing we never lose sight of is the fact that the public are the customers and our job is to give them what they want.

“So if you do happen to see a car running around Birmingham with the company’s sign “ATV” stuck to the windscreen, don’t hesitate to stop it and tell the driver what you think.”

Miss Gordon is the former pantomime and musical comedy star.

The Stage, written by Andrew Gray, 1955