107-517: Hickory House is a British television programme aimed at pre-school children. It was produced by Granada Television from 1973 to 1977 and broadcast on weekday lunchtimes. Each programme was usually hosted by a pair of presenters, most often including Alan Rothwell. The setting was a normal house, but in Hickory House household objects were brought to life through puppetry . The puppet characters included Humphrey Cushion (a sleepy grey cushion with
214-593: A career spanning four decades he has produced television dramas including The Royle Family , Cold Feet , the revivals of Prime Suspect and Cracker , as well as the BAFTA -winning television play The Deal . In 2006 he received an Academy Award nomination as producer of The Queen , which saw Helen Mirren win Best Actress for her role, and in 2007, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarded him
321-424: A circuitous route that lasted for three days. Bhundu Beat was never made. At the 1991 Edinburgh Festival Fringe , Harries personally bought the television rights to An Evening with Gary Lineker , a comedy play written by Arthur Smith and Chris England based around a group of England fans at the 1990 FIFA World Cup . Smith bet Harries £100 that he would not be able to get the adaptation on television before
428-648: A competitor to the cinema chains, through the launch of ITV . Bernstein bid for the North of England franchise, which he believed would not affect the company's largely southern-based cinema chain. In 1954, the Independent Television Authority (ITA) awarded Granada the North of England contract for Monday to Friday, with ABC Weekend TV serving the same area on weekends. The companies used the ITA's Winter Hill and Emley Moor transmitters , covering Lancashire and
535-582: A coveted London franchise. In contrast, Granada determined to develop a strong northern identity – northern voices, northern programmes, northern idents with phrases such as Granada from the north , From the north — Granada and Granadaland . Bernstein refused to employ anyone not prepared to live in or travel to Manchester and Jeremy Isaacs called him a "genial tyrant" as a result. I think that what Manchester sees today, London will see eventually. Bernstein decided to build new studios rather than hiring space or converting old buildings, an approach favoured by
642-523: A drunk", though Harries rebutted, saying, "Lynda was the one who started Jane Tennison drinking heavily—it's not out of character". In 2004, Harries was ranked number eleven on a list of the most powerful figures in British TV drama , compiled by industry experts for the Radio Times . During the read-throughs for The Last Witness Harries watched other actors and production staff react to Mirren as if she
749-483: A few seconds after the continuity before the programme, and continuity was rarely given over the symbol. On 1 September 1989, Granada Television launched a look featuring a translucent pointed G, which rotated into place in time to the music against a natural scene. When the first ITV generic look was launched, Granada Television refused to adopt it, because the Granada Television logo was incorrectly inserted into
856-648: A fondness for bananas), Dusty Mop (a bad-tempered mop with a long red nose) and the Handle Family. The puppets were created by Barry Smith's Theatre of Puppets. All 129 episodes survive in Granada's archive, although none has yet been released on DVD. This article about a children's television show originating in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Granada Television ITV Granada , formerly known as Granada Television ,
963-487: A number of performances by Henry at the Hackney Empire in 1989. The Guardian ' s film critic called the direction "unobtrusive". The 1990s began with more direction and production for Ross and Marke's Channel X production company; in 1991 he made the documentary Viva Elvis! and executive produced Middlemarch Films' The Ghosts of Oxford Street , a musical about Oxford Street 's history. The script for Ghosts
1070-514: A series of films featuring flags with its logo against various scenes in the region, accompanied by the slogan 'Setting the Standard'. These introduced local programming, Granada Reports , or promotions. On 2 January 1995, the stripe theme was modified; the pointed "G" was larger on the blue stripe against a computer generated multicoloured background and the "G" was created by filming a large perspex "G" with motion control photography . This ident
1177-423: A sitcom featuring a working-class northern family, aired on BBC One from 1998 to 2000. The first two episodes were filmed with a studio audience, something Harries did not approve of. He scrapped these episodes and had them refilmed without a laugh track. The Royle Family returned for a one-off special in 2006, an achievement Harries described as giving him no greater pleasure. A spin-off of The Mrs Merton Show
SECTION 10
#17328593393511284-476: A six-minute bulletin into three minutes. He attributed this to stage fright , which caused him to speak too fast. The rest of the production crew were not ready to move on to the next news items, leaving Harries standing in silence for several minutes. Harries recalled in a 2007 interview that Steve Morrison, the producer of the bulletin, called him into his office and berated him, telling him he did not deserve to be on television and that he would no longer be reading
1391-565: Is Left Bank's biggest project to date, the first American-British television series produced exclusively for Netflix . The series has received wide critical acclaim, awards include; Golden Globes for Best Television Series (Drama) and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama), Screen Actor's Guild Award for Claire Foy, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series in both 2017 and 2018 and an Primetime Emmy Award for John Lithgow, Outstanding Supporting Actor – Drama Series. Left Bank's fourth feature film Dark River
1498-528: Is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend Television was its weekend counterpart. Granada's parent company Granada plc later bought several other regional ITV stations and, in 2004, merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc . Granada Television was particularly noted by critics for
1605-480: The 1958 Rochdale by-election , the first election to be covered on television in Britain. Granada's coverage was broad in scope, and it also broadcast two candidate debates. Over 50 years later, Granada Studios hosted the first General Election debate among the leaders of the three main political parties. Granada's boldness was seen in ambitious documentaries such as Seven Up! , which premiered in 1964. The programme
1712-595: The Isle of Man . Parts of North Wales can receive only the Winter Hill transmissions (i.e. Granada) rather than HTV . Granada retained its franchise in the 1980 franchise review, and invested in multimillion-pound dramatic serial productions such as The Jewel in the Crown and Brideshead Revisited . By the late 1990s the UK commercial broadcasters were considered too small to compete in
1819-500: The Rik Mayall series Rik Mayall Presents . In 1994, after turning down an offer for "the number three position" at Channel 4 and extending his contract with Granada to become controller of entertainment and comedy, he commissioned The Mrs Merton Show from Aherne. In negotiating a second series with the BBC a few years later, another series from Aherne was included; The Royle Family ,
1926-461: The West and East Ridings of Yorkshire , including the major conurbations around Liverpool , Manchester, Leeds , Bradford , Sheffield , York and Doncaster . The north and London were the two biggest regions. Granada preferred the north because of its tradition of home-grown culture, and because it offered a chance to start a new creative industry away from the metropolitan atmosphere of London …
2033-489: The next World Cup . Harries tried selling Smith and England's screenplay to the BBC , Channel 4 , LWT , Yorkshire Television and Central Independent Television to no avail. The BBC offered to produce it as a studio play but Harries wanted a full-length film to distinguish it from the original play, which was by then playing at London's West End. He was reluctant to offer the script to Granada because of his previous experience with
2140-408: The "V" segment of the logo, with the line connecting the "G" and the arrow not being added entirely. The company used a version with its translucent logo shown at the beginning, before continuing with the generic ident and ending with the generic ITV logo. On 4 June 1990, Granada Television, in the run-up to the 1990 franchise round, relaunched its on-screen branding to a blue stripe descending from
2247-536: The 'quality threshold' applied by the Independent Television Commission . This requirement disadvantaged companies with no previous franchise experience. Granada owned popular television series such as Coronation Street , which it threatened to sell to satellite TV if the franchise was lost. The government responded by relaxing the regulatory regime, so that ITV contractors could take over other companies, and Granada bought several companies. Some at
SECTION 20
#17328593393512354-417: The 1970s, Granada produced situation comedies , often based around life in the north-west, including Nearest and Dearest , The Lovers and The Cuckoo Waltz , followed by The Brothers McGregor and Watching in the 1980s. Andy Harries Andrew Harries OBE (born 7 April 1954) is chief executive and co-founder of Left Bank Pictures , a UK based production company formed in 2007. In
2461-411: The 2009 ITV regional news cutbacks, Granada was one of three regions unaffected by changes, except for extending its coverage area to include the Isle of Man , which had previously been served by ITV Border. ITV is obliged by UK communications regulator Ofcom to produce 50% of its programmes outside London, something it failed to achieve in 2007 and 2008. With this obligation, retaining Manchester as
2568-463: The BBC in 1994 but still produced by Granada. The company produced The Krypton Factor between 1977 and 1995 (revived by ITV in 2009). One of Granada's longest-running programmes, What The Papers Say , was broadcast by Granada in 1956, was taken over by the BBC in the early 1990s, and later by Channel 4 . The programme introduced the idea of discussing what the newspapers were reporting, continued by Sunday Supplement and The Wright Stuff . In
2675-515: The BBC. It was broadcast in November and December 2008, and a second series followed in 2010. In 2009, Left Bank's first feature film, The Damned United (adapted by Peter Morgan from the David Peace novel ) was released. Also broadcast in 2009 was the comedy series School of Comedy and the crime drama Father & Son . Comedy drama series Married Single Other was filmed for ITV and
2782-577: The British Singles Chart. Greengrass's investigation was a success, though Harries admits his own programme "didn't make a blind bit of difference". In 1981, Harries left Granada and moved into freelance producing and directing. He directed the documentary series Africa in 1984 before beginning a collaboration with Paul Yule , with whom he made four films in Peru between 1985 and 1989— Martin Chambi and
2889-619: The Crown , Brideshead Revisited , World in Action , University Challenge , Stars in Their Eyes and The Krypton Factor . Notable employees have included Paul Greengrass , Michael Apted , Mike Newell , Jeremy Isaacs , Andy Harries , Russell T Davies , Leslie Woodhead , Tony Wilson , Roland Joffe , Brian Cosgrove , Mark Hall , Brian Trueman , Michael Parkinson , Derek Granger , Gordon McDougall and Dan Walker . Granada originated as Granada Theatres Ltd, which owned cinemas in
2996-556: The Emley Moor transmitter. The weekend programme service was provided by ABC Television covering both the North and Midlands regions. Following the 1968 franchise awards, Granada Television provided the programme service from Winter Hill for all seven days of the week but lost the seven-day service from Emley Moor to Yorkshire Television . With the national launch of the UHF 625 line colour television service for both BBC1 and ITV on 15 November 1969,
3103-590: The Heirs of the Incas , Our God the Condor , Iquitos , and Mario Vargas Llosa : The Novelist Who Would Be President —and working on editions of The South Bank Show and Arena . While directing a corporate video for BT he met Jonathan Ross , who was his assistant for the day. Ross invited Harries to direct a pilot for a chat show he and Alan Marke had developed that was based on Late Night with David Letterman . The pilot
3210-542: The ITA commenced broadcasts of Granada Television on UHF channel 59 from Winter Hill, with high power relays subsequently put into service at Pendle Forest (channel 25 on 2 August 1971, the first UHF relay service to be operated by the ITA), Lancaster (channel 24 on 26 June 1972), Storeton (channel 25 in September 1979), and Saddleworth (channel 49 on 28 June 1984). Most ITV franchisees viewed their territories as stopgaps before winning
3317-757: The ITV merger in 2004, the possibility of selling the Quay Street site was considered, with staff, studios and offices moved into the adjacent bonded warehouse building. ITV anticipated the BBC would buy the land but the BBC opted to move to the Peel Group 's MediaCityUK development in Salford Quays . ITV considered relocating to Trafford Wharf across the Manchester Ship Canal from the BBC at MediaCityUK. Discussions continued for several years and an agreement in principle
Hickory House (TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-671: The JacksGap YouTube channel from 2011 until 2017. Andy Harries was born in Inverness , Scotland, on 7 April 1954 and grew up in Peterborough , England, receiving primary education at West Town Primary School until 1961, and secondary education at the public Oakham School . He grew up aspiring to be a war correspondent in Vietnam , or an investigative journalist; his idols were Harold Evans , Jon Swain and John Pilger . He left college at
3531-412: The North of England weekday franchise, the fifth franchise to go to air. It was marked by a distinctive northern identity and used a stylised letter "G" logo forming an arrow pointing north, often with the tagline "Granada: from the North". Granada plc merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc in 2004 after a duopoly had developed over the previous decade. The Granada name, as with those of
3638-552: The Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival . Left Bank Pictures has won numerous industry awards, including Best Independent Production Company at the Edinburgh TV Awards (2017) and Broadcast Awards (2018). Harries is married to filmmaker and writer Rebecca Frayn , daughter of the playwright and novelist Michael Frayn (now married to biographer Claire Tomalin ). Their twin sons, Jack and Finn , ran
3745-530: The Royal Family's tax loophole in 1991. The programme led a campaign to prove the innocence of the Birmingham Six in 1985 when researcher Chris Mullin questioned the convictions; by 1991 the men had been released from prison. The classic northern working-class soap opera, Coronation Street , began a thirteen-week, twice weekly regional run of half-hour episodes on 9 December 1960. It is still produced at
3852-664: The Special Award in Honour of Alan Clarke. 2011 saw the Royal Television Society confer a Fellowship on Harries for outstanding contributions to the broadcasting industry. He has been described by Broadcast Magazine as "one of the UK's most outstanding drama producers". Since 2007, Left Bank has produced the television series Wallander , Strike Back , Outlander (TV series) , The Replacement amongst many other acclaimed dramas. In 2016, they released The Crown ,
3959-650: The TV series Most Haunted seem to be the only sources for this claim in 2009. Twelve maps from between 1772 and 1960 show no evidence of a cemetery and buildings are shown on the bull china site from 1807. Part of the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal , which linked the River Irwell to the Rochdale Canal from 1839 to 1922, ran in a tunnel underneath the site. The studios pre-dated BBC Television Centre by four years and were
4066-582: The United Nations. Granada Television was received in what is now Greater Manchester , Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire , the south of what is now Cumbria (then Lancashire, and smaller parts of Westmorland and Yorkshire) around Barrow-in-Furness , the High Peak district of Derbyshire ( Glossop , Buxton ), the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire ( Biddulph and Leek ) and
4173-501: The advice of a friend, he applied for a position as a researcher for Granada Television in Manchester. He did not understand the appeal of television production, and as a result he was turned away at two interviews before being hired in 1976. Shortly after being hired he was taken aside by the news producer and asked to read the on-air bulletin for the nightly broadcast. He read the news for three months until one night when he condensed
4280-502: The age of 17 with poor A Level results and became a trainee reporter on the Peterborough Evening Telegraph newspaper. His time on the newspaper raised his awareness of politics, and he sought to further his understanding of it by studying at university. He applied to various northern universities to break away from his southern middle-class lifestyle, and was accepted at Hull University . Harries stayed at Hull until he
4387-504: The brand of the unified in-house production arm but on 21 September 2005, it was announced that Granada's name would no longer appear at the end of programmes. The in-house production arm was renamed ITV Productions . The change on 16 January 2006 coincided with a relaunch of ITV's on-screen graphics . Granada's name and logo were still used at the end of programmes made for other networks, such as University Challenge for BBC Two , and old programmes shown on BSkyB channels Sky One , and
Hickory House (TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-474: The channel was not as good as it once was. At the end of the year he announced that he would not be renewing his contract with the company. Entertainment industry commentators suggested that he would set up his own independent production company. Rumours that he would start his own company, possibly with Caroline Aherne, had circulated since the 1990s. The predictions came to fruition in May 2007 when Harries announced
4601-428: The coming stars in the year ahead". In Broadcast ' s Top 100 for 2010, Harries was ranked at number two in the executive producers category. He received an Academy Award nomination as producer of The Queen which saw a run of six Academy Award nominations with Helen Mirren memorably winning Best Actress. The Royal Television Society conferred a Fellowship on Harries on 23 May 2011 for outstanding contributions to
4708-475: The company bought for £82,000. The opening night featured Meet The People hosted by Quentin Reynolds and comedian Arthur Askey . Reynolds became inebriated before the broadcast and had to sober up. Granada Television was broadcast by the ITA on VHF Channel 9 (405 lines, monochrome) from the Winter Hill transmitter starting on 3 May 1956, and from 3 November 1956 on VHF channel 10 (405 lines, monochrome) from
4815-492: The company considered ITV could survive only as a single merged entity to have sufficient resources to produce big-budget programmes, a concern that increased when BSkyB began to take ITV's viewing share, leading to less advertising revenue , the source of ITV's income. David Plowright , who had worked at Granada since 1957, resigned in 1992, citing the arrival of Gerry Robinson , who had tightened departmental budgets with an uncompromising business approach. Plowright had been
4922-627: The company's driving force, producing programmes such as World in Action and Coronation Street , and promoting the Granada Studios Tour . His departure angered well-known media-industry figures; John Cleese sent Robinson a fax using "vitriolic language" that called him an "upstart caterer" (a reference to his past employment). John Birt , Harold Pinter and Alan Bennett all supported Plowright for his quality programming. The so-called " Big Five " ITV franchisees, Thames , LWT , Central , Granada, and Yorkshire were expected to take over
5029-503: The company. However, in 1992 he was accepted the position of controller of comedy at Granada and An Evening with Gary Lineker was made. Harries was disappointed that pressure from Granada's management had forced him to replace so many of the original stage cast; England was replaced by Paul Merton , leaving Caroline Quentin as the only original actor. The Edinburgh Fringe played an important role in Harries's early commissions at Granada; he
5136-429: The distinctive northern and "social realism" character of many of its network programmes, as well as the high quality of its drama and documentaries. In its prime as an independent franchisee, prior to its parent company merging with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc, it was the largest Independent Television producer in the UK, accounting for 25% of the total broadcasting output of the ITV network. Granada Television
5243-492: The early days, the pointed G logo was used on two other subsidiary businesses. Firstly came the Red Arrow Television Rental chain. During the days when many families preferred to rent their TV sets to offset poor reliability and changing fashions, and due to the high price of television receivers, this company fared well alongside the established "heavy hitters" such as Radio Rentals . The company's opening promotion
5350-661: The end of its own programmes until 31 October 2004. Granada was permitted by the government to merge with Carlton on 2 February 2004 to form ITV plc . The move was a takeover by Granada, whose market capitalisation was double that of Carlton, at nearly £2 billion. Granada owned 68% of the shares and Carlton 32%; chairman designate Michael Green was ousted by shareholders and the majority of new board members originated from Granada. Carlton employees were subsumed in Granada operations or made redundant, with three out of four new departments led by Granada staff. From 1 November 2004, Granada productions were credited "Granada Manchester",
5457-507: The end of the year he was listed in Broadcast ' s Top 100 Producers, being described as "one of the UK's most outstanding drama producers". In May 2007, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarded him the Special Award in Honour of Alan Clarke. In December 2009, the Radio Times ranked him at number six in their "Faces of 2010" feature, a compilation of "the biggest names and
SECTION 50
#17328593393515564-400: The first American-British television series produced exclusively for Netflix . The Golden Globe, SAG and Emmy winning series, written by Peter Morgan , has been very well received by critics and audiences. Their fourth feature film, Dark River was released on 23 February 2018. It was written and directed by Clio Barnard , stars Ruth Wilson , Mark Stanley , and Sean Bean . It screened in
5671-471: The first half of 1969, the famous pointed "G" logo, incorporating the upward/Northward facing arrow used previously into a letter "G" was introduced. This was to be the corporate logo for the Granada Group as a whole (also seen as the logo for Granada's TV rentals firm), so it was introduced to their ITV franchise as a matter of course rather than the ITV franchise choosing to adopt the new branding. This logo
5778-424: The first purpose-built television studios in the United Kingdom. Bernstein exaggerated the scale of the studios, to make Granada appear a rival to the BBC, and gave the studios only even numbers so that it appeared there were twelve despite there only being six. The studios were operated by 3sixtymedia , ITV Studios' joint-venture company with BBC Resources Ltd from 2000. The studios later hosted shows displaced by
5885-528: The formation of Left Bank Pictures , which BBC Worldwide immediately took a 25% share in. Left Bank was the first British production house to receive investment from BBC Worldwide, and there was some concern that there was a conflict of interest for the publicly funded BBC; in The Guardian , Steve Hewlett wrote that the deal was a "back-door way of getting around the rules preventing the BBC producing programmes for its British rivals". Hewlett also commented that
5992-401: The former Sky Two (now Sky Replay) and Sky Three (now Sky Mix), until 2009. On 13 November 2006, Granada lost its on-air identity when regional programming voiced ITV1 or ITV1 Granada over a generic ident. Local news coverage was branded Granada News except for the main 18.00 Granada Reports bulletin. Granada Reports ' main rival is BBC North West Tonight , broadcast to roughly
6099-467: The global market, and the ITV franchises began to consolidate with the aim of creating a single company with a larger budget. The Broadcasting Act of 1990 instigated the 1991 franchise auction round, in which companies had to bid for the regions. Mersey Television , a company producing the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside , bid £35m compared to Granada's £9m but Granada won as Mersey's package did not meet
6206-426: The increase in income, Granada tried to renegotiate the contract; Associated-Rediffusion refused, souring relations for many years. The deal was worth over £8m to Rediffusion. By the early 1960s Granada was established and its soap opera Coronation Street quickly became popular, as did inexpensive game shows such as Criss Cross Quiz and University Challenge . In the 1968 franchise round, Granada's contract
6313-403: The investment might limit Left Bank's future prospects, as it was "tied to" the BBC. At Left Bank, Harries proposed to produce two features films per year, as well as several television series. The company's first television commission is Wallander , a three-part series based on Henning Mankell 's Kurt Wallander novels. The series was made in association with Swedish company Yellow Bird for
6420-566: The lowest profits of the quartet. Granada sought the help of Associated-Rediffusion , the London weekday station, which agreed to underwrite Granada's debts in exchange for a percentage of its profits, without the consent of the ITA, who would have blocked it. Granada accepted the deal, but the popularity of ITV increased and profitability followed. Analysts questioned how Associated-Rediffusion, ABC and ATV were making annual profits of up to £2.7m by 1959 and yet Granada's profits were under £1m. With
6527-411: The multi-award-winning Disappearing World series (between 1969 and 1993) and, from 1984, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Jewel in the Crown for an international audience. These shows were sold overseas by Granada Television International . Another flagship programme, the long-running quiz show , University Challenge was originally aired between 1962 and 1987. It was revived by
SECTION 60
#17328593393516634-435: The network, courting the ire of its director of channels David Liddiment. In September 2000, Harries's portfolio was significantly expanded when he was appointed Granada's controller of drama, following the resignations of Sue Hogg and Simon Lewis. 2002 commissions included Doctor Zhivago and Henry VIII . ITV would provide only £750,000 for each hour of the serials, so Harries approached US broadcaster WGBH to make up
6741-582: The news. Morrison's remarks angered Harries to such a point that he assaulted the man. Aware that he was going to lose his job, he contacted a Granada colleague who got him a new job at Granada's London centre, which he took up at the age of 23. Pursuing his interest in investigative journalism, Harries worked as a researcher on the current affairs programme World in Action , where he met Paul Greengrass . While Greengrass achieved success in exposing alleged corruption involving Manchester United F.C. chairman Louis Edwards , Harries investigated irregularities in
6848-463: The north is a closely knit, indigenous, industrial society; a homogeneous cultural group with a good record for music, theatre, literature and newspapers, not found elsewhere in this island, except perhaps in Scotland. Compare this with London and its suburbs — full of displaced persons. And, of course, if you look at a map of the concentration of population in the north and a rainfall map, you will see that
6955-407: The north is an ideal place for television". Bernstein selected a base from Leeds and Manchester. Granada executive Victor Peers believed Manchester was the preferred choice even before executives toured the region to find a suitable site. Granada Studios , designed by architect Ralph Tubbs , was built on a site on Quay Street in Manchester city centre belonging to Manchester City Council , which
7062-500: The northern hub, and an £80m move to MediaCityUK on 25 March 2013, ITV appears to be committed to the Granada region for the foreseeable future. In the eighteen months between the award of the franchise and the start of transmission, Granada built a brand new studio complex on Quay Street . The site was reportedly previously a cemetery for pauper's graves , where 22,000 people were buried. An article in The Sun newspaper and an episode of
7169-550: The numerous awards for which it was nominated were the BAFTA Award for Best Film and the Academy Award for Best Picture (the former it won). Despite the success of the film, Harries once again expressed disappointment with ITV for not giving enough backing. In an interview the month before The Queen was released he criticised the management of ITV for being deeply complacent and arrogant, and expressed disappointment that drama on
7276-422: The other ITV companies and by the BBC at its original Manchester studios . The investment in new studios in 1954 contributed to Granada struggling financially, and the company was close to insolvency by late 1956. All four ITA franchisees were expected to make losses in the first few years of operation, but Granada's was a significant sum of £175,000 (nearly £3.5m in 2011). When it first became profitable, it had
7383-560: The other former regional licence holders, is only referenced onscreen during regional news bulletins and the weeknight regional news magazine; ITV Broadcasting Limited operates the service with national ITV branding and continuity. The North West region is regarded as ITV's most successful franchise. Nine Granada programmes were listed in the BFI TV 100 in 2000. Some of its most notable programmes include Sherlock Holmes , Coronation Street , Seven Up! , The Royle Family , The Jewel in
7490-514: The pointed G logo, made slightly thinner and placed in a box at the top of the screen. The dual branding of Granada Television and ITV lasted until 28 October 2002, when regional identities were dropped in favour of the new ITV1 channel brand. The celebrities ident package featured plain ITV1 idents for all national programmes, and Granada Television placed under the ITV1 logo for regional programmes. This practice continued until 16 January 2006, when no name
7597-555: The proposed closure of the Yorkshire Television studios in Leeds in 2009, including Channel 4's Countdown. In September 2010, the noted 1950s red landmark "Granada TV" sign on the roof and entrance of Granada Studios on Quay Street was removed for safety reasons after maintenance found it was badly corroded. The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) now owns the sign, deeming it important to Manchester's cultural heritage. After
7704-531: The rate of three one-hour peak-time episodes a week after over sixty years, and is the longest-running television soap opera in the world. Such set-pieces as Siege Week and the 2010 Tram Crash were filmed at the studio. The company also produced gritty drama series such as A Family at War (1970–72), set during the Second World War. Granada produced The Stars Look Down (1975), Laurence Olivier Presents (1976–78), Brideshead Revisited (1981),
7811-616: The remaining divisions passing to rival company Carlton due to competition laws. A year later, it acquired Border from Capital Radio Group. By 2002, Granada had established an effective duopoly of ITV with Carlton Television , owning all the ITV companies in England and Wales. The remaining franchises in Scotland, ( Scottish and Grampian ), UTV in Northern Ireland, and Channel in the Channel Islands , remained independent. Granada
7918-421: The remaining funds. Following the merging of Granada Films with Granada Productions in 2002, Harries's brief was expanded to include films. 2003 was a significant year for Harries's drama output; Peter Morgan approached Granada with an idea for a drama documenting the conjectured pact between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before the 1994 Labour Party leadership election . Granada's chief executive Charles Allen
8025-533: The same region. In 2009, ITV removed the Granada brand from all departments including its international production arm, Granada America which became ITV Studios America. End credits on programmes made at The Manchester Studios were credited to ITV Studios . ITV made cutbacks, dropping 600 jobs in 2009, which effectively closed the Yorkshire Television Leeds Studios; more redundancies were made in London, leaving Granada relatively unscathed. In
8132-430: The ship canal on Trafford Wharf. Planning permission was granted, and building work began on 6 September 2011 with the goal of completion in 2012. ITV Granada moved to MediaCityUK on 25 March 2013. Throughout its history, Granada Television used the logo of an arrow pointing northwards in idents, often accompanied by the tagline "from the North". Sidney Bernstein wanted to present a northern identity. Granada Television
8239-639: The south of England. It was founded in Dover in 1930 by Sidney Bernstein and his brother Cecil; it was named after the Spanish city of Granada , which Sidney had visited on a holiday. The company was incorporated as Granada Ltd in 1934 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1935; Granada Theatres Ltd became a subsidiary of the new company. In the 1950s, the Bernsteins became involved in commercial television,
8346-411: The star Helen Mirren quit in 1995. Mirren agreed to return for Prime Suspect: The Last Witness only if it was "about something". Two years later it returned for the seventh and final serial, entitled The Final Act , in which Jane Tennison, Mirren's character, confronts her alcoholism in a sub-plot. Lynda La Plante , who created Prime Suspect in 1989, was critical of the decision to "make [Tennison]
8453-685: The ten smaller franchises. Granada wanted to consolidate with Yorkshire and Tyne Tees to "counter the potential dominance of the south east", and the prospect of being taken over by Thames. Granada made a hostile bid for LWT in December 1993, but LWT believed Granada had "little to offer" despite having three times the market capitalisation; Granada, however, completed the take-over in 1994. Granada continued to expand by acquiring Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television for £652m in 1997 and bought UNM 's television assets for £1.75 billion in 2000 – by which it acquired Anglia and Meridian and some divisions of HTV –
8560-421: The top of the screen, containing the pointed "G", against a plain white background accompanied by the same music as previously. Variations were seen from which the stripe formed from a falling feather or was backlit. On 2 May 1992, the stripe descended to reveal a rainbow of colours before becoming the usual blue and this ident stays on screen until 1 January 1995. On 3 January 1994, Granada Television introduced
8667-415: The word "GRANADA" between two horizontal lines was introduced, the channel used captions and animations featuring a thin arrow pointing upwards and Granada, in a stylised font, in boxes. The arrow pointed at the "n" in Granada, pointing north and sometimes animated revealing the slogan "From the North", before the Granada name. After the use of the word "GRANADA" between two horizontal lines was phased out in
8774-451: The writer at the time. They proposed it to Red Dwarf writer Rob Grant , who liked the idea, and wrote all six episodes. Dark Ages aired nightly during the Christmas 1999 period. A second series was proposed—Harries said it would "hit its stride" then—but ITV did not recommission it. My Wonderful Life was another ratings disaster. Harries blamed ITV Network Centre and publicly criticised
8881-479: Was "like the Queen ". Already in pre-production was a follow-up to The Deal that would focus on the royal family in the week following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales . Peter Morgan was due to return as the writer, Stephen Frears was signed on as director and Harries suggested to Mirren that she play the Queen. Mirren agreed and the film, co-produced by Granada and Pathé , was released in September 2006. Among
8988-623: Was 21, though continued to work at the Evening Telegraph during holidays. At university he developed an interest in music journalism and found an outlet for this by writing reviews for Melody Maker . After leaving Hull, Harries moved to London to work for the Southern News Service news agency , writing diary pieces for the Daily Mail and News of the World from 1975 to 1976. On
9095-505: Was Mel and Sue's first programme made for ITV following the success of Light Lunch for Channel 4. Casting Couch had low viewing figures and was not recommissioned. It was one of several comedies commissioned by Harries in 1999 that were produced by Justin Judd. Others included Dark Ages and My Wonderful Life . Judd and Harries began developing Dark Ages —a sitcom set at the turn of the 2nd millennium —in 1997 but could not make it work with
9202-400: Was a computer-animated pointed "G" against a graded background and a cake covered in candles in the pointed G shape. On 1 September 1986, Granada Television reverted to using a caption featuring a gold or chrome 3D pointed "G" on a graded blue background. Granada Television used in-vision continuity featuring northern personalities giving messages. It was common for the logo to be seen for
9309-476: Was a social experiment which followed the lives of 14 British children aged seven. It tracked their lives at seven-year intervals to discover whether their hopes and aspirations had been achieved. The documentary was voted the greatest ever by esteemed filmmakers and its latest installment, 63 Up , premiered in 2019. Seven Up was part of the World in Action documentary series between 1963 and 1998, which won awards but
9416-422: Was a success and Ross found a television audience with The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross , which first aired in 1988. Harries formed a production company called Sleeping Partners with Greengrass in the latter part of the decade, which produced Ross's The Incredibly Strange Film Show and comedian Lenny Henry 's Lenny Live and Unleashed film. The latter was directed by Harries and was edited together from
9523-554: Was already suffering from competition with the internet. The failure of ITV Digital cost Granada and Carlton losses estimated at over £1 billion reducing the company's value from 2001 to 2003. On 28 October 2002, in a network-wide relaunch , Granada was rebranded as ITV1 Granada. The Granada name was shown before regional programmes, but this has ceased; its name has all but disappeared from screens, as have all other ITV regional identities. Since rebranding, all continuity announcements are made from London. The Granada logo appeared at
9630-512: Was apparent. Kenneth Clark , of the ITA , which let the franchise, remarked: "We did not quite foresee how much Granada Television would develop a character which distinguishes it most markedly from the other programmes companies and from the BBC." Peter Salmon , of the BBC said: "Granada Television made TV programmes in the north west; for northerners, reflecting northern culture and attitudes." From its launch in 1956 until 1968, when an ident featuring
9737-798: Was based around football and received respectable reviews. Harries was interested in producing more comedy dramas, based on the success of American programmes like Thirtysomething , and assigned Granada producer Christine Langan to work with Bullen. Langan and Bullen developed Cold Feet , which was broadcast in 1997 and was commissioned for a full series in 1998. It won the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2002, which Harries collected with Bullen and Spencer Campbell . Harries executive produced two more series of Bullen's; Life Begins (2004–2006) and All About George (2005). His first panel show produced came in 1999 with Mel and Sue 's Casting Couch . The show
9844-694: Was broadcast in 2010. Harries executive produced the third part of Peter Morgan's "Blair trilogy", The Special Relationship , for HBO Films and BBC Films . It was first broadcast on the HBO networks in the United States in May 2010. On 23 August 2012, Sony Pictures Television acquired a majority stake in Left Bank. In 2017, Left Bank produced The Replacement for BBC One which went on to win Best Television Scripted at BAFTA Scotland . The Crown
9951-448: Was changed from weekdays across the northern England region to the whole week in the North West from Winter Hill transmitting station. Yorkshire was defined as a separate region and the contract awarded to Yorkshire Television , broadcasting from Emley Moor transmitting station; its transmissions could be received in parts of North Lincolnshire . Bernstein was angered by the decision to split "Granadaland", and claimed he would appeal to
10058-469: Was commissioned by Harries from Aherne in 1999; Mrs Merton and Malcolm was based around Mrs Merton and her son Malcolm, played by Craig Cash . The programme was Aherne's first critical failure, which Harries blamed on the BBC One schedulers. In 1995 he commissioned a comedy drama on spec from Mike Bullen , a BBC radio producer and first-time writer. Like An Evening with Gary Lineker , The Perfect Match
10165-498: Was considered "bolder", " gritty " and more " Socialist " in its identity than the other more "sedate" and " Conservative " ITV franchisees and the BBC, and placed great emphasis displaying the northern style which distinguished it from them. Bernstein believed the north had "untapped creative energy" that needed cultivation. Granada was one of the few regions that did not play the national anthem at closedown . In 1958, two years after its launch, Granada Television's northern style
10272-483: Was controversial. It garnered a reputation for hard-hitting investigative journalism and its producer Gus Macdonald commented that the programme was "born brash". Paul Greengrass said that David Plowright told him, "don't forget, your job's to make trouble." World in Action demonstrated hard-hitting investigative journalism and explored issues such as police corruption at the Metropolitan Police in 1985 and
10379-517: Was founded by Sidney Bernstein at Granada Studios on Quay Street in Manchester and is the only surviving franchisee of the original four Independent Television Authority franchisees from 1954. It covers Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, and parts of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cumbria, and North Yorkshire. In 2009, the Isle of Man was transferred to Granada from ITV Border . Broadcasting by Granada Television began on 3 May 1956 under
10486-531: Was in a poor financial state and closed the Granada Studios Tour in 2001, citing decreasing visitor figures. The real reason was the decision to increase production of episodes for Coronation Street to five per week. Without access to that set, the highlight of the tour, the Granada Studios Tour venture was no longer viable. The company also closed Granada Film. The emergence of digital television cut ITV's viewing share, decreasing advertising revenue, which
10593-404: Was not fond of traditional styles of comedy and was always looking for alternative comedians. These included Caroline Aherne , Steve Coogan and John Thomson (though Coogan "got away" from him after the BBC offered to produce his Alan Partridge shows). After the failure of Bhundu Beat , Harries commissioned Peter Morgan to write "Mickey Love" in 1993, one of a series of short comedy films for
10700-441: Was not keen on producing The Deal but Harries and John Whiston persuaded him otherwise. ITV initially agreed to show it but pulled out before filming began. Harries offered it to Channel 4, who took it within 24 hours. The Deal was a critical success and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama. That same year Harries brought back the drama serial Prime Suspect , which had not been produced since
10807-520: Was originally white on a grey background (although occasionally seen as black on a white background) but after the introduction of colour, grey was replaced with blue (after a short period of using white symbol/yellow lettering/purple background), with the GRANADA name in white and the G symbol in yellow. A colour emblem was used from the 1970s until it was replaced by a series of idents to celebrate Granada Television's 30th anniversary on 3 May 1986, when it
10914-616: Was reached in 2008. In March 2009, in the recession, Granada announced it would remain at Quay Street, but after a change of management, talks resumed in January 2010. Two years later, on 16 December 2010, Granada announced it would move to the Orange Building in MediaCityUK alongside the University of Salford . It planned to build a studio to produce Coronation Street on the opposite bank of
11021-511: Was released on 23 February 2018. Written and directed by Clio Barnard , it stars Ruth Wilson , Mark Stanley , and Sean Bean . It screened in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival . Left Bank Pictures has won various industry awards, including Best Independent Production Company at the Edinburgh TV Awards (2017) and Broadcast Awards (2018). Left Bank's inception lead to Harries being listed in The Guardian ' s Media Top 100, making his entry at number 66. At
11128-448: Was to give every new customer a small, Hiawatha-style figurine to stand on top of their new TV set. Upon its success, the name was later changed to Granada TV Rental. Based on the results of this company, Granada Television dipped its toes into the office furniture rental business, and carpet sales and fitting for larger business customers, with Black Arrow. This business was less successful. In 1958, Granada Television broadcast coverage of
11235-435: Was used, and Granada Productions was replaced with ITV Productions on programme end boards. The Granada Television logo continued on end boards until this date. The Granada name was used on announcements before local programming over a generic ITV1 ident until all non-news regional programming was scrapped. On 14 January 2013, ITV1 reverted to its original name of ITV , along with all other ITV plc-owned franchises. During
11342-447: Was used, from a variety of angles, until 7 November 1999, by which point additional idents based on surreal surroundings, such as a fish blowing a bubble with a G inside, which floated to the surface, or a camera zoom into the eye of a housewife to reveal the G in her eye, were introduced on 2 September 1996. All of the idents were replaced on 8 November 1999 when Granada Television took the generic hearts idents . Granada Television kept
11449-453: Was written by Harries's wife, Rebecca Frayn. The same year, he developed a script with Peter Morgan called Bhundu Beat , a film described by Variety as "a bizarre remake of A Hard Day's Night featuring the briefly fashionable Zimbabwean band the Bhundu Boys and Brit comic Lenny Henry". With a development budget of £ 2,000, Harries sent Morgan on a research trip to Zimbabwe , taking
#350649