Tonight’s ATV… in 1972 

20 December 2014 tbs.pm/5891

From the TVTimes for Wednesday 20 December 1972 comes this run down of what you could be watching on ATV Midlands. Things worth noting:

  • No schools programmes due to the Christmas break, but ATV still slides in two pieces of adult education: For the World and Better Driving
  • The Saint at 3.30pm is in black and white
  • Muriel Young’s popular music show Lift Off with Ayshea has two more years to run. Ayshea Hague is now 66
  • Granada shift Crown Court from 1.30pm to a bigger audience reach at 6.30, having knocked Crossroads down to 4pm
  • What The Papers Say isn’t carried by any of the regions shown except for originator Granada and Southern – it only tended to appear in regions with a strong newspaper publishing sector
  • Public Eye began on ABC in 1965 and ran for ten years, being carried across on to Thames and in to colour
  • David Janssen vehicle O’Hara: US Treasury had already been cancelled by CBS after one guest-star-packed season. Tonight’s famous face: Ricardo Montalban

You Say

6 responses to this article

Arthur Nibble 21 December 2014 at 3:27 pm

Strange to think Thames, with its region’s printing traditions, Fleet Street and all that, didn’t appear to show “What the Papers Say”.

An unusual sporadic listing of ITV companies after the programmes, i.e. not at all in some cases.

A couple of spelling errors (I know, pot calling the kettle black), with Eamonn Andrews and Tony Hazzard receiving new identities. Tony Hazzard’s next single release in January ’73 had a B-side called “Paul McCartney”. As for Community Chest, ironically, “You’ve Got To Start Somewhere” seems to have been their sole single release. Nice story about Ayshea falling into a cowpat just before the programme lsistings.

Kif Bowden-Smith 22 December 2014 at 1:41 pm

Sorry Arthur, Jessica’s wording was ambiguous here. What the Papers Say WAS indeed fully broadcast in the London region throughout it’s life on ITV. Both Rediffusion and Thames retransmitted it – usually about half an hour later than Granada (it was pre-recorded).

The point Jessica was making above is that it was only shown on Southern, of the regional variations quoted here, in this Midland edition of the TV Times.

Just for reference it was shown throughout the ITV WTPS life on Granada and Rediffusion/Thames, and for part of the ITV life of WTPS on Southern, ATV Midlands, Scottish & Grampian. The last two had big publishing sectors in Glasgow and Dundee respectively of course and the show was seen in the print industry as almost a house journal.
Sorry for this ambiguity. Oddly, when the Granada region was split in 1968, Yorkshire TV did not carry on with the programme.

Kif Bowden-Smith 22 December 2014 at 1:43 pm

I should add that at one point, Thames were showing it a whole day behind Granada, which probably accounts for this period.

ArthurNibble 23 December 2014 at 2:01 pm

Sorry to have caused any trouble. None meant. These TV Times retrospectives are brilliant.

Alan Keeling 16 February 2016 at 9:43 am

When programme hours were extended in October 1972, the 3.30 pm slot was often given to either monochrome repeats of The Saint, Danger Man or videotaped drama series. O Hara United States Treasury, only ran for 26 episodes & was not screened nationwide, only by ATV & STV.

Alan Keeling 14 May 2016 at 8:29 pm

The return of the TV swashbuckling series was heralded by 1972’s prestige “Arthur of the Britains”, violence was a plenty. The U.S. title of this series was “Arthur the King”.

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