BBC North of England News 1951 – 1962
The BBC Television Service came to the North of England in October 1951 when black and white 405 line broadcasting in the VHF band began from Holme Moss, on the Pennine moors between Leeds and Manchester.The Pontop Pike TV transmitter started broadcasting in the North East of England on 1st May 1953.On Sept 30th 1957 the BBC regional news programme “News of the North” produced in Dickenson Road studios in Manchester was first broadcast to the whole of the north of England from Holme Moss and Pontop Pike. The first presenters of “News of the North in 1957 were Tom Nasiby, Philip Dobson, Roger Moffat and Randle Herley. When “North at 6 started in 1962, lots of new ideas were tried out and Colin Welland (of Z-Cars fame) presented the programme wearing a black open necked shirt!! (Source: “2ZY to NBH by Ian Hartley, Willow Publishing)In 1959 production was moved from Dickenson Road to Studio N in Broadcasting House in Piccadilly Gardens in the centre of Manchester.
North at 6 1962 – 1968
In 1962 Pontop Pike started broadcasting the BBC Newcastle regional opt out “Home at 6 to the North East, and the Holme Moss opt-out covering Lancashire and Yorkshire was re-named “North at 6”.
Look North Manchester 25th March 1968
It wasn’t until 25th March 1968 that the North West got its own dedicated regional news programme, “Look North”. It was when the 625 line UHF service from Emley Moor started, and Leeds broadcast their first edition of “Look North.Until then BBC1 was broadcast across what became the Granada and Yorkshire regions from one principal Band 1 transmitter at Holme Moss. However, ITV used two transmitters because of their higher Band 3 frequencies and more limited transmission capabilities – Winter Hill for West of the Pennines (Granada) and Emley Moor for East of the Pennines (Yorkshire). Up to 30th July 1968 they both transmitted Granada weekdays and ABC weekends. In 1967 ITA decided to split the North into two franchises – Granada and Yorkshire starting 30th July 1968.
This left the BBC with a dilemma as in theory from July 1968 ITV would have separate regional news services for Lancashire and Yorkshire whereas by virtue of their one transmitter the BBC would only be able to provide a pan regional service – clearly a weaker proposition. So what they did was to acquire a Band 3 frequency/transmitter at Winter Hill operational from earlier in 1968. This meant that they could now provide separate Look North programmes from Manchester and Leeds.
The Manchester version was broadcast from Winter Hill and the Leeds version from Holme Moss.This was an ingenious solution as virtually everyone west of the Pennines already had Band 3 aerials pointed at Winter Hill for ITV so could now also receive BBC1 from there. They would also continue to receive BBC1 from Holme Moss on their Band 1 aerials but with the Leeds Look North. This solution effectively remained until 405 line VHF transmitters were closed in 1984.It enabled the BBC to beat ITV in providing separate news services east and west of the Pennines without really inconveniencing viewers as they didn’t need a new aerial or set.
Look North Manchester 1970s
In the early 70s Look North Manchester was mainly presented by Stuart Hall, but Gerald Harrison (one of the reporters) would step in on odd occasions. Frank Mellor was the Lake District correspondent and Tony Gubba was Liverpool reporter. Other reporters were Nick Clark (went on to Radio 4’s PM) and Paul Burden (business). Ian Masters was the presentation announcer. The programme was produced from Studio N in Broadcasting House, which was above Barclays Bank in Piccadilly.
Some behind the scenes shots from 1979 of the Look North set in Studio N, Broadcasting House, Piccadilly, Manchester.
