Seven star days each week! 

16 May 2023 tbs.pm/78912

29th July, 1968 is a bright Monday for the Midlands. ATV Network starts transmitting seven days a week. Top talent will make the Midlands shine as the heart of entertainment Here’s some of the New Deal from ATV.

PLAYS Sir Laurence Olivier introduces a wide-ranging series of short plays. Casts include Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Caine, Paul Scofield, Richard Attenborough. Big new production of “Twelfth Night” with Sir Alec Guinness, Tommy Steele, Sir Ralph Richardson, Joan Plowright. Norman Wisdom stars in a specially written play (and also in his own series of hour-long spectaculars).

DRAMA SERIES World-famous stars in the new “Love Story” series include George Maharis, Nyree Dawn Porter, Eric Porter, Lynn Redgrave, Charles Gray, Keith Michell. Two great new series from Wilfred Greatorex (creator of “The Power Game” and “The Planemakers”). One stars Patrick Wymark, is titled “Special Envoy”. The other is “Hine – Super Salesman”. Watch too for the unusual new series “Mystery is My Name”.

FILM SERIES Roger Moore crashes through new adventures of ‘The Saint”. Also completed – 30 action-packed episodes of “The Champions” starring Stuart Damon, Alexandra Bastedo and William Gaunt. This series has been sold to the National Broadcasting Corporation of America. Another big NBC deal covers a new crime series, tentatively titled “Strange Report”. Monty Berman will produce a senes with the working title of “Department S”. Gerry Anderson, inventor of “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons” and “Thunderbirds”, is back with “Joe 90”. an exciting series for early-evening viewers.

SPECIAL FEATURES The lavishly beautiful productions entitled “A Golden Hour” won widespread acclaim. Three new “Golden Hours” will be produced, and one of these will star the great Maria Callas.

LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT Dud gets together with Pete. George is reunited with the Dragon. A series of situation comedies starring Millicent Martin. Jimmy Tarbuck and Des O’Connor have their own shows.

DOCUMENTARIES “The Last Explorers” – one of a series of major productions filmed by Adrian Cowell in Brazil. The spirit of a new university is examined in “University of Warwick”. There’s a fascinating programme about the new-style British actor and his domination of world box offices.

ATV Midlands-the heart of Britain

ATV NETWORK LIMITED

LONDON
17 Great Cumberland Place, London W1.
(01-262 8040)

BIRMINGHAM
150 Edmund St. Birmingham 3
(021-236 5191)

MANCHESTER
Television House, Mount St, Manchester 2
(061-834 3130)

ATV plans to feed the three Midlands transmitters with programmes from the most up-to-date T.V. studio centre in the world which is being built in the heart of Birmingham It will have the latest colour equipment, enabling ATV to provide colour programmes from the Midlands over the entire ITV network to the whole of Britain.