Jane Merrow – acts and chats

The whole world is in a state of upheaval currently.  Hang on for the ride!! Actually I think it always was, it’s just that we hear about it, read about it, watch it more, thanks to  the ever developing technology.   The world has shrunk – I often feel that each country is right next door when I am in one of my two countries the UK and the US ….strange.

  I am sorry that the BBC News is in such a pickle at the moment.   The BBC (or the Beeb, as it is often called) has made a few blunders in recent years.  But not often in the News.  This, because some ill-advised executives, thought it a good idea to blur the lines and turn the News into ‘entertainment’, by some crass editing and present a skewed story. Maybe they felt that BBC News had to be cutting edge, be provocative, challenging the narrative and in doing so, they damaged the reputation of the steady, respected news organisation. The BBC has often been bold and has done some amazing stories in its special affairs programming like Panorama.   This is not what the BBC News  is or was meant to be, it was a trusted source of current real news and it has been forced into fake, manufactured news.   Sad.  I hope the right people come along and get it back on track again. All who worked there and those who work there now deserve better.

Much of my work has been for the BBC, starting with a children television series ( a stalwart of BBC drama in the 1960’s) – ” Lorna Doone” – my first job.  What a delight that was.  Working in this wonderful, romantic  classic story with Bill Travers, Nigel Stock, Patricia Brake, Andrew Faulds, Jean Anderson, Meg Wynne Owen, Terrence de Marney.  We filmed on Exmoor for the exteriors and then taped all the interriors in the BBC studios in Bristol – the way TV drama was made in thos days- now it’s all on film. I remember being picked up the Floor Manager James(Jimmy) Cellan Jones ( he became Head of Drama at the Beeb) and riding from my hotel to the studios in Bristol on the back of his little motor bike.  Happy memories of Patty Brake and me doing some extra filming in the studio on a sled amidst fake snow and being very unprofessional as we collapsed in helpless giggles in this weird stuff.  I remember the Director Brandon Acton Bond using fruity language from the production box to give directions to Jimmy, received through his headphones to transmit to us on the production floor.   Jimmy would just shrug and smile.  Such vivid and fond memories of working for this great institution.

I worked on many more Productions for the Beeb, “Jane Eyre”, “The World That Summer”, “The Birth of a Private Man’” written by the great David Mercer,   I played Tony Garnett’s sister in that production. (Pictured above).Tony went on to be a wonderful  Producer working with Ken Loach. I played Julia in George Orwell’s ” 1984″,  I played Ian Hendry’s girl friend in “A Suitable Case for Treatment”also by David Mercer and was in many more wonderful television plays for the BBC…truly a golden age.  The quality of the work was outstanding and I am so proud to have been a part of it.  Sadly there is no in-house drama anymore, it’s all outsourced.  I suppose it had to be, given the cost of production. 

All the names I have mentioned in this story have made their mark in our business. You will find them all on a search engine if you want to know more. This is just a taste of those glorious, happy days at the BBC. It is and was a great institution and I believe that it will recover from this sad incident, return to its traditional roots and retake its rightful position among the great newscasters.

Maybe if I ever get round to doing some kind of autobiography, I will expand on those days.  Don’t hold your breath!