Neville Wanless and closedown on Tyne Tees

It's 1981 and Tyne Tees Television announcer Neville Wanless says good night and has a special message for the engineers at the local transmitter. Plus the Tyne Tees clock (the time here at Tyne Tees is just coming up to the twentieth century). And don't forget to unplug your set! Proof that television was so much more exciting in those days -- it could burn your house down at any moment!

By the way, Tyne Tees didn't fade up the audio of the national anthem too late, I've cut out that bit of sound myself. When I recorded this in 1980 I was messing around feeding a tape player into the VCR. So the original VHS recording has Kenny Everett saying 'the only station with Queen Anne legs'. Which ruins the effect a bit.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• tyne
• tees
• announcers
• closedown
• national
• anthem
• clock
• itv

[SLOPPYTHESLOWORM]

This is how regional ITV ought to be, the wonderful Mr Wanless telling us to drive carefully and hoping we can join Cathy tomorrow. Only a Government as blind to British culture as the present one would have allowed the total decimation of regional ITV. Tyne Tees was a part of the North East regional fabric and well-loved. The station would have been 50 this year. Has that fact EVER been announced on the vile pap that is ITV1? I think not!

[doubledeckers]

Well said and now licence fee payers are having to pay up to £300m to move BBC departments to Salford. Which is partly an attempt to replace the regional ITV broadcasters that were destroyed by greed but also the BBC production centres that existed but were then run down for no good reason (Pebble Mill, BBC Newcastle). In effect the cost of the move to Salford is nothing more than public money being handed to ITV shareholders.

[crusher19860138]

Plenty of ghosting on the picture,especially the clock-i will miss analogue tv!!!

[doubledeckers]

It depended on how windy it was. My dad was too mean to get a new aerial. In the end I had to pay for one!

[doubledeckers]

I didn't know Felling had been bypassed? That's shocking!

[doubledeckers]

You're quite right. We had an ancient TV aerial at the time.

[DAVIDUK2381]

Thats when TV was personal - unlike the faceless crap we have to put up with these days. I mean Tyne Tees and Border news for Christs sake!!

[northernanorak]

Emley Moor was the Regional Operations Centre which would have been monitoring and remotely controlling Pontop Pike and Bilsdale.

[Reayism]

On the 15th January 1959 a great institution of north eastern tv was launched. "Tyne Tees Television".Early this year I watched the YouTube videos of the studios getting pulled down by bull dozers and cranes. My heart absolutely sank!!! I could'nt contain my composer as I had to walk away from my computer to bust out crying... I did this for a solid half hour!!! I miss the guys who used to announce our birthdays and regional programmes.

[MrBrownberry]

we could pick up Tyne Tees here in Bradford, agree with sloppy entirely, this is CLASS and STYLE - NOT the blandness of ITV 1 - definitely not in my book, anyway!!

[BuddyFantastic]

agreed Sloppy, and i think having a flesh and blood continuity presenter, as opposed to a "flat straight to the point voice over," gave a more friendlier impression of the regional station(s)

[BuddyFantastic]

well, at least he reminded folk to make sure they pulled out the socket after they switched off their T.V's. lol

[BuddyFantastic]

Okay, back in the 1980's my regional (now defunct) TV station was Grampian....but when visiting my relatives in Lemington outside of Newcastle, we'd of course, be watching TTTV, I remember Neville Wanless. Brings back a few memories allright.