Bristol on TV in the 1970s

Children Of The Stones Painting

We hear a lot about modern Bristol filming locations and connections, but I decided to take a look at the 1970's to see what Bristol connections I could find.

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1972)

"A couple uses extremely black comedy to survive taking care of a daughter who is nearly completely brain-dead. They take turns doing the daughter's voice and stare into the eyes of death and emotional trauma with a humor that hides their pain." (IMDB)

See more locations at Reel Streets.

Deadly Strangers (1975)

"Amidst public warnings of a dangerous patient who's escaped from a mental hospital, a young Belle Adams (Hayley Mills) hitches rides on the highway with various assortment of motorists." (IMDB)

See more locations at Reel Streets.

The Changes (1975)

The Changes imagines a Britain plunged into chaos when a mysterious, deafening noise emitted by machinery and modern technology drives people to destroy anything mechanical or electrical.

As society collapses, much of the population is displaced and Britain returns to a pre-industrial way of life. Technology becomes an object of fear and suspicion, with anyone suspected of possessing machinery facing hostility. Even speaking about technology becomes taboo.

The few surviving reminders of the modern world, including electricity pylons, provoke an intense physical revulsion among the population, sometimes triggering violent reactions.

The resulting society might, at first glance, appear to have taken some of the Bristol Greens' environmental principles to their ultimate extreme: dramatically reduced energy consumption, an end to motorised transport and a return to simpler, low-impact living. However, unlike the Greens' stated commitment to a sustainable future, the inhabitants of The Changes have abandoned modern technology altogether — and their rejection of it is enforced through fear, intolerance and sometimes violence.

Sophie Neville has published photos of the crew filming the series.

This was a distinctive director with red hair called John Prowse filming a drama serial called The Changes on location in Bristol in back 1975 when wooden tripods were used with 16mm cameras and portable monitors hadn’t been developed.

If you see men walking down the street with a telephone box it is probably an indication that there is a film crew nearby.

Darren Setter is a man after my own heart and spent a lot of time tracking down many of the Bristol locations that featured in "The Changes".

In episode 1, a sudden compulsion to destroy mechanical objects affects everyone. Nicky and her family leave for France, but are separated in the chaos. Filming of these scenes took place at the end of Arno's Street in the Totterdown district. Here's Bernard Horsfall as Mr Gore...

Still in Totterdown, Nicky, at the top of Vale street, spots the Sikhs walking along Arno's Street…

You can see Darren's full list in the document below.

The Changes locations in Bristol

List collated by Darren Setter

The Changes locations in Bristol.pdf

2 MB

Survivors (1976)

A deadly virus, accidentally released in China, spreads internationally through modern transport networks. Within weeks, society collapses. Electricity, water supplies, healthcare, communications and government cease functioning.

In Britain, the few surviving people find themselves surrounded by deserted towns, abandoned vehicles and houses containing the dead.

The EOFFTV Review

The criticism levelled the most at Survivors is that it’s often a little like cosy, suburban, self-sufficiency sitcom The Good Life (1975-1978) with a deadly disease and there’s something to that argument. The virus is terribly selective, all but wiping out the working class – the few we meet are stereotypes: the bolshy union leader Arthur Wormley (George Baker) or the weaselly Welshman Tom Price (Talfryn Thomas) – while the survivors are largely made up of the sort of well-educated and terribly nice middle-class types that infested British television drama at the time.

In the episode "New World" which aired on Jun 23, 1976 (see IMDB entry):

A hot air balloon crash lands near the settlement, providing answers and more questions. With the discovery that there are energy facilities in Norway, a new sense of hope is provided. Greg Preston also mentions the possibility of a trade route to Bristol.

This is the evidence for the Cameron Balloons manufacture.

Ian McCulloch (Greg Preston in Survivors) also appeared in an advert for Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry in 1979.

Children Of The Stones (1977)

When children of the 1970's hear the phrase "Happy Day(s)" they way well think of this TV Series rather than that TV Show that featured the Fonz."

Astrophysicist Adam Brake and his teenage son, Matthew, move to the remote, picturesque English village of Milbury, which is completely encircled by a megalithic stone circle. Adam has come to research the strange magnetic and psychic properties of the ancient stones, but they quickly realize the village hides a chilling secret.

Whilst the exterior scenes were famously filmed at Avebury (which is much better than Stonehenge) the interior scenes were filmed at the HTV Studios in Bristol.

This has been confirmed by the author Jeremy Burnham.

This cult TV series was filmed at Avebury in Wiltshire during the Summer of 1976, with other scenes filmed at the HTV Studios in Bristol.

The Comedian Stewart Lee made a BBC Radio Programme "Happy Days - The Children of the Stones" that gives a lot of background information about "the scariest programme ever made for children".

A more recent BBC audio version is also available.

Doctor Who — The Sun Makers (1977)

The TARDIS arrives on Pluto which has been made habitable and turned into a giant factory where the ruthless Company exploits its under-paid workers. (BBC iPlayer)

The Bristol filming site is the W.D. & H.O. Wills Tobacco Factory in Hartcliffe, now the Imperial Park development.

The Doctor and Layla leaving the TARDIS on the roof of the Wills Factory

This is an aerial view of the Wills Tobacco factory taken in 1978.

One of the challenges faced by Roberts' team was to find a roof which could serve as the top of the towering Megropolis One. To be suitable, such a location would have to provide an empty skyline to give the correct impression of height. Unfortunately, despite many attempts, no appropriate building could be found in the vicinity of London. The problem was finally solved by production assistant Leon Arnold, who recommended the WD & HO Wills Tobacco Factory in Hartcliffe, Bristol: although not particularly tall, it was very wide, which would achieve the appropriate effect. Facing pressure from his superiors to control Doctor Who's budget, Williams was not keen on travelling such a distance for just a handful of scenes, and suggested that they should instead be performed in the studio, via chroma key. However, Roberts discovered that the Wills Tobacco Factory offered other locations which could replace studio sets – such as a very long tunnel, for scenes in the P45 return route – and this enabled him to justify the cost of the trip.

Work at the Wills Factory spanned June 13th to 15th. Roberts intended to start with material on the roof, but Bristol was blanketed by mist and so the first day was instead spent on sequences in the lift and in the subways, plus a shot of the Doctor and his friends hiding in a roof vent. The weather did not improve the following day but, with time running out, Roberts divided the filming between scenes in the tunnels and some of those on the rooftop. Sadly, the mist lingered into the 15th; Roberts was forced to complete his rooftop shots on this day, even though the desired effect was partly spoiled. During the work in Bristol, an extra playing one of the Megro Guards fell ill, and so Wills employee Ron Rogers agreed to take his place; however, Rogers' scene was ultimately cut in editing.

Extract from Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)

This clip shows the oppressed workers taking control.

The Medusa Touch (1978)

"A telekinetic novelist causes disasters simply by thinking about them" (IMBD)

See more locations at Reel Streets.

Filming "The Medusa Touch" at Bristol Cathedral

Radio On (1979)

"In 1970s Britain, a man drives from London to Bristol to investigate his brother's death, and the purpose of his trip is offset by his encounters with a series of odd people." (IMDB)

See more locations at Reel Streets.

Shoestring (1979)

"Lighthearted detective series set in the West Country, about radio-phone-in detective Eddie Shoestring" (IMDB)

Richard Evans has already put in an enormous amount of effort tracking down locations at shoestringfilminglocations, and here are just a few examples from his site:

Episode 1 - Private Ear

Eddie Shoestring is a former computer expert who has resigned after suffering a nervous breakdown. In one episode Shoestring visits such a computer room and finds it mentally distressing.