Granada Television: The First Generation

This study is a rich and readable collection of memoirs, some short, some extensive, of those who worked at Granada during the first 30 years of its existence. It captures a climate of creative activity unique in the history of broadcasting, now referred to as the Golden Years of British television. Lords Birt and Macdonald; Sir Denis Forman; Michael Parkinson; Michael Apted; Stan Barstow; Nick Elliot; Victoria Wood; Kenith Trodd; Jack Rosenthal; Anna Ford; Chris Kelly; and Alan Plater are just a few of the many well-known contributors who were responsible for creating the foundations on which Granada's considerable worldwide reputation was based. Programmes such as "World in Action"; "Brideshead Revisited"; "A Family at War"; "Coronation Street"; "What the Papers Say"; and many more are described in this book were pioneers in their respective fields. With a contextualizing introduction, this study should be a valuable resource for all those interested in the intensive early development of the medium and how this relates to television as it is today.