The Granville Melodramas

The Granville Melodramas

1955 - United Kingdom

Popular fortnightly series resurrecting stage melodramas of the 19th century such as East Lynne and The Poor of New York. Hattie Jacques appeared in all seven episodes and her (then) husband John Le Mesurier also appeared. Peter Tuddenham who provided the voices of Zen and Orac on Blakes' 7 made his small-screen debut and celebrated playwright Alun Owen had a bit part in one episode. The Granville Theatre in Fulham had previously seen performances by Victorian music hall stars the likes of Marie Lloyd, George Robey and Little Tich, but in recent years it had had its ups and downs. 

Bernard Delfont purchased the theatre in 1947 in the hope of a resurgence, after the war, of variety theatre. But it hadn't really happened. In 1955 Associated-Rediffusion acquired it as the first operational Independent Television studio. According to author Andy Merrimen in his book Hattie - The Authorised Biography of Hattie Jacques "The conversion of the Granville Theatre for use as a television studio was rather primitive, and apparently the stalls floor retained its incline, creating much difficulty for the technicians, who, on occasions would lose control of their cameras!" The Granville Theatre enjoyed 15 years of broadcasting and Opportunity Knocks was also broadcast from there. The theatre was demolished in 1971.

Published on December 19th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Our House

A group of people pool their resources to purchase a house.

Also starring Hattie Jacques

Edward Judd in Intrigue

Industrial espionage series starring Edward Judd

Also tagged British Drama

Sherlock Holmes 1951 tv series

The first British television series featuring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic master-detective was written by a celebrated film and television critic

Also starring John Le Mesurier

Hattie Jacques

Although she presented an imposing figure on screen Hattie Jacques managed to play a diverse range of roles when she may so easily have become typecast. Eric Sykes summed her up perfectly when he said, "She was one of the best comedy actresses we have ever had and a very lovely lady."

Also starring Hattie Jacques

Gerald Harper as Hadleigh

Super smoothy Gerald Harper starred as James Hadleigh, a former civil servant became the squire of the manor.

Also tagged British Drama

Carry On Cabby

Sid James and Hattie Jacques play husband and wife, Charlie and Peggy, who find themselves at odds with each other after Peg, frustrated at constantly playing second fiddle to Charlie's cab company, sets up a rival taxi firm - staffed by glamourous women

Also starring Hattie Jacques

Alfred Hitchock Presents tv series

The instantly recognisable, deceptively benign visage of arguably the world's greatest director of cinematic suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, side-stepped deftly to the smaller screen of US television and welcomed viewers to a polished series of stories...

Also released in 1955