Blood on the carpet
By: Adam Clapham
Publisher: Quartet Books
Published: 2011
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 303
ISBN-13: 9780704372092
Subjects: Television producers and directors; Biography; Television; Anecdotes; Production and direction
Description: "As well as an account of a world seething with ambitious egos, back-stabbings and betrayals, Adam Clapham's blistering tale of the intrigues of television production is also a personal history of the growth of British television; from the single, black & white BBC channel to the multi-channel babble which television has become today. Adam rose from being a lowly researcher, through the ranks of the BBC and ITV to become an executive producer during the fabled Golden Age of British television, producing series like "Man Alive", "Braden's Week", "Aristocrats and Americans". "Blood on the Carpet" discusses the thornier political topics that senior producers had to confront - nuclear disarmament, the killings in Northern Ireland, the vetting of BBC staff by MI5 and attempts by politicians, crooks and bully boys to prevent programmes from being broadcast - even the bitter palace revolution that involved Esther Rantzen, "That's Life" and the tabloid press. Adam was a founder of Griffin Productions which made independent programmes for Channel 4, ITV and the BBC. It was one of the very few British companies that managed to break into the highly competitive American cable market. But alongside the drama and politics, the book abounds in lighter fare - even how to transport."--Publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 285-286) and index.