A new website that aims to explore the histories and memories of Granada TV in the North West of England has been launched.
The Granadaland project, part-funded by an grant from the Granada Foundation, is being led by Steve Kelly and Judith Jones, both experienced oral historians with their own first-hand experience of working for Granada.
The aim has been recording memories of those who worked for Granada at its Manchester and Liverpool offices between the 1960s and the 1980s. These interviews include presenters, producers, researchers, camera operators, stagehands, production assistants and others who worked for the company.
Granada Television is an important part of the history of television and of the North West region. It was founded in 1954 by Lord Bernstein and began transmitting in 1956 to the North West of England. Granada Television has been broadcasting to the nation ever since.
Its heyday was probably in the period between 1960 until 1990 when the Broadcasting Act led to significant changes to the shape of British broadcasting. During this period Granada produced some of the finest television of its day including Brideshead Revisted, World In Action, What the Papers Say, Seven Up, Coronation Street and The Jewel In The Crown. During the 1980s The New York Times described Granada as ‘the finest television company in the world.’
The aim of this project is to begin collecting the memories of those who worked for Granada at its Manchester, London and Liverpool offices between 1956 and 1990. These interviews will include presenters, producers, researchers, directors, camera operators, stagehands, production assistants, accountants and many others who worked for the company. In particular, the project hopes to collect memories from the earlier years as many of these people are now elderly. If their memories are not collected soon they will be lost forever.
