This Week (ITV TV series)
Encyclopedia
This Week was a weekly current affairs
series first produced for ITV in January 1956 by Associated-Rediffusion
(later Thames Television
), running until 1978, when it was replaced by TV Eye. In 1986 the earlier name was revived and This Week continued until Thames lost its franchise at the end of 1992.
In September 1958, This Week, filmed George Harrison Marks
and Pamela Green
at their photography studio in Gerrard Street
. David Kentick directed and Nick Barker interviewed Marks and Green. They were filmed working with a nude model, who was strategically covered by a very long wig. The film sequence ended with a montage of their photographs, mostly of nudes. However, the night it was to be broadcast Pope Pius XII
died and the programme was cut, and the interview never shown. In 1964 This Week returned to their studio. This time round they showed a clip of the infamous striptease comedy film The Window Dresser. It was the first time nudity (not of the National Geographic variety) was shown on British TV and naturally it cause quite a furore.
However, its most influential episode was an expose on the National Front
in 1974, which led to the party's members firing their Chairman John Tyndall
and National Activities Organiser Martin Webster
two weeks later as a result of the revelations on the show from former NF Chairman John O'Brien
of their neo-nazi paramilitary pasts and continued links.
The most controversial edition was "Death on the Rock
", a 1988 documentary
which questioned the official account of the Gibraltar shootings
. It is commonly believed this programme was responsible for Thames losing their broadcast franchise.
During its run, the series' presenters included Ludovic Kennedy
, James Cameron
, Jonathan Dimbleby
, Robert Kee
, Dan Farson
, Jeremy Thorpe
(who became leader of the Liberal Party
), Kenneth Harris, Desmond Wilcox
, Llew Gardner, Bryan Magee
, Peter Taylor
(noted for his coverage of Northern Ireland
), Denis Tuohy
, John Morgan, Peter Williams Yvonne Roberts
and John Edwards. The programme used the Intermezzo from Sibelius's Karelia Suite
as a signature tune.
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
series first produced for ITV in January 1956 by Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
(later Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
), running until 1978, when it was replaced by TV Eye. In 1986 the earlier name was revived and This Week continued until Thames lost its franchise at the end of 1992.
In September 1958, This Week, filmed George Harrison Marks
Harrison Marks
George Harrison Marks was a British glamour photographer and director of nudist, and later, pornographic films who was active in the fields for several decades.-Kamera and Pamela Green:...
and Pamela Green
Pamela Green
Pamela Green was an English glamour model and actress, best known at the end of the 1950s and early 1960s...
at their photography studio in Gerrard Street
Gerrard Street
There are several streets called Gerrard Street, including:*Gerrard Street in London, United Kingdom.*Gerrard Street in Toronto, Canada....
. David Kentick directed and Nick Barker interviewed Marks and Green. They were filmed working with a nude model, who was strategically covered by a very long wig. The film sequence ended with a montage of their photographs, mostly of nudes. However, the night it was to be broadcast Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
died and the programme was cut, and the interview never shown. In 1964 This Week returned to their studio. This time round they showed a clip of the infamous striptease comedy film The Window Dresser. It was the first time nudity (not of the National Geographic variety) was shown on British TV and naturally it cause quite a furore.
However, its most influential episode was an expose on the National Front
British National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
in 1974, which led to the party's members firing their Chairman John Tyndall
John Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
and National Activities Organiser Martin Webster
Martin Webster
Martin Guy Alan Webster is a former leading figure on the far-right in British politics.-Early political activism:An early member of the Young Conservatives, from which he claimed to have been expelled, Webster was associated loosely with the League of Empire Loyalists until he joined the National...
two weeks later as a result of the revelations on the show from former NF Chairman John O'Brien
John O'Brien (UK politician)
John O'Brien was a leading figure on the far right of British politics during the early 1970s.A fruit farmer by trade, O'Brien had initially been a member of the Conservative Party in Shrewsbury. A supporter of Enoch Powell, he attempted to organise a 'Powell for Premier' movement following the...
of their neo-nazi paramilitary pasts and continued links.
The most controversial edition was "Death on the Rock
Death on the Rock
Death on the Rock is a British Academy Television Award-winning episode of Thames Television's current affairs series This Week, first aired by the British television network ITV on 28 April 1988. On 6 March 1988, three Irish Republican Army members, Danny McCann, Sean Savage and Mairéad Farrell,...
", a 1988 documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
which questioned the official account of the Gibraltar shootings
Operation Flavius
Operation Flavius was the name given to an operation by a Special Air Service team in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988 tasked to prevent a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb attack...
. It is commonly believed this programme was responsible for Thames losing their broadcast franchise.
During its run, the series' presenters included Ludovic Kennedy
Ludovic Kennedy
Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a British journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley, and for his role in the abolition of the death penalty in the United...
, James Cameron
James Cameron (journalist)
Mark James Walter Cameron was a prominent British journalist, in whose memory the annual James Cameron Memorial Lecture is given.-Early life:...
, Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, a political commentator and a writer. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of British TV presenter David Dimbleby.-Education:Dimbleby was educated at Charterhouse School, a...
, Robert Kee
Robert Kee
Robert Kee CBE is a British broadcaster, journalist and writer, known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland....
, Dan Farson
Daniel Farson
Daniel Negley Farson a British writer and broadcaster, was a popular television personality and prominent public figure in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Early life:...
, Jeremy Thorpe
Jeremy Thorpe
John Jeremy Thorpe is a British former politician who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976 and was the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979. His political career was damaged when an acquaintance, Norman Scott, claimed to have had a love affair with Thorpe at a time...
(who became leader of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
), Kenneth Harris, Desmond Wilcox
Desmond Wilcox
Desmond John Wilcox was a British documentary maker at the BBC and ITV. He was producer of This Week, Man Alive and That's Life!.- Early life :...
, Llew Gardner, Bryan Magee
Bryan Magee
Bryan Edgar Magee is a noted British broadcasting personality, politician, poet, and author, best known as a popularizer of philosophy.-Early life:...
, Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (Journalist)
Peter Taylor born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire is a British journalist and documentary-maker who had covered for many years the political and armed conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as the Troubles...
(noted for his coverage of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
), Denis Tuohy
Denis Tuohy
Denis Tuohy, , is a television broadcaster, actor, newsreader, and journalist who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and now lives in County Down. He participated in several of the BBC's current affairs programmes of the 1970s, including the long-running Panorama and also presented ITV's This Week...
, John Morgan, Peter Williams Yvonne Roberts
Yvonne Roberts
Yvonne Roberts is an English journalist.Born in Newport Pagnall, Buckinghamshire, Roberts was educated at Warwick University between 1967 and 1969, being taught by historian E. P. Thompson...
and John Edwards. The programme used the Intermezzo from Sibelius's Karelia Suite
Karelia Suite
The Karelia Suite, Op. 11, is a collection of orchestral pieces composed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.The pieces in this suite are drawn from several independent works he wrote in 1893 for a patriotic historical pageant to be presented by students of the University of Helsinki in Viipuri,...
as a signature tune.