£5 or pay what you can. Book here.
Drawing on their Granadaland project (granadaland.org) that has collected the memories of over 100 former Granada employees, oral historians Stephen Kelly and Judith Jones reflect on how Granada defined itself through its regional identity.
Granada Television was once described as the ‘greatest television company in the world.’
And indeed during the 1970s and 1980s it boasted programmes such as Coronation Street, World In Action, Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel In The Crown, Seven Up and Disappearing World, all of them award winning and highly acclaimed, both by critics and the general public. Many of these programmes, along with their presenters, remain legendary in television history.
Founded by Sidney Bernstein in 1954, Granada began broadcasting to ‘the North’ in May 1956 when independent television was born, and has continued to broadcast ever since, although today it is known as ITV. Bernstein wanted to develop a strong northern brand of TV to challenge the BBC and surpass that produced in the capital. As he once observed: “I think that what Manchester sees today, London will see eventually”.
An integral part of Granada’s success was its focus on and pride in its Northern identity. Under its franchise agreements Granada was obliged to commit to making a certain quota of regional programmes ranging from sport to politics and documentaries to religion. And, of course, its flagship soap, Coronation Street, initially described by one critic as being ‘doomed from the outset’ broke new ground as a working-class drama with a Lancashire accent. Such was its commitment to the region Granada always produced more hours of local programming than the company was obliged to.
Granada was also keen to employ local presenters who had a regional accent and identity such as Bob Greaves and Tony Wilson, as well as showcasing local talent. Lord Bernstein at one point announced jokingly that he was going to issue a Granadaland passport!
Today although ‘Coronation Street’ is still being made after more than sixty years in ITV’s production hub in Media City, the heyday of regional television has passed and, apart from local news programmes, there is little on our screens with such a distinct regional identity as the Granada brand.
This talk will discuss Granada’s unique contribution to the culture of the North West.