The Winifred Atwell Show

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The Winifred Atwell Show was the title of both a British TV and radio series in the mid-1950s. They starred pianist Winifred Atwell, who had had a number of hits on the UK charts.

Contents

Television

The television series was broadcast 21 April to 23 June 1956 on ITV as "Bernard Delfont presents The Winifred Atwell Show",. [1] The series was initially booked by ITV for 6 episodes, but this was extended to 10 by popular demand. [2] Regulars included singing act Teddy Johnson and Pearl Carr and the comedy act Morecambe and Wise. The show switched to the BBC for 7 weekly episodes starting 13 April 1957. [3] All episodes of both series are believed to be lost. [4]

Atwell did a later TV series in the early 1960s called The Amazing Miss A, of which most episodes survive. [5]

She was likely the first black woman to have her own series on British television.

Radio

A separate 15 minute "The Winifred Atwell Show" ran on Radio Luxembourg on Sunday evenings from 1954 [6] to 1960, [7] sponsored by Currys. [8] [9] [10] The show also featured Johnson and Carr and was recorded in front of live audiences at various locations around England. At least one radio episode is available online. [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "Delfont, Lord Bernard (1909-1994)". screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "The Atwell Show's Ten Week Run Ends Tonight". The Birmingham Mail. Birmingham, West Midlands, England. 23 June 1956. p. 1.
  3. ↑ North, Max (13 April 1957). "Its Winnie With Her Herpsicord". Manchester Evening News. Manchester, Greater Manchester, England. p. 3.
  4. ↑ "The Winifred Atwell Show on Lost UK Shows Search Engine". Archived from the original on 8 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Amazing Miss A on Lost UK Shows Search Engine". Archived from the original on 8 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Radio Luxembourg Programme of English Broadcasts". The Whitstable Times and Tankerton Press. Whitstable, Kent, England. 9 January 1954. p. 3.
  7. ↑ "Weekend Television and Radio". The Daily Mail. Hull, Humberside, England. 3 September 1960. p. 4.
  8. ↑ Sherman, Mike (1991). "Who was Trinidad's Queen of the Keyboard?". The Reminiscence Quiz Book: 1930's - 1960's. Routledge. p. 114.
  9. 1 2 "The Winifred Atwell Radio Show". National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "Wells Party at Winifred Atwell Show". The Wells Journal. Wells, Somerset, England. 29 November 1957. p. 1.
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