Norma Percy was born and brought up in America. After university in Ohio she studied at the London School of Economics and then became a House of Commons researcher for the Labour MP John Mackintosh. In 1972 she joined Granada to work with Brian Lapping on the State of the Nation series. This began a…
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Colin Weston biography
Colin Weston joined Granada as an out of vision trainee announcer in 1968.He left 18 months later to work at Anglia TV where he became an in vision announcer but then returned as a freelance in the early 1980s. In addition to his role as an announcer he also read regional news bulletins and voiced…
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Jon Savage biography
Jon Savage joined Granada in 1979 as a researcher, initially working on local programmes including This is Your Right. Other credits included Fun Factory and Granada Reports and also worked on pilot for a planned series on music and teenagers. The series was never made by Granada but Jon went on to write the script…
Read MoreBrian Park biography
Brian Park joined Granada TV as a promotion scriptwriter in April 1980, becoming a researcher in 1982. He worked on a variety of programmes including entertainment and the Emmy award-winning documentary Sword of Islam. He then worked at Tyne Tees for two years re-joining Granada as a producer in 1990. After producing the drama series…
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Sandy Ross biography
Sandy Ross joined Granada Television in 1976 after working as a solicitor in Edinburgh. He worked initially as a Researcher on regional programmes and in particular Granada Reports before working with Tony Wilson on What’s On. He later became a Producer producing local and networked programmes such as the Mersey Pirate which presented more than…
Read MoreSteve Leahy biography (interview carried out by Geoff Moore)
Steve Leahy originally joined Granada as an assistant transmission controller but two years later successfully applied to be a researcher, initially in local programmes. Following a period in children’s programmes he became Granada’s Head of Entertainment in 1987 where he developed his passion for quiz shows, with ITV network productions including The Krypton Factor, Busman’s…
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Barry Bowmer biography
Barry Bowmer joined the mailroom at Granada’s Golden Square office in August 1959. One of his principal jobs at that time was to take the early morning mail around to Lord Bernstein’s Mayfair flat where he was often greeted on the doorstep by Lady Bernstein in her negligee. He later moved to the mailroom at…
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Michael Ryan biography
Michael Ryan began his television career in 1963 as a BBC2 trainee, working on Panorama as a studio director. However a chance meeting in 1966 with Michael Parkinson in his father’s London pub, led to him joining Granada as a Researcher. In 1967 he worked on Cinema which, at the time, boasted an audience of…
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Brian Blake biography
Brian Blake joined Granada TV in 1966 after a short career in academia. He was initially employed to work on a project where World In Action material that had not been transmitted would be published in booklet or pamphlet form. After nine months however the project was declared unviable and Brian was told to go…
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Gordon Burns biography
Gordon Burns was one of the best-known presenters on Granada Television during the 1970s and 1980s, presenting programmes such as The Krypton Factor, Granada Reports, Reports Politics and the annual party conferences. Gordon came to Granada from Ulster Television where he had covered the troubles over a number of years. During his time at Granada…
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Brian Trueman biography
Brian Trueman joined Granada Television in 1957 from the acting profession. He initially became a newsreader and then a presenter. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the best known faces of local programming, working on just about every Granada local programme from news to politics. During that time he recalls working with…
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Joan Riley biography
Joan Riley joined Granada Television in 1960 as part-time copy typist working on the local evening news programme. She was the first person in the UK to hear of President Kennedy’s assassination when she picked up a call from the Press Association. After working in local programmes she joined the Promotions Department and then went…
Read MoreIan White
Ian White joined Granada in 1978 as a researcher and later became a director, including working on Coronation Street. He now works as a freelance and has directed a wide range of drama programmes including Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and Casualty. I started working on Coronation Street in 1989 for about four years until I left in 1992. There were…
Read MoreMike Newell
Mike Newell began working for Granada in 1963 and went on to direct Coronation Street during the 1960s. He is now a well-known film director whose major films include Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco. I started working for Granada in 1963, when I was 21, as a production trainee which was a…
Read MoreMichael Apted
Michael Apted is a well known film director who began his career at Granada Television in the early 1960s. He first directed Coronation Street in 1966. Later became man award-winning films such as The Coalminer’s Daughter, Gorky Park and Nell. I started working at Granada at the end of 63 on the production training…
Read MoreJulian Farino
Julian Farino began his Granada career in the mid 1980s as a Researcher. He later became a director and was a director on Coronation Street during the early 1990s. He is now a well known director of top rated American TV series such as Sex In The City and Entourage and lives in Hollywood. …
Read MoreJim Walker
Although Jim Walker never worked on Coronation Street he was a producer at Granada for more than 20 years and was always in close contact with the actors and production staff during that time. As such he saw a great many changes in the format of the show. Before I conjure up the glamour of…
Read MoreClarissa Hyman
Clarissa Hyman worked for Granada for many years as a researcher and producer and was one of the original launch producers for ITV’s This Morning programme. Now an award winning food and travel writer, she is the Vice-President of the UK Guild of Food Writers. It was my first job. It must have been the…
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