Maureen Staffer 

15 June 2013 tbs.pm/2331

Although her ten years at TWW formed but part of a long and distinguished career, Maureen Staffer certainly has a twinkle in her eye when chatting about her time at the company. She recalls the time she worked at TWW with great affection, and those early days at ITV hold fond memories for her. Whilst she feels a warm nostalgia for the period, Maureen, known to friends and family as Mollie, is also keen to emphasise that the decade she spent at TWW was tremendously good fun. TWW had a family atmosphere and her time was spent working with lively personalities and making life-long friends with colleagues who were household names in South Wales and the West of England.

Mollie knew from an early age that she was going places, and that she would never settle for a run-of-the-mill career, but little did she know that her engaging personality and genuine interest in people would lead to her landing her dream job at the age of 22. A former pupil of Cardiff High School for Girls and Cardiff University College, Mollie headed for a career in elocution and was soon highly qualified in that field. However, her pleasant speaking voice and impeccable diction, coupled with a keen sense of style, led Mollie to become a commentator at fashion shows in the Cardiff area and beyond.

Although Mollie was keen to work in the media, television in Cardiff was in a fledgling state. The BBC had a television presence in the city, but it was a pretty low-key affair based in various none too glamorous buildings scattered around the eastern suburbs. Initially, in her late teens, Mollie felt that her future could well lie in the field of print journalism and to that end she applied to newspapers in the Cardiff and Valleys area. Several papers, including the Pontypridd Observer and the South Wales Argus, informed Mollie that there were no jobs for her, but the editor of the South Wales Echo went one step further and told Mollie that although he had only just appointed a woman correspondent he did not “ordinarily engage women for general reporting duties”.

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A sharp-eyed Mollie noticed late in 1957 that Television Wales and the West (TWW), the ITV company newly appointed to serve the region, was due to start broadcasting in early 1958. It was to utilise a purpose-built, state-of the-art studio centre in Pontcanna, a suburb close to the river Taff. The studios had been created around a Victorian farmhouse, though few of the original features remained in view. Many jobs were advertised including positions as announcers, or “speakerines” as they were then known. Along with two hundred others, Mollie applied for an announcers post and was both surprised and delighted when she was one of 15 young ladies recalled for a second audition and screen test. This audition took place on the Saturday before TWW was due to open on Tuesday 14th January 1958.

Following that audition, which included reading a news bulletin, Mollie was elated to find that she had been chosen as an announcer. Her first task was to give the weather forecast on TWW’s first night of transmission. Mollie’s initial reaction was to break the news to her family, as she knew they would be thrilled for her. However Bryan Michie, programme controller of TWW and presenter, had other ideas. He insisted that Mollie attend a publicity photo session before she could telephone her parents and younger sister. This was because image was all-important to TWW, and they were eager to show off Mollie to both press and public. Within days there were articles and stories about Mollie in local and national newspapers. It was even rumoured, erroneously, that she had been ordered not to be too “glam” for fear of causing a rift between husband and wife viewers! The press also informed prospective TWW viewers that, in addition to giving her vital statistics, she would shun suits in favour of her own choice in dresses. Mollie was given scant training in the art of presenting the weather on television but did benefit from a visit to TWW’s head of make-up, who informed her that she had wonderful bone structure – “Look at those cheekbones! I could do a lot with those!”

Because TWW’s opening night entertainment had been filmed in advance, Studio One at Pontcanna was free on the night and a huge party was held there. The weather forecast was scheduled for midnight in the continuity studio and whilst the champagne flowed in Studio One, Mollie had a sober evening awaiting her first transmission. This gave her more than enough time to get quite nervous and she admits that she felt more than a little anxious by the time she was due to make her first broadcast. In fact, she became so nervous that she inadvertently knocked over the weather chart, which was resting on an easel. Meurig Jones, who was then a studio manager, dashed to her rescue and picked up the chart. He was later to become a production executive with the company and directed the TWW OB unit when it covered the Aberfan disaster. The shock of the easel falling, and the relief of completing her first transmission successfully, made Mollie burst into tears. She was, however, soon reassured by her colleagues and survived her initial nerves and began to enjoy her new job in earnest.

One memory that Mollie has of the earliest days at TWW is the distinct American influence at Channel Ten. For training purposes, some administration staff had been drafted to ITV companies from the United States where commercial television had been up and running for many years. At one stage the American company NBC (The National Broadcasting Company) was to be a financial partner in TWW but this was forbidden by the ITA. However the relationship was maintained and Bob Myers, a senior NBC representative, continued to work for TWW in an advisory capacity. This influenced early work ethics in the strangest of ways and in TWW technical staff were forced to wear American-style boiler suits. Mollie adds that this only lasted for the first couple of weeks before common sense prevailed and the staff became free to wear whatever they liked.

Once settled in her new job, it cannot be said that Mollie rested on her laurels. She was keen to not only maintain the high standards that TWW had set, but sought to improve them and to maximise the use of TWW’s facilities. To this end she sent a memo to Bruce Lewis, the company’s senior announcer, listing the improvements that could be made to the company’s presentation. Because of the lens used in the continuity studio, only a Big Close Up could be used, and Mollie pointed out that a varying shot of the announcer each night would be innovative and beneficial to TWW viewers.

She also had ideas for the smaller Studio Two, which was at the time underused and utilised only for news bulletins. Mollie realised that the studio, combined with a newly-aquired Ampex videotape recorder, could be used for various items of interest and to promote forthcoming TWW programmes. Participants in local programmes could drop in and chat about programmes in which they were taking part. This would mean that Roy Ward Dickson, deviser of quizzes (“Mr and Mrs” was arguably his most famous) and presenter of “Abracadabra” for TWW, could pop into the studio and discuss his forthcoming programmes with the duty announcer. Youngsters taking part in “Youth Makes the Show” could also visit the studio and chat about that week’s programme.

Years before the idea was introduced by companies like Ulster and Westward TV, Mollie suggested the use of a simple set to enhance in-vision continuity. If the viewers could sit at a cosy fireside then why should TWW announcers not do so as well? This inexpensive innovation would require only a fireplace, an armchair and a few drapes. She also had ideas for items for women and children, neither of whom were catered for by TWW in the late fifties. These would take the form of features such as “What’s New in the Shops” for women and ten minute illustrated stories for children.

Between programmes Mollie had the opportunity to rehearse her links and study her bible, the Television Weekly, distributed exclusively in the TWW area with full details of the week’s programmes. This publication was invaluable during breakdowns, of which there were several in the early years of all television stations. Breakdowns in those days could last a lot longer than today, and TWW’s policy was always to give an out of vision announcement as the fault occurred, followed by in vision filling if required. It is a popular myth that the duty announcers would sit in the “hot chair” all evening, however and Mollie explained that she would often sit with the engineer and presentation director in the adjoining technical area. It would otherwise have been a pretty lonely existence, even with her trusty Television Weekly for company.

As in other ITV regions, TWW announcers were not employed just for continuity purposes, they were also expected to present programmes and read news bulletins. It wasn’t long before Mollie found herself reading the news on “TWW Reports”, both in the cosy environment of the studios at Pontcanna – and in a converted shed near the garages at the back of TWW’s Arno’s Court studios. This was the arrangement before the brand new TWW studios at Bristol were fully operational. Thankfully viewers were blissfully unaware of the modest nature of the announcer’s surroundings. Mollie later worked as a presenter and interviewer on “Here Today”, a daily magazine presented by Joseph Cooper, of “Face the Music” fame. Subjects ranged from flower arranging to buying Christmas presents and for these interviews Mollie prepared her own questions. This stood her in good stead for her career in journalism which was to follow.

In fact, one of Mollie’s first journalistic assignments sprang from TWW’s thirst for innovation and a desire to move away from the hitherto stuffy style of BBC news and magazine programmes. It was decided that, for one day in May 1958, TWW’s cameras should be cabled to operate outside the Cardiff studios so that full use could be made of the backdrop of Pontcanna fields. This was presented to public and press alike as an ‘out-of-door’ studio and its first production was an early edition of “TWW Reports”. In this programme the producer had arranged for animals and performers from Bertram Mills’ circus to form an unusual backdrop for Mollie, who read that evening’s news. She also interviewed some of the performers who had made the short journey up the River Taff from Sophia Gardens, where the circus was held. When they were live on air, unbeknownst to Mollie, the two elephants used in the background were breathing down the back of her neck as she interviewed the ‘elephant girl’. Mollie recalls that she kept calm but “did not dare look round. I didn’t know if the long thing hovering above me was an elephant’s trunk or a microphone boom!”

It’s interesting to note that the floor manager for that transmission was Christine Godwin, soon to change her career path and to become another very popular announcer – and one of Mollie’s best friends. Christine also became the most famous Welsh learner in Wales, as the eponymous main character in the pilot of the pioneering adult education programme “Croeso Christine!” On another TWW Outside Broadcast from Bristol Zoo, Mollie was to ‘merely’ hold a python in view of the camera and state that it didn’t frighten her. Somebody, however, had the bright idea of wrapping it round her neck just before she was on live on air. Shocked though she was, Mollie kept her composure and even managed a smile… true dedication.

Difficult to imagine in these more cynical days is the fame and adulation that went hand in hand with the announcer’s job in an ITV company in the early days – and TWW was no exception. In-vision continuity meant that the announcer’s face was shown close-up night after night and it was no accident that Mollie always projected the image of a friend, an informal friendly face in the living room. Television personalities were often asked to open supermarkets and attend fetes and carnivals and Mollie was often mobbed by her fans as she performed those duties. She was also asked to judge baby and beauty contests. An ambassador to TWW, she represented the public face of that company both on and off the screen. Mollie received many letters thanking her for her work with the public and she proved popular with them all, due to her professional but friendly manner.

To fulfil those duties it was necessary for Mollie to be impeccably dressed – and this was not confined to working hours. To ensure that she would always look her best TWW paid for a weekly visit to a Cardiff gown shop (as women’s clothes shops were known then) called Bogutskys, where Mollie had complete freedom to choose clothes for her TV wardrobe, and other public appearances. The weekly trip to Bogutskys even prompted an article in Television Weekly in May 1958, where she modelled her outfits for the week of publication. Not surprisingly, she paid particular attention to the top half of any outfit and, to look her best on television, insisted on ‘simplicity of line’. Black and white television presented its own problems for the fashion conscious and indeed Meurig Jones issued a list of do’s and don’ts which was routinely sent to every prospective guest who took part in TWW programmes. There were no such rules for Mollie who used “her own sense of dress style – and common sense!”

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TWW took the image of its announcers both on and off screen so seriously so that when another company provided some garments for Mollie that did not come up to scratch, they were told by Bryan Michie that “the items purchased were not sufficient to meet the requirements that Miss Staffer must have a high standard of appearance at all times, whether on or off duty”. Mollie’s keen sense of fashion, along with her experience as a commere, was to prove handy in the summer of 1965 when she became ITN’s fashion editor at Ascot, a job which she relished. In fact, Mollie was flattered to be subsequently offered a position at ITN, which she declined for family reasons.

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It is testimony to her popularity that when Mollie got married to John Mead (another TWW announcer and TV Hero) in April 1963, it was widely reported by the press and pictures were shown on TWW. The wedding was attended by only four close friends, and her family, as Mollie and John both wanted it to be kept secret. The four who were ‘in the know’ were sworn to secrecy and even the ultra-efficient TWW newsroom knew nothing about the wedding until twenty minutes before the ceremony. Fellow announcer/newscaster Guy Thomas was John’s was best man and Alan Taylor, Bruce Lewis and Bruce Hockin also attended. Although the couple had arrived at the Registry Office with the minimum of fuss, TWW cameras were there to film them leaving, by which time a crowd had formed. They honeymooned in the Cotswolds, as reported by Television Weekly who told viewers of the ‘Studio Romance’. A few years later, Mollie and John were to join Alan Taylor on a celebrity edition of TWW’s popular game for married couples, “Mr and Mrs”. Although it was clearly great fun to take part in the quiz, the jackpot for charity sadly eluded them.

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Letters sent to Mollie from the public show that viewers thought of her as a friend, someone they could trust and confide in. Apart from the usual fan mail requests for signed pictures, she also received and dealt with letters asking for her help. These ranged from a teenager’s plea that her family weren’t taking her seriously, to a request for information about the theme music to ‘Wagon Train’. It is a fact that many viewers thought that all programmes came from Pontcanna, including a viewer who visited the TWW studios with the intention of feeding the horses from Rawhide.

As is the case today, there was a fine line between innocuous fan mail and unhealthy obsession – and this line was certainly crossed in the earliest days of Mollie’s career. Over a period of eighteen months she received around fifteen letters from a middle aged gentleman farmer called Phillip. His letters began in late 1959 with tales of his everyday life and praise for Mollie’s beauty, imagining at times that Mollie could also see him through the camera and television screen. He lavished praised on her, sent pictures of his cattle and offered her jewellery, a car and, not least, his hand in marriage. One of his odder requests was for a Welsh translation of ‘How now brown cow’. Mollie was also asked about her ideas for home decoration when he moved house.

Letters frequently contained poetry and songs dedicated to Mollie. He beseeched her to kiss him in one such song:

“So kiss me again with your kiss of fire,

To hold you once more is my only desire.

Take me and hold me again in your arms,

Oh! Please come to me, you bundle of charms.”

These letters continued for over a year and, in the beginning, Mollie was not unduly perturbed. She did nothing to encourage the man, believing him to be harmless and simply eccentric. Philip and his letters became a topic of light-hearted conversation to those who knew Mollie and he was not perceived as a danger. However, the last letter she received included a sketch of a personal nature and Mollie realised that a line had been crossed and that she would have to take action. She was against going to the police but needed to put a stop to the letters. The solution was for TWW management to write to Philip and explain that the police would be informed if the letters didn’t stop. They did stop but it was probably one of the first cases of the stalking of a television celebrity in the UK.

The ten year period that Mollie spent at TWW saw many world-changing events, and two that she remembers vividly are the assassination of US President John F Kennedy in November 1963 and the Aberfan disaster of October 1966. Mollie was on duty and had been preparing for her evening shift and was in the TWW canteen with her husband John Mead when news reached Pontcanna that the president had been assassinated. She immediately dashed to the continuity suite where a plan was formed to hand over to ITN after an initial announcement had been made. Independent Television had in fact formulated a plan in the event of the death of several famous people as far back as 1960. Each ITV station was primed with a ten page document with clear instructions on what could be said, what music could be played and whether or not advertisements could be shown. Each announcer and duty manager had his own copy of that document. John Mead, Mollie’s husband, was TWW’s reporter in Aberfan on the day of the disaster, which claimed 144 lives, including 116 children. Mollie was announcing for TWW’s English-language General Service that day, whilst her colleague Iris Jones announced for the bilingual Teledu Cymru service. TWW won several plaudits for their sensitive coverage of the tragic events, much of which is still survives in the archives.

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The sixties was a heady time for Pontcanna Studios. Feted for its local programming, TWW created niches for itself in order to gain a wider audience. The TWW symbol was regularly seen in several other regions, if not on the full ITV network. In addition to “Land of Song”, broadcast monthly, the pop series “Discs a Gogo” was networked to all regional ITV companies and frequently appeared in their ‘Top Tens’. Mollie witnessed visits by bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and regularly rubbed shoulders with pop stars in the corridors of Pontcanna. Introduced by Kent Walton of ITV wrestling fame, “Gogo” was the “gayest coffee bar in town”, where the hot dogs were prepared by the famous Clive Gilvear, who had also provided many of the animals for “Land of Song”. In later life he was a natural choice as steward of the TWW/HTV Club. Mollie speaks fondly about the TWW Club being a fun place to be. It was also a great place to relax after an early shift and was a springboard for programme ideas over the odd gin and tonic or pint of Brains Bitter.

In a groundbreaking and long-running series, stars from both the UK and Hollywood visited Pontcanna to take part in “Movie Magazine”, presented by Bruce Lewis, and later his son, Peter. Pontcanna Studios seemed to be awash with stars, and it was common for Mollie to see legends such as Clint Eastwood being interviewed for the show. This programme was the forerunner to “Cinema” from Granada and the “Film” series on BBC1. Years later, Mollie was to interview many legends herself on Radio Wales.

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Although its programme policies were lively and enterprising, TWW management were occasionally behind the times… and in 1963 it was decided that females, including Mollie, Iris Jones and Christine Godwin were banned from news reading by the Programme Controller, Wyn Roberts (later to become Conservative MP for Conwy), who decided that is was not acceptable for women to have to “put over unpleasant news”. This was a controversial decision and was widely reported in the press. It was also mentioned in Millicent Martin’s satirical song reflecting the week’s events in “That Was The Week That Was” on BBCtv. Happily for Mollie and the others, common sense prevailed again and female announcers were soon brought back to read the news, pleasant or otherwise.

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Mollie decided in early 1967 that she would leave her comparatively comfortable staff job at TWW to go freelance. Barely months later she had the unenviable task of announcing the demise of the company on “TWW Reports”. This was the shock ITA decision of the franchise round and TWW employees reeled in the knowledge that the company would not exist a year hence. Mollie echoes Ivor Emmanuel’s comment that it was like “rustlers taking over from the pioneers”. There had been no previous hint that the ITA were unhappy with TWW’s performance and indeed TWW had “dug deep into their pockets”, according to their own promotional film, to provide facilities in order to give Wales its own national ITV station. Indeed, Mollie had joined Iris Jones and Christine Godwin in 1966 to pose for pictures promoting the new Master Control at Pontcanna. This development was a technical triumph and cemented TWW’s commitment to its dual region. The company even published a glossy pamphlet extolling the virtues of the ‘Unique Top Floor’. However, it became clear by late January 1968 year that whilst some TWW programmes would be retained (“Mr and Mrs” and “Tinker and Taylor” included), the new company, Harlech Television, were to shed the announcing team in favour of fresh faces. This move was even reported in The Times and Mr WG Poeton, the administrative executive of the incoming company merely observed that ‘as a new company we are building our own image’. A year later, and following initial dissatisfaction with the new company, an article in the same newspaper noted that “most criticism seems to be focused on the Harlech announcers” and that the public missed the previous faces.

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Like John Betjeman, Mollie compared the demise of TWW to the loss of an old friend. The announcing team at TWW had been like a happy family and Mollie refers to everyone with affection. The announcers ranged from household names like Ivor Roberts and Christine Godwin to lesser-known names like night club singer Linda Lee on Teledu Cymru, and Rita Street on the General Service. Mollie continued to announce for TWW and the interim Independent Television Service for Wales and the West – the ITA channel that plugged the gap between TWW’s early bow out and the start of Harlech. She remembers a huge party on TWW’s last night of broadcasting, where the technicians and production staff retained by Harlech TV comforted and patted the backs of TWW management following their loss of employment. A few months later,on 20 May 1968, Mollie was present as an audience member at Harlech’s infamous and calamitous “Opening Show”. It’s worth noting that TWW production staff had been prevented from working on the show, and no advice or expertise had been sought from them. It may not have been a great night for broadcasting but Mollie was able to get a close up glimpse of Elizabeth Taylor’s famous engagement ring, because the Hollywood legend and her Welsh husband Richard Burton were involved in the Harlech consortium and were both present at the opening of the station.

As TWW’s days drew to an end, Mollie continued to commere fashion shows and she worked occasionally for the BBC in Wales. 1968 also saw the start of her new one-woman company which was to open two boutiques in the Roath and Whitchurch areas of Cardiff. The boutiques gave Mollie particular pleasure and it is some measure of their importance to her that she has to this day a number of garments from their clothes racks. Mollie’s career in broadcasting went from strength to strength, she joined the BBC’s “Midlands Today” in Birmingham in the early seventies where she stayed for many years, becoming every bit as famous as she had been during her time at TWW. Mollie also spent many years presenting “Woman’s Hour” for BBC Radio 4, also out of Pebble Mill. Mollie’s television career continued in later years presenting various programmes – from the quiz show “Who, What, When, Where?” to the adventure series for HTV “Survival of the Fittest” which she co-presented with John Taylor – the series won a Gold Medal at the New York International Festival.

Mollie enjoyed a very successful radio career up until her retirement, on BBC Radio Wales she presented various programmes including “Good Morning Wales”, “Health Matters”, “The Maureen Staffer Show”, the drive time show & the hugely popular Saturday morning show “Mollie’s Place”. She was very privileged to have interviewed some iconic stars over the years, including Morecambe & Wise, Diana Dors, Tom Jones, Catherine Zeta Jones, John Denver, as well as host of British talent such as Britt Eckland, Michael Crawford, Clive James, Derek Jacobi, Anthony Sher, George Baker, Lenny Henry, Les Dawson, Jackie Collins, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Waterman, Ronnie Corbett, Michael Aspel, Johnny Ball, , Marti Caine, Bruce Forsyth, Rolf Harris, Harry Secombe, Windsor Davies, Phillip Madoc and Richard Briers to name but a few.

Mollie went on to re-marry in 1985 and lived happily with her husband Dr Picton Thomas, a Consultant Physician, until his death in 2007. Mollie now lives just outside Cardiff with her daughter Sophie and son-in-law. Still an avid news hound, when she isn’t devouring the papers or watching the news she is kept busy helping to look after her two grandsons, Joseph and Tom.

Gallery

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All images in this article are from the private collection of Mollie Staffer and are used with permission and grateful thanks.

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16 responses to this article

Richard Jones 16 March 2016 at 1:49 am

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