Granada Television--The First Generation

Book excerpt: This is a rich and readable collection of memoirs of those who worked at Granada during the first thirty years of its existence. It captures a climate of creative activity unique in the history of broadcasting, referred to now as the Golden Years of British Television. Lords Birt and Macdonald, Sir Denis Forman, Michael Parkinson, Michael Apted, Stan Barstow, Nick Elliott, Victoria Wood, Kenith Trodd, Jack Rosenthal, Anna Ford, Chris Kelly and Alan Plater are just a few of the many well known contributors who were responsible for creating the foundations on which Granada's considerable worldwide reputation was based. Shows like World in Action, Brideshead Revisited, A Family at War, Coronation Street, What the Papers Say, and many more described in this book were pioneers in their respective fields.