A Man of the Theatre

BY JOHN BEVERIDGE, TELEVISION PRODUCER, MANAGING DIRECTOR TELEVISION FACILITY COMPANIES, LONDON, ENGLAND
I spent 6 very happy months as a Production Manager on United the television soap produced by Tony and directed by, among others, Julia Smith subsequently the creator of Eastenders, and recorded in a converted cinema at Gosta Green Birmingham. After United I returned to London and spent the next 25 years as a television producer. I often wondered what the magic was and why I’d enjoyed those few months in Birmingham so much. It took me some time to realise that it was because Tony was a man of the theatre, and that whole atmosphere permeated down through the company. I remember him as charming, thoughtful, intelligent and witty. There are not many people like him left in the BBC,which may well be one of its failings.