... IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW'S ENTERTAINERS SOME weeks ago this paper reported one of the producers of Central's new talent series saying he would love to see more original speciality acts, and that the good variety acts he did see were few and far between. This led to a number of artists writing into this office suggesting that Richard Holloway, the producer in question, should come along and see ...

... Clarke's winning formula is his seaside 'disguise' Gillian Rose on the man behind TV's three most unlikely heroes ROY CLARKE is not as one expects him to be. The Yorkshire-man, who has written such marvellous and enduring comedies as Last of the Summer Wine, now in its ninth series, Potter and Open All Hours is, on first impression, a rather quiet, retiring man and extremely modest. The ...

... South Bank Show I WT NOTHING could have been more relaxed than the manner of this first in the new series of the South Bank Show, with John Mortimer discussing his life and work with Melvyn Bragg against the backgrounds of his Oxfordshire village home and the barristers' chambers in London where he first worked for his father and which inspired his Rumpole series. Underneath the easy going ...

... BBC strikes a 'lucrative' deal with Cinema Verity THE BBC has signed a major deal with top TV producer and director Verity Lambert's independent production company Cinema Verity. Details of the deal were still under wraps as Television Today went to press, but a BBC spokesman did reveal that Lambert's company would be working on the development of major television productions exclu sively for ...

... Rape, drugs, under-age sex-now Brookside tackles AIDS BROOKSIDE boss Phil Red-mond has revealed plans for the Mersey soap to introduce an Aids storyline in response to growing public concern over the killer disease. Despite various muttering* from the Eastenders' camp, the Scouse soap with the reputation for tackling taboo subjects, looks certain to be the first home-grown soap to feature Aids ...

... Clever Trevor reaps the rewards of success Nick Smurthwaite on the rise of an ITN veteran BLACK faces are still a rarity on primetime TV except for Trevor Macdonald and Lenny Henry (not unknown to each other) at opposite ends of the spectrum. At 47, Macdonald can be counted an ITN veteran, with 13 years' service to his credit. In the fast-moving world of the media, that is an eternity and he ...

... Lizzie's Pictures BBC 2 THE NEW BBC2 drama series, Lizzie's Pictures, looks set to imprint itself in the minds of those approaching 40 who suddenly realise that their lives have been taken over by the demands of others. It is the first series written by Lesley Bruce, who, because she can ally herself to the problems, writes with incision and understanding. 1 he results are witty, touching, ...

... Farrington YORKSHIRE TV WOULD THAT more members of our far-flung Foreign Office looked like cool, slim, and haughty Harriet Farrington, Britain's consul-general in one of the arm-pit countries of South America. ITie one-time Hot Pants Harriet, who was not above turning her bath room into an illicit distillery in the Persian Gulf, is a fascinating character. Angela Thome is ideally cast in the ...

... above) are among the eight nationally networked ITV programmes to be offered to advertisers for sponsorship. Also on the list are Thames' This Is Your Life, HTV's Great Expec tations and Chimera, the science fiction drama independently made for Anglia by Zenith Productions. The price sponsors will pay to their names put on the pro gramme credits will depend on demand. Malcolm Wall, chair of ...

... STOP PRESS: FILM editors and assistant film editors at BBC Television's London production bases will proceed with strike action this week following management's refusal to give way over the issue of compulsory redundan cies. The BBC wants to axe 57 cut ting room jobs, but has refused to offer voluntary redundancy, and the criteria it has set out to determine which editors should be retained ...

... Dramatic cut at Radio 3 BBC RADIO 3 may axe one of its two weekly drama slots and concentrate more on classical music, the managing director of the Corporation's network radio revealed this week. Speaking at a seminar organ ised by lobby group Voice of the Listener and Viewer, David Hatch indicated that halving Radio 3's drama output could well form part of changes to the network set to be ...

... Good on you sport A LOCAL television station* has joined forces with its newspaper counterpart to present a Sports Personality of the Year award with a difference the difference being that you don't have to be remotely atMetic to win it. Where similar national contests al ways come up with a winner who almost broke a record in international athletics or almost won the world motor racing ...