... and well ahead of schedule ANGLIA TV scheduled to commence operations on October 29, had no intention of fretting feverishly with unseen planning Yesterday, with no studios, no transmitter and no OB unit, they made TV history by being the first regional company to contribute to a major network programme BEFORE their official opening date, Associated-Rediffusion's Summersong was the n.,;. ...

... Your write to join ranks of the famous TABARD My colleague from the page next door. Dillie Keane, is reportedly hard at work on a musical tribute to that phenomenon of the age, the 'It' Girl. For the benefit of those of you who are non-U, IGs are famous for well, famous for being famous. And having trust funds, rich daddies, names that sound like nursery rhymes, plus an overweening fondness ...

... Sherwood sells up BY TARA CONLAN North east giant McLeod-Holden Enterprises has bought Tony Sherwood Ltd for an undisclosed sum, retaining most of Sherwood's clients. Hull-based entertainment agency McLeod-Holden, whose large roster of clients includes Jim Bowen and Norman Collier, took over Sherwood's Nottingham agency, which looked after performers including Jake Elwood, the Blues Brothers ...

... Opinions split over centre By ANTHONY GARVEY DUBLIN, EIRE An ambitious plan to develop a £30 million national centre for the performing arts in Dublin has divided the Irish arts community. The proposal, submitted to the government by the Irish Arts Council, envisages a centre with three auditoriums in a new Dublin docklands development, with facilities for theatre, opera, dance and musicals. ...

... Sayer is forced to cancel tour dates BY ALEXA BARACAIA Poor ticket sales have led to Leo Sayer cancelling a number of dates on what was being billed by many as the seventies star's comeback tour. He performed to a half- full audience at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall, which seats more than 1 ,500. and the open ing show at Sheffield City Hall on May 28 had to be axed due to minimal interest. ...

... C5's cost-cutting technique is So how are you enjoying Channel 5? Have you returned to the other four channels yet? Well let's admit it. C5's budgets make Neighbours look like a Hollywood blockbuster. Even C5 producer Mai T m-getting-known-as-Mr- Cheap' Young has com mented on how low-budget much of its schedule is. But we should have known what to expect after his performance at the ...

... Cash victory for carpenter By TARA CONLAN A carpenter who was injured when he was crushed by scenery while working on West End show Blood Brothers has won £100,000 compensation. And in another victory for BECTU, a Royal Opera House stage technician who was hurt by a brake clip has won a total of £23,400. The accident on Blood Brothers when it ran at the Albery theatre left the carpenter with a ...

... LWT note sparks benefit alert BY STAGE REPORTER Television performers working for LWT are being warned by Equity that they could lose out on benefits if they sign forms declaring themselves to be self-employed. The broadcaster has written to all the artists it hires, asking them how they wish to be classified for work purposes.- Equity's response will sur prise many actors because the LWT ...

... Gauntlett exterior not hard enough Watch out Wolf. Start to tremble Trojan. It's time to get ready for Cockroach the Gladiator. Cockroach, played by Richard Gauntlett, can be seen doing an escapology routine in The Hiss Boo Company's Variety Show, which is currently touring the country. As you can see, our new hero seems hardly in the same league as Hunter. But I bet he could fairly scuttle ...

... It's not the Ender the line for Peter Former EastEnders star Peter Dean is to appear in the West End in a play by Jonathan Ross' stepfather, who has denied reports that his friend is down on his luck Tony Phillips defended Peter from recent newspaper claims that the actor has been working as a car park attendant. According to him, Peter was waiting for some one during the filming of an ...

... Well there it was in this newspaper last week. Two pages devoted to short biographies of the one hundred most significant people in British theatre today. A good list on the whole. Headed by Sir Cameron Mackintosh and not confined to actors, directors and the like. It even included an accountant and a couple of agents. But not a single flyman. Night after night, especially at this time of ...

... Seventies' schlock sets the pace at 'groovy' Channel 5 Life is pretty hectic these days in London's Long Acre, with the impending launch of Channel 5. Especially now that someone has ever-so-acci- dentally leaked a copy of C5's draft schedule tsk, tsk. So what gems can we look forward to? Well there's Knightrider, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Incredible Hulk and The Bold the Beautiful. Highly ...