Compact (TV series)

Compact
GenreDrama
Created byHazel Adair
Peter Ling
StarringFrances Bennett
Robert Desmond
Vincent Ball
Beryl Cooke
Ronald Allen
Jackie Lane
Penelope Keith
Moray Watson
Naomi Chance
Theme music composerRoger Roger (City Movement, 1960)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes373
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release2 January 1962 (1962-01-02) –
30 July 1965 (1965-07-30)

Compact is a British television soap opera shown by BBC Television from January 1962 to July 1965, created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling.

Production and release

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The idea came to Hazel Adair when she submitted a commissioned feature article for Woman's Own.[1] Adair and Ling devised the long-running soap Crossroads while Compact was still running.[2][3]

In contrast to the kitchen sink realism of Coronation Street, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. The show took viewers into the office, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays.[2]

After the BBC decided to produce the project, she formed a working partnership with Peter Ling.[3] When Compact began, the editor was female, Joanne Minster (Jean Harvey); she was replaced after the first six months by Ian Harmon (Ronald Allen),[3] the son of the magazine's owner. Compact featured the first regular Black character in a British soap opera, photographer Jeff Armandez (Horace James), who appeared in 26 episodes from August to October 1964.[4] Adair managed to persuade the BBC to retain an unmarried mother in the series (also a first), according to her granddaughter.[5][6]

In 1964 a regular omnibus edition was introduced, broadcast on Sundays.[2] Morris Barry, actor and BBC director – he directed three Doctor Who stories in the 1960s – took over as producer and was given a brief to spice the series up in view of the criticism it had received from the national press.[citation needed] The BBC dropped the series in 1965.[2] Adair believed the BBC was embarrassed by its high audience figures.[6]

Only four out of 373 televised episodes exist in the BBC archive. (See Wiping.)

Reception

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Despite being criticised by reviewers, Compact was a success.[7]

Cast

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Cast members included:

When the series ended, several cast members appeared in similar programmes. Ronald Allen was a regular in the soap opera Crossroads between 1969 and 1985. Australian actor Vincent Ball also featured in Crossroads. Marcia Ashton, who played Lily, appeared in soap opera Brookside many years later. Carmen Silvera played Madame Edith Artois in the sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! from 1982 to 1992. One of the directors, David Giles, for whom Compact was his first television assignment, had an extensive career in the medium.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Fiddy, Dick (27 November 2015). "Hazel Adair: Prolific writer on Emergency - Ward 10 and co-creator of Crossroads". The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Clark, Anthony (2003–14). "Compact (1962–65)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Hayward, Anthony (20 October 2011) [2006]. "Peter Ling". The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  4. ^ Bourne, Stephen (2001). Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television. London & New York City: Continuum. p. 174. ISBN 9780826455390.
  5. ^ "Crossroads creator Hazel Adair dies, aged 95". BBC News. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Hazel Adair". The Times. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2021. (subscription required)
  7. ^ Purser, Philip (27 September 2021). "Peter Ling". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  8. ^ Purser, Philip (8 March 2010). "David Giles obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
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