The Winifred Atwell Show

The Winifred Atwell Show was the title of both a British TV and radio series in the mid-1950s. They starred pianist Winifred Atwell, who had had a number of hits on the UK charts.

Television

The television series was broadcast 21 April to 23 June 1956 on ITV as "Bernard Delfont presents The Winifred Atwell Show",.[1] The series was initially booked by ITV for 6 episodes, but this was extended to 10 by popular demand.[2] Regulars included singing act Teddy Johnson and Pearl Carr and the comedy act Morecambe and Wise. The show switched to the BBC for 7 weekly episodes starting 13 April 1957.[3] All episodes of both series are believed to be lost.[4]

Atwell did a later TV series in the early 1960s called The Amazing Miss A, of which most episodes survive.[5]

She was likely the first black woman to have her own series on British television.[citation needed]

Radio

A separate 15 minute "The Winifred Atwell Show" ran on Radio Luxembourg on Sunday evenings from 1954[6] to 1960,[7] sponsored by Currys.[8][9][10] The show also featured Johnson and Carr and was recorded in front of live audiences at various locations around England. At least one radio episode is available online.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Delfont, Lord Bernard (1909-1994)". screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  2. ^ "The Atwell Show's Ten Week Run Ends Tonight". The Birmingham Mail. Birmingham, West Midlands, England. 23 June 1956. p. 1.
  3. ^ North, Max (13 April 1957). "Its Winnie With Her Herpsicord". Manchester Evening News. Manchester, Greater Manchester, England. p. 3.
  4. ^ "The Winifred Atwell Show on Lost UK Shows Search Engine". Archived from the original on 8 August 2016.
  5. ^ "The Amazing Miss A on Lost UK Shows Search Engine". Archived from the original on 8 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Radio Luxembourg Programme of English Broadcasts". The Whitstable Times and Tankerton Press. Whitstable, Kent, England. 9 January 1954. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Weekend Television and Radio". The Daily Mail. Hull, Humberside, England. 3 September 1960. p. 4.
  8. ^ Sherman, Mike (1991). "Who was Trinidad's Queen of the Keyboard?". The Reminiscence Quiz Book: 1930's - 1960's. Routledge. p. 114.
  9. ^ a b "The Winifred Atwell Radio Show". National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Wells Party at Winifred Atwell Show". The Wells Journal. Wells, Somerset, England. 29 November 1957. p. 1.