Tony Grant
I was on Colin’s crew, and can vouch for those recollections of his quiet, calm demeanour, and how he kept a close watch on us ‘youngsters’ with a quiet word to us after a programme if he thought we could improve our performance, always gently put, but hitting the nail on the head. I remember swinging him on the mole, with Bryn Edwards tracking, and being told by the director at the end of the series that it was the best crane work he’d seen in his 25 years in the business (film and TV). Somehow, no matter what Bryn and I did on the back of the mole, Colin made it look super smooth and polished, in my opinion (who said humble?) he was the best crane cameraman of his generation.A trawl of the loft for diaries revealed that I joined crew 18 in February 1966 as DO1, and worked with Colin on such programmes as:
- “Dr. Who” (it was in R1, so probably Patrick Troughton)
- “The Trouble Shooters”
- “Suivez La Piste”
- “Marriage Lines”
- “Three Rousing Tinkles”
- “Dick Emery”
- “Bat Out of Hell”
- “All Gas and Gaiters”
- “Juke Box Jury”
And boy, did those diaries bring back memories, lots of programmes and people I’d totally forgotten all about.
Barry Bonner
I joined Crew 18 when it was formed. Colin was a pleasure to work with.“Dr. Who and the Smugglers” was indeed in R1. Sadly no tapes of this series survive.
One day on “Dr. Who” there was a shortage of cameramen so Colin came with cap in hand to ask me to do a camera as he knew I’d been intending to follow that career until I discovered sound!
I did quite a good job of it methinks and I was the only camera with a zoom lens! However I was refused acting pay because I wasn’t qualified!
“Suivez La Piste”, with the delightful Monique Messine! Shouts of “Merde” just before the recording!
“Bat out of Hell” also done in Riverside is available on a DVD (Luxin DAN0306), starred John Thaw, Dudley Foster and Sylvia Syms.
Tony Grant
Indeed, “Suivez la Piste” was a French language learning programme. I notice when mentioning Monique, you omitted the famous black leather bikini (oo-er missus, merde – vraiment). It was followed a few months later by “Vamos a Ver”, a Spanish language learning programme, probably with the same production team, but without the cast wishing each other ‘Merde’ before the recording.And, of course, Colin and crew were part of the overall crew on “Our World” which was in studios TC1 and TC2, although I see I must have been huddled on one of TC2s cameras in a corner of TC1, so perhaps that is me in that photo of the whole crew (how the memory plays tricks on you after such a long time) rehearsal Thursday 22nd June to Saturday 24th June , TX Sunday 25th June 1997 at 20:00.
Geoff Hawkes
Colin Reid – A Tribute
Colin joined the BBC in 1955 when the foundations of Television Centre were only just being laid ahead of what was to become, “The Golden Age of Television.”
I bring you the warm tributes of former colleagues along with my own, beginning with cameraman Tony Grant, who wrote:
“… I joined Colin’s crew in February 1966 and worked with him on shows like “Dr. Who”, “Grandstand”, “Play School”, “Jackanory” and “Blue Peter”.
I can vouch for his quiet, calm demeanour and how he kept a close watch on us ‘youngsters’, with a word after the show if he thought we could improve our performance – always gently put but hitting the nail on the head….”
Ian Ridley “…My first day in a TV studio was in August 1961 on “This is your Life” with Eamon Andrews and Colin was a cameraman on the crew. He was the most kind and calm person you could ever wish to meet – and meticulous in his camera work….”
Howard Michaels worked with Colin on cameras both at the BBC and later at Sky and says: “… I’ve had lots of replies from friends and colleagues to my recent post about Colin on Facebook. All agree, “He was such a lovely man and a great cameraman.”…”
Tony Newman wrote: “…As a young Floor Assistant, I first met Colin in 1971 on a children’s show called “Ali Bongo”. What struck me was his calmness and authority together with his professionalism. Later when I was a Director on the live chat shows with Terry Wogan, I knew that Colin could be relied on to achieve first class results with a minimum of fuss. A true master of his craft, as well as a humble, polite and charming colleague. He will be greatly missed….”
And from Sir Peter Bazalgette: “…Let’s celebrate the life and work of Colin Reid…a consummate professional and a thoroughly decent man. Colin had the challenging task of leading the studio camera crew for our hit show, “Food & Drink”. At its peak it was winning five million viewers a week with all manner of lively, not to say eccentric items. Colin was never phased by our bizarre demands, always leading colleagues to deliver the high-quality images that were an essential part of the show’s success. “Bless you Colin, and big thanks from all the team who had the privilege of working with you…”
I myself had the honour of acting as Colin’s deputy for a while and tried to maintain his standard. He was a reserved person, highly skilled but never sought centre-stage and dressed for comfort rather than style. He was keen on photography and cycling and loved to talk about food and wine and his many trips to France with his folding caravan.
I remember when he went to the Philippines and came back with Nelly as his wife. How glad he was to have found her. His pleasure was multiplied when a couple of years later, Nelly presented him with a daughter, Carol – and it was clear that for him, his life was now complete.
He’d sometimes tell us what Nelly was cooking at home and wished he was there to share it. He benefited greatly from her companionship and care both in sickness and in health right to the end.
Go gently into that Long Good Night old friend, with our thanks for your life and being. Our memories of you, will long remain.
Vernon Dyer
Thanks, Geoff, for a fine account of Colin’s life and work. You have hit just the right note in describing him and his seemingly easy manner which nevertheless inspired and encouraged so many of us.
