Going back to the Black and White days in 1967, Chris Evans engineer, Harry Storey and yours truly were dispatched with a unit to Pinewood for the Bond movie ‘You only Live Twice’. We were to set up the control rooms that were built and operational for the incredible Volcano set (said to be the biggest set ever built) to cover and relay the launch of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile and the subsequent invasion by helicopter and troops into the Volcano. The adversaries were played by Sean Connery and Donald Pleasance. At one point I was to operate at the base of the rocket in a pit to enable pictures of the flames etc from the rocket on launch, all to be shown on our monitors in the control centre. (The rocket was built around a lift shaft to simulate the lift off). Count down 3,2,1 0 and I was engulfed in fire and smoke. As it slowly cleared, I remember Harry’s face peering down into the launch pit and shouting “Is everything all right down there Terry” – I think he was worried about the camera!! 

“Arabesque” with Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck was yet another film where a fully functioning control room was set up inside for rain day scenes. Although nothing to do with Video Facilities, we felt an affinity with Johnny Jordan who was a great innovator of film camera equipment, for even here on “Arabesque” Johnny had built a special rig for the chase scenes in the wheat fields. Johnny was later to lose a foot in ‘You only live Twice’ as the gyrocopter ‘Little Nellie” came too close in an aerial shot. Tragically, later he was to lose his life after being sucked out of a transporter plane whilst shooting a scene in the Battle of Britain epic. I had just finished playing the fool with Alan English who happened to be moving the 2-truck into position, for I had spotted a copper’s uniform lying on a chair in the reception area of the stately home. I donned the helmet and jacket and it matched my blue shirt and dark blue tie and trousers: I went outside and remonstrated with Alan for parking outside the main building.

I wanted to book him and removed the notebook and pencil from my top pocket and only then did I realise it was not a prop but the local constable’s uniform. It didn’t help that a rigger knocked off my helmet and kicked it – I quickly had to dust it down and replace the uniform in extreme haste… It was then I passed two great open doors leading into the main lounge area that I saw ‘her’ – I’d seen her before … but for the first time in my life or ever thereafter I froze … Sophia Loren was sitting alone on the far side of this enormous lounge at a small table by the sunlit window playing cards alone. “She looked more than stunning”. She was dressed in a simple dress, but that woman could wear a sack and bowl you over. Sophia beckoned me in … and the distance between us was ‘forever’ as I covered the enormous room … “Please, do you have a light for me?” “No, I’m sorry no, but I will get one.” More words failed me (I mean “I am the light of your world” would have at least been something.) I stiffly tripped a thousand times so slowly across the never-ending room and turned out of the doorway, whereupon I ran like a greyhound out of trap 6 to Harry Paul outside “Quick give me your lighter – Quick Harry!” “Tel, you don’t smoke!” “For * * * I’ll hit you, give me your lighter!”- I grabbed it ran back across the gravel drive, up the front steps, into the big reception hall, and came close to those great doors, I tried desperately to get my breath back and lead-footed back across the lounge and lit Sopia’s cigarette, but my voice, brain and normally cheeky approach had vaporised with the steam from the top of my head. Sophia thanked me in her polite sultry way as she well knew I was Gobsmacked. On ‘Wrap’ we were outside that late afternoon when their Rolls pulled up, Gregory Peck opened the door, Sophia stepped in to go home, the riggers said “Look Tel’ … Look who your girlfriend’s going home with” … as the Rolls slid silently passed my loudly-beating heart, Sophia blew me kiss … then all the riggers jumped on me and buried me in the gravel! Who knows, maybe Gregory could have gone home alone if I could just have said … Something.  

For some reason the 2-truck with the other VTR was suddenly required. It was this very VTR truck that Alan English the VTR engineer decided to drive to the “Arabesque” set himself, for he was back at the Ealing garage setting up his VTR machine. Our giant garage door was a slider that disappeared between two walls when opened, Alan had forgotten to close his VTR door. Now on the side of the Scanner was sign written – “InterTel VTR Services Ltd” – -and Sod’s Law is a strange mechanism for as Alan drove out of the garage, the VTR door swung open and disappeared down between the two cavity walls encasing the garage door and neatly ripped the VTR door off its hinges. Alan of course was mortified and quickly found a sheet of hardboard cut it to size and filled in a temporary door. Now of course humour will always prevail, and some bright spark went and drew a giant Ice Cream cone on the replacement board and the Scanner now read “InterTel VTR ices Ltd”. The ‘Serv’ had been on the stricken door. Trevor went berserk when he saw it and a severe reprimand was served on the culprits. 

More on “Arabesque”: Chris Evans, Harry Storey and I had been selected to sit in the mock control room in front of Sophia on camera to act as operational staff, Chris was to have a speaking part and we were just extras next to Sophia. But Trevor wanted to do it himself, the Director disagreed, and they had a row over it. Trevor then forbade ‘us’ to take part and so my acting career never took off even though I’m sure Sophia would have preferred me as a backup for Gregory Peck. Throughout my whole career in TV or since, Sophia was the only person to make me anywhere near stricken … She had a presence and beauty like no other …

“The Magnificent Two” with Morecombe and Wise was yet another film we appeared in- it was their last movie together – surely the funniest two men on the Planet apart from Harry and I, but as always great fun.

Add to that internationally recognized classical musicians in concerts at the Royal Albert Hall with Humphrey Burton or Church Services from around the country, Rugby, Cricket, Wimbledon Tennis, Golf, Jack Nicklaus at St Andrews or even events such as Sir Francis Chichester’s arrival at Plymouth, Royal events or Ministers announcements, just about anything you can think of really, InterTel (VTR) Services Ltd covered it. The facility industry was about to grow at a remarkable pace. InterTel at Ealing was a quart in a pint pot: Trevor and Mike had already moved their offices to Regent Street to enable a central London hub. But even that didn’t free up any space, for Steve moved his management upstairs and, as previously said, the AG unit had also moved in – we were definitely overcrowded. Then the news came that a new studio in Stonebridge Park was on the cards. Custom built from an in-progress warehouse it seemed enormous, just 1ft short of a hundred by seventy-five-foot studio floor space wall-to-wall. Northlights were specially manufactured to evenly light the large area to enable colour productions and ‘Castro’ (Brian Rottger) installed his prototype thyristor dimmer consul. Workshops were close to hand with a cafeteria and offices on the first floor. The upper floor was for wardrobe, make up and others. Control rooms and sound production were run from the scanners parked outside in the car park. Quite a few new faces arrived at this time – one notable was John Duncum from Anglia TV; he was trained as a studio cameraman and would be of great assistance as there would be a swing to studio production. Whilst I fail to remember the names of the productions, for I was to leave within a short space of time, I do remember Peter O’Toole featured in one. I covered a Dylan Thomas recitation where during a long sequence on my camera a fly landed on the artist’s nose, but he carried on regardless. 

Several other interesting productions, some shot on the Add-Vision concept, similar to Gemini, with film cameras and video viewfinders. I distinctly remember the infamous Peter O’Toole in one such major production being shot into the late evening. His bodyguard and I had a long conversation, and I was to learn of Peter’s infamy.