Schools Programme ID

[Captain Star]

HI, can you please identify the name of a 1989 BBC2 schools programme on the FX of Red Dwarf. I taped it at the time, but its long gone.

The programme featured a female presenter interviewing Peter Wragg along side a demonstration of the Starbug model flying through the Hanger bay set/doors re-erected in the studio.

The show ended with the Presenter saying “Take it away Mr Rimmer” followed by a montage of model shots as the credits rolled.

Its been bugging me for years & nobody else seems to remember it & it never turned up on the DVDs

Topic

[MANI506]

We watched that at school! I was an avid viewer of Red Dwarf from series 2 but I only went bananas when V went out. Would love to see this again.

[Jawscvmcdia]

Was it “SMALL WORD”?

Broadcast on BBC TWO England on the 10 July 1989 at 13:10.

Synopsis:
Model Spacecraft
Presenter Eric Thompson Featuring the modelling of Mat Irvine, a BBC special effects designer, whose major interest is making model spacecraft.
Producer PAUL SMITH BBC Bristol (R)

[Ben Saunders]

Man, if they showed something Red Dwarf related at my primary school I would have gone utterly nuts, I was well into Dwarf from a very young age. Hope you find it

[Dave]

Would that make it the TV debut of Starbug?

[Captain Star]

It wasn’t Small World. That was used as an extra on a Doctor Who DVD, so it couldn’t be that.

The woman presenter was a common sight on TV at the time, but cant remember her name to search credits. She was kind of similar to Carol Vorderman.

[GlenTokyo]

G&TV incoming if this can be found.

[Taiwan Tony]

Janet Ellis?

[(deleted)]

This is very interesting!

[Captain Star]

I tried her credits but nothing matched. I’ve tried Caron Keating as well & Vorderman (to be sure)

[Lily]

Would Maggie Philben (sp?) be a possibility? She used to do Tomorrows World, so that sort of show sounds like it would be a fit maybe?

[Jawscvmcdia]

Could it have been?

“DAYTIME ON TWO” 24 Feb. 1989

12.20pm English File: Science Fiction: Visions of Tomorrow
The image of science fiction as only being about poorly characterised space heroes saving the universe is challenged in this new film programme.

[CB3]

Could be Kate Bellingham? She presented Tomorrow’s World in the early 90s, but before that did a BBC Schools programme called Techno (though she appears to be credited as Dilly Bellingham for this on Genome).

From 19th March 1990:

Techno

9: Dilly Bellingham tries out a robotic fashion mannequin in Tokyo and visits pneumatic rock stars in London. Why is taking a picture of a rubbish skip as difficult as a falcon in flight? To help with this, Mat Irvine and Dilly explore the world of model engineering. Assistant producer Derek Butler Series producer Robin Mudge

Well none of that makes much sense to me, but a possible contender?

[(deleted)]

This is a mad tangent, but I’ve just realised that the reason the GELF chase in Beyond A Joke remained in its model version for the show – rather than being replaced with CGI – could have been because they already had the How Do They Do That? cross-promotion lined up and couldn’t contradict it.

[Captain Star]

Kate Bellingham looks about right & the programme title “Techno” sounds familiar (it did have a funky synthesizer theme tune).

[si]

it did have a funky synthesizer theme tune

[Paul Muller]

This sounds brilliant, hope it turns up.

[Author]

Replies