South Yorkshire Times November 9, 1957
“I Could Have Wept”
Dearne Valley Entertainers and I.T.V. “Hitch”
The appearance on I.T.V. of two South Yorkshire entertainers Mr. Arthur Beevers of 48 Beech House Road, Hemingfield, (picture left) and Mr. George Ryder, of 17, Grove Road, West Melton, (picture right) was disappointing both for the artists themselves and for viewers. This was due not to any lack of skill or entertainment value but to what the entertainers described as a “technical hitch”.
The artists appeared in the “Bid for Fame” feature scheduled for Sunday afternoon from Birmingham. They were the last number to appear in a programme extending from 4.45 to 5.15 and Mr. Beevers declares that they were “rushed.”
He says the programme was running behind time and they were given only two and a half minutes for a performance which should have covered five minutes.
But the failure of their contribution arose mainly through a fault in transmission. Mr. Ryder plays the clavioline while simultaneously Mr Beevers does some clever miming on the violin. It appears that for some unaccountable reason the clavoline was not plugged in and viewers saw nothing but meaningless action. As a viewer at Wombwell said, “What should have been good entertainment became nothing but a farce”.
Mr. Beevers told a”South Yorkshire Times” reporter, “I could have wept”. He said what made the whole thing more regrettable was the fact that they were rehearsing at Birmingham from 1.30 to 5.30 on Saturday afternoon and spent all Sunday in front of the cameras. Do
“This is my best act”, he said, “and people must have been wondering what I was doing. We seem to have been victims of a one in a million hitch”.
Mr. Beevers said the I.T V authorities apologised to them— immediately and both manager and producer told them they would be given! another show. Since getting home he had written them again asking if they would be willing to give an explanation in the same programme next Sunday.
Mr Beevers said they realised it was an honour even to get an appearance in this programme as 400 people were auditioned for it each week and only six were chosen. The honours in this programme are allotted by popular choice but Mr. Beevers said he realised now that they would have absolutely no chance in the voting. The two men stayed at a hotel in Birmingham, over Saturday night.
A.viewer at Wombwell, who has to do with concert entertainment said, “I felt sorry for the lads. I know that they are very good and it was a great pity their performance was spoiled in this way”. The same person said he thought there was some faulty arrangement in the fact that Mr. Ryder had his back to the camera and it was impossible to see either his face or his hands.