Open to Question
Open to Question | |
---|---|
Presented by | Donnie MacLeod Mary Marquis Donald MacCormick Don Cupitt Hilary O'Neill Michael MacFarlane John Nicolson[2] Krishnan Guru-Murthy John Kelly |
Production | |
Running time | 35-60 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two Scotland |
Release | 5 June 1972[1] – 23 March 1992 |
Open to Question was a current affairs television programme, broadcast by BBC Scotland. Beginning as a regional broadcast in June 1972 until 1973. The programmes were hosted in turn by Donnie MacLeod, Mary Marquis and Donald MacCormick. Guests in the early programmes included Chay Blyth and John Ridgway, the Atlantic rowers; Communist Jimmy Reid and Lord George MacLeod of Fuinary; and MPs, anti-Royalist Willie Hamilton, and pro-Royalist Norman St John-Stevas. In 1976, the programme was revamped amd networked on BBC1 with Don Cupitt, Dean of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, moderating the discussion, focusing on religious matters.[3] The series was rested after 1977 but returned in 1984 under the production of BBC Scotland, featuring an audience of youngsters, mainly teenagers.[4] After airing on BBC1 Scotland with Hilary O'Neill and Michael MacFarlane as hosts, the show moved to BBC2 in December 1984 with repeats of most of the episodes. An episode featuring David Steel was not included in the re-runs.[5] In 1988, Krishnan Guru-Murthy became the host of the series at just 18 years old.[6][7] John Kelly replaced Guru-Murthy for the final series, in 1992. The series brand continued on BBC Radio 1 hosted by Emma Freud from January - December 1994.[8]
Premise
It was a British audience participation talk show which involved Scottish teenagers asking questions to celebrities about topical issues of the day.[9]
Guests
(Sourced from the BBC's Radio Times archive)[10]
- 10th Dec 1984: Ato Wahib Muluneh, Dr. John Seaman & George Galloway.
- 14th Dec 1984: Arthur Scargill.
- 18th Dec 1984: Billy Connolly.
- 21st Dec 1984: HRH Princess Anne.
- 8th Jan 1985: The Rt Hon Cecil Parkinson, MP.
- 15th Jan 1985: The Bishop of Durham, The Right Rev David Jenkins.
- 22nd Jan 1985: Tessa Sanderson, Mary Peters and Wendy Sly.
- 29th Jan 1985: Jimmy & Sarah Boyle.
- 5th Feb 1985: The Rt Hon Enoch Powell, MP
- 12th Feb 1985: Midge Ure, Stuart Adamson and Robert Hodgens.
- 17th Sep 1985: John Nicolson replaces Hilary O'Neill and Michael MacFarlane as host. No Guest specified in Radio Times.
- 24th Sep 1985: The Rt Hon Neil Kinnock, MP, Leader of the Labour Party.
- 1st Oct 1985: Mrs. Victoria Gillick.
- 8th Oct 1985: Former Prime Minister of Rhodesia Mr. Ian Smith.
- 15th Oct 1985: Steve Sawyer, Greenpeace.
- 22nd Oct 1985: James Anderton, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester & Leslie Curtis, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
- 29th Oct 1985: Dr. David Owen.
- 5th Nov 1985: Jeffrey Archer.
- 12th Nov 1985: Jo-Ag-Quis-Ho, Chief of the Iroquois Confederacy.
- 19th Nov 1985: Vladimir Pozner.
- 26th Nov 1985: Tony Benn.
- 3rd Dec 1985: Cliff Richard.
- 10th Dec 1985: Aurora & Michael El Legion.
- 22nd Sep 1986: Derek Hatton & John Macreadie.
- 29th Sep 1986: Jim Kerr.
- 6th Oct 1986: Mrs. Mary Whitehouse.
- 13th Oct 1986: Lord Walter Marshall.
- 20th Oct 1986: Ian Botham.
- 27th Oct 1986: Former Vice-President Walter Mondale (via satellite).
- 17th Nov 1986: Former Prime Minister Edward Heath.
- 24th Nov 1986: Guest not specified by Radio Times.
- 1st Dec 1986: Guest not specified by Radio Times.
- 8th Dec 1986: Denis Healey.
- 15th Dec 1986: South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Ron Miller (via satellite).
- 29th Sep 1987: Bernie Grant.
- 6th Oct 1987: Edwina Currie.
- 13th Oct 1987: Terry Butcher.
- 20th Oct 1987: Ben Elton.
- 27th Oct 1987: Janet & Stewart Farrar.
- 3rd Nov 1987: Former News of the World editor David Montgomery.
- 10th Nov 1987: Peter Tatchell.
- 17th Nov 1987: Freemason Commander Michael Higham.
- 24th Nov 1987: Billy Bragg.
- 1st Dec 1987: Winnie Ewing.
- 8th Dec 1987: Clive Barker.
- 15th Dec 1987: Michael Grade.
- 22nd Dec 1987: Sir Ian MacGregor.
- 9th May 1988: Live edition. Guest not specified by Radio Times.
- 16th May 1988: Live edition. Guest not specified by Radio Times.
- 30th May 1988: Live edition. Tom Robinson & The Rev David Holloway.
- 6th Jun 1988: Live edition. Senator Gary Hart.
- 13th Jun 1988: Live edition. Linda Lusardi, Gail McKenna & Miss Bluebell Margaret Kelly.
- 21st Sep 1988: Krishnan Guru-Murthy becomes host. Guest: Jimmy Savile.
- 28th Sep 1988: John Prescott, MP.
- 5th Oct 1988: Guest not specified in Radio Times.
- 12th Oct 1988: Dr. Jerry Nims.
- 19th Oct 1988: Guest not specified in Radio Times.
- 26th Oct 1988: Guest not specified in Radio Times.
- 3rd April 1989: Pamela Stephenson.
- 10th April 1989: The Guardian Angels founders Curtis Sliwa & Dave Edmond.
- 17th April 1989: Janet Street-Porter.
- 24th April 1989: Rt Hon Roy Hattersley, MP.
- 8th May 1989: Rt Hon Douglas Hurd, MP. (Originally scheduled but postponed from 1st May)
- 15th May 1989: Padre Miguel D'Escoto.
- 13th Jan 1992: John Kelly becomes host. Guest: Justin Fashanu.
- 20th Jan 1992: Robbie Coltrane.
- 27th Jan 1992: Tom Sutherland.
- 3rd Feb 1992: Bernadette Devlin McAliskey.
- 24th Feb 1992: Caroline Cossey.
- 2nd Mar 1992: Kate Adie.
- 16th Mar 1992: Nabil Shaban. (Originally scheduled but postponed from 9th March)
- 23rd Mar 1992: Craig Charles.
References
- ^ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/6a4e0c25cdf43ce3b156cd3e493960e7
- ^ "How we met: Krishnan Guru-Murthy & John Nicolson". The Independent. September 26, 1999.
- ^ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b8f4314a5e3444bb892c87bd9ecd766a
- ^ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/0f167e1c82b18f445b77e146b60d258c
- ^ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/13c41279791347c49b87bc8c88578a73
- ^ "Jimmy Savile: Cold, aggressive, menacing". Channel 4 News. October 8, 2012.
- ^ "The night Billy Connolly walked into an ambush at the BBC". HeraldScotland.
- ^ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/329a5b377be74f42a0c43fef1af2fb33
- ^ "SNP John Nicolson on Hosting Brilliant Grilling by Scottish Teenagers In 1986". HuffingtonPost.com.
- ^ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/
- Articles needing cleanup from July
- Articles with bare URLs for citations from July
- Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from July
- 1972 Scottish television series debuts
- BBC Regional News shows
- BBC Scotland television shows
- Scottish television news shows
- 1994 Scottish television series endings
- 1990s Scottish television series
- 1980s Scottish television series
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