Background

This is what Anna Home has to say about No. 73 in her book "Into the Box of Delights" (1993).

"The programme which took the idea of a storyline furthest was No. 73 from TVS, who in 1980 won the franchise for the South of England from Southern Television. One of their aims was to make a mark in children's programmes. I had left the BBC to join the franchise group and create a children's department. TVS decided that Saturday morning was a good target. We were very interested in the possibility of creating live drama and we had a team including the director, Nigel Pickard, who were able to put this into practice. TVS was a regional company with no automatic access to the ITV network, so the first two series of No. 73, in 1982, only went out in.the TVS area, where it replaced Tiswas - much to the disgust of that programme's fans who picketed the studios. It was networked from 1983. John Dale, who had worked in the theatre and in children's television at the BBC, created the format and soon became the producer. With his background in the theatre, he worked from the basis of character and place. He wanted to create an adult world into which the audience was invited on Saturday morning. No. 73 was a house inhabited by a non-nuclear family.

Ethel, played by Sandi Toksvig, who was an aunt rather than a mother figure and the other characters - Dawn, who always rnoved on roller skates, Harry, the dim one and Neil - all fitted into the household. The traditional Saturday morning guests fitted into the ongoing storyline, which often involved the neighbours and other regulars. So Gary Glitter would be interviewed in the kitchen and live bands played in the living-room. The script was developed through improvisation and an intense rehearsal period, and the actors had considerable creative input. It was an original and daring programme and was recognised as such when it went on the network. However, it also had its problems. It was extremely time-consuming to make as it involved outside rehearsal in London and the whole of Friday on the set in Maidstone. Because TVS was new and not using its studios a great deal, very expensive sets could be left standing all week to make this possible. Other Saturday morning programmes never had this luxury."

"..Live television is always exciting and always dangerous. In No. 73 terms, it was even more dangerous because of the drama element: it mattered if the sets fell down. Another problem was that the actors found it difficult to retain their characters while doing straight interviews... Despite workshops in interviewing, there were often uncomfortable gear changes. However, on the whole the programme was a success; it had energy, and a rnore controlled anarchy than Tiswas that made it a real alternative to the BBC's offerings. By the time its run ended in 1987 it had become a cult programme like Tiswas, watched by many students and young adults. There were even No. 73 dances and balls!"

The picture above was the original press release for No. 73. This is what it said on the back:

"SMART WORK FOR ETHEL
 
EMBARGOED UNTIL AM THURSDAY 31 DECEMBER 1981
Ethel Spoon dropped into the launderette to make sure everyone will look
smart when NO. 73 opens its doors to television for the first time.
 
Pictured with Ethel are her boyfriend Percy Trotter (left), assistant Dawn
(right) and nephew Harry (kneeling).
 
You can meet them at 11.00 am on Saturday 2 January 1982 on TVS."
 
LITTLE DID YOU KNOW