Staff lift lid on 60 years of broadcasting at UTV

UTV was the first commercial television broadcaster on the island of Ireland. Its output over the years has featured a diverse range of genres including entertainment, factual, children’s television, local news and current affairs.

This series of interviews is the latest initiative coming out of the partnership between the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive and ITV, a project which aims to safeguard and preserve historically significant material from the extensive UTV archive.

There are interviews with Jacqui Berkeley, who charts her long and varied career in UTV, alongside fabulous footage of some of the programmes she presented, produced and directed.

Former Kelly Show producer, Davy Donaghy, tells great stories from behind-the-scenes of the iconic Friday night chat show, as he reminisces about some of Gerry’s most famous interviews.

Andrew Crockart started in UTV as a studio manager in the early 1960s and was soon directing news, documentaries, and Irish music programmes. He talks about the innovations in reporting styles during the era and recounts how he overcame challenges on location whilst making certain early programmes. He also recalls how the pub across the road from UTV’s studios, at Havelock House, was the breeding ground for a lot of programme ideas.

Terry Brennan, head of News and Programmes at UTV said: “The importance of this valuable archive cannot be underestimated, and the addition of interviews from those long-serving employees give a lovely insight to life in UTV at the time that programmes were being made. It’s a lovely way to mark our 60th birthday.”