[Afamilyatwar-list] John Finch's 'A Family at War' (Part 2)

[Veit, Richard]

[cid:78fbcbd5-fcb8-479e-9238-c77ec8bad007]



(What follows is the second part of John Finch’s recollections of ‘A Family at War,’ as excerpted from his forthcoming autobiography.)



John writes …



I had expected to come from Granada Television’s annual meeting with nothing more than a better understanding of what the company’s intentions were in the field of drama in the following year. (I had seen myself as very small fry to be involved in any plans for drama likely to take wing.) I emerged, after a brief preliminary discussion with Denis Forman, Granada’s managing director, with a commitment to a whole drama series, which would take at least a year. Apart from the interest of attending such an event—and in terms of work, to keep bread on the table—I had only hoped for a contract for a few episodes of ‘Coronation Street,’ and two plays I desperately wanted to do.

What had happened was that, almost from the outset, Denis had put his weight behind ‘Conflict,’ and very little else was discussed. Before the meeting broke up, he had intimated that the title would have to change. A few ideas had been passed around, but without much enthusiasm from the attendees, many of whom had had their hopes dashed and found their plans for the future barely discussed. Curious glances were cast in my direction from people who had obviously never heard of me. So far as television was concerned, they considered me an off-comed’un.

The meeting broke up, and Denis departed with others, presumably the top brass who would, perhaps—I really feared this—talk him out of it. The result had been by no means unanimous, for there were those who (I knew from rumours circulating around the building) had plans at stake, and I was very far from counting my chickens. I had also not fully absorbed what was likely to arise from all this. A large glass of scotch was obviously called for, and with a few friendly colleagues, I headed for the Film Exchange up the road, where most of Granada’s serious drinking was done.

We had barely settled in when a recently promoted drama producer came in with a small entourage. He spotted me immediately and came over. He looked extremely angry and didn’t attempt to disguise the fact.

“All you are going to get out of this,” he said, rather nastily, looking me straight in the eye, “is money”. End of conversation. It was unpleasant, and it was meant to be; and he immediately turned his back on me to make that clear. I find it difficult at this point in time to remember my reaction, but it can’t have been a very happy one, especially since our relationship, though not especially close since we were very different people, had been fairly amiable over a longish period. Thinking about it later, I realised that a scheduling of ‘Conflict’ was going to take at least thirteen of the drama slots allotted to Granada by the network, and he had probably had his eye on them. It didn’t exactly ruin the evening for me, but I realised at this precise moment that I would be pretty naïve if I remained unaware that in this sort of situation it was possible to make enemies as well as friends—even worse, enemies who disguised themselves as friends. The memory of it would, in any case, have been pushed to the back of my mind by the fairly swift appointment of Richard Doubleday, as executive producer, and Michael Cox, as occasional director on some essential episodes and associate producer on others. When Denis set his mind on something, it usually happened at speed.

My two-page format for ‘Conflict’ had included a brief outline of the opening episode, two-line descriptions of the main characters, and a timeline of the period from 1936 to 1945, with the briefest of descriptions of events that had to be covered as the war progressed. Beyond that were blank sheets of paper waiting to be filled.



(To be continued…)

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