Angels – The Heath Green Years
"Angels" began broadcasting in 1975 when it was a fifty-minute hospital drama series set in St. Angela's Hospital, Battersea. The format changed when the BBC recognised a need for a twenty-five minute soap serial and adapted the show to fit. These shorter episodes were broadcast twice-weekly at about seven o'clock in the evening.
As responsibility for the show was moving to Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham, the hospital location was changed to the "mythical" Heath Green Hospital in Birmingham. The idea was to set the show in a modern establishment as opposed to the aging Battersea hospital used previously. As Birmingham did not possess a suitable location, Walsgrave Hospital in nearby Coventry was used.
The title sequence (designed by Sid Sutton I think) shows the St.Angela’s crest metamorphosising into the image of Heath Green hospital. This is indeed the profile of Walsgrave Hospital, with wings either side of the centre and also another wing jutting out directly toward the camera representing the centre column, although hidden by the perspective.
Within the hospital.
Many locations within the hospital grounds were used for OB filming.The hospital design incorporates two reception areas, one for Admissions and the other for visitors. They are "mirror images" of each other and both have been used for filming. Many shots were filmed of ambulances arriving, loading and unloading at each entrance. Shots requiring several cast members were often set up within the visitors’ reception area.
Each floor within the hospital has the same layout with three lifts (one for service use only) surrounding a seating area. Ward layout is a sequence of four-bed or six-bed rooms attached to a parallel corridor arrangement and one-berth rooms. Adjoining corridors are linked by nurse stations with a comprehensive alarm system. Although a lot of filming was carried out on location, wards were meticulously recreated in the studio even down to the authentic alarm sound, and skyline panorama behind the windows.
Memorable locations on site were:
*Psychiatric Unit - at the rear of the site and this was used when a patient was being coaxed out of coma.
*Ring Road - surrounds the site and was used for cast arrivals and departures notably when Rose Butchins walks off "into the sunset" (end of series seven?). Any arrivals or departures by bus were filmed here and many a blue and white West Midlands Travel bus is seen travelling this route. Notably buses displayed the "CITY" destination board which referred to Coventry city centre but doubled for Birmingham.
*Picnic area - directly in front of the building with lower level access to the visitor entrance. When Pauline Quirke meets her real mother (Jacqueline Hill remembered as Doctor Who teacher Barbara Wright) it is filmed here. She departs in disgust toward the lower level door in the background. Jacqueline is seen smoking and sadly years later she died of cancer.
*Hospital Entrance road - entrance is dual carriageway from Clifford Bridge Road and "Welcome to Walsgrave Hospital" signs were replaced by the Heath Green equivalent. The roundabout junction to the ring road incorporates a water-feature which has recently been reactivated after a long period out of use.
*Walsgrave Hospital was a flagship creation when it opened in the seventies. Sadly it suffered from the NHS financial crisis and some wards have been decommissioned, others used to store equipment. The hospital is still in use and is Coventry's main unit although construction is well underway on its replacement, the legendary superhospital which will be located immediately behind the Walsgrave site.
It is interesting to note that an unused ward was transformed into the Accident and Emergency Ward that Walsgrave Hospital didn’t possess. Indeed that function was handled by the city’s other large hospital, Coventry and Warwick. Is this symptomatic of what was happening in the NHS at the time – ward closures to meet reduced costs?
Although Coventry was the hospital location, most of the remaining outdoor shooting was conducted in Birmingham, probably to preserve the illusion of Birmingham being home to Heath Green.
Notable locations:
* Disused motorway links between the M6 and the M42 for a motorway pile-up. Tracey's ambulance-driving dad is involved in a collision when he steps out in front of oncoming traffic. * Rugby station was used to stage an incident with a collision on the track, although it was strategically renamed.
* The ASDA superstore located just up the road from Walsgrave hospital, was the shopping mecca for newly-weds Chris and Tracey.
* Pauline Quirke's London home was in reality a pub situated in Arsenal Street, Bordesley, just down the road from Birmingham City's football ground. Pauline's dad played by Derek Martin, is now better known as the Eastenders Slater cab driver. The pub survives although little else in the surrounding streets does. The pub has been converted from one room into two since it's appearance.
Aware of the Pebble Mill studio home of the programme, I was surprised to see a "London pub" making an appearance. My experience of watching Doctor Who had taught me that rarely did the production team stray too far from "home" when filming outdoors. So, I assumed the location was somewhere close to either Birmingham or Coventry. There is a road sign on the wall of the pub indicating Arsenal Street. I checked the A-to-Z and spied the road in the Bordesley inner city suburb of Birmingham and set out to investigate.
I was surprised (and delighted) to see the pub had survived the reconstruction works going on around it. Many buildings have been cleared to make way for new developments. Some changes have occurred in the last twenty years. Some windows have been bricked up, the building immediately behind the pub within Arsenal Street has been demolished and the interior has been divided into two rooms.
Other comments: (episode synopses in italics taken from the UK Soaps Site- click here)
16. 26.10.1982: By Ginnie Hole.
The consultant
tells Mr Coombs that he can go home only if he takes things easy. Dave,
realising that there’s no chance of that, gives his patient some surprising
advice. “Moonlighting” Alison gets an unexpected customer … With Harold
Goodwin (Mr Coombs).
Harold Goodwin played a similar role in an episode of Minder, when Arthur Daley is admitted to hospital to have his ingrowing toenail removed. 48. 14.03.1984: Get Daley 29.
13.12.1982: By Glenn Chandler.
A pile-up on the motorway. And an unexpected victim.
This would no doubt be the episode filmed on the unused motorway section including slip-road near Water Orton, the unexpected victim being Dick Willoughby.
20. 10.11.1983:
By Glen McCoy. Chris needs every ounce of his special training when he
arrives at the scene of a serious accident.
“and the private lives of ambulance men – one hero saving the life of a woman trapped under a train” I gather this was the rail collision filmed at Rugby station.
The "Crossroads" hotel is a four-star hotel located in the fictional village of King's Oak just outside Birmingham. The real hotel exists in Carlton's Nottingham studios. The hotel has been meticulously reproduced as a studio set and includes every facility except toilets. The hotel was officially rated a four-star hotel at the start of filming. Tony Adams (Adam Chance) said it would've been five-star if it hadn't been for all the murders that had occurred there. As at August 2002, owner Vic Barnes is pursuing an upgrade to five stars as part of his programme to convert the hotel into a luxury conference centre. Initially he is looking into providing an out-of-hours food service. Chef Billy Taylor is none too happy about this.
Great efforts are made to maintain the illusion that the hotel is actually just outside Birmingham. The fictional town of Heathbury has been created and is located south-east of Birmingham. Various addresses have been seen on screen (envelope and parcel close-ups) which include a postal area of B95 which is in reality Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, which is situated between Birmingham and Stratford. Vic's residence is the stately home Aston Hall. The real Aston Hall is owned by Birmingham city council and is located in Aston Park next to Villa Park football ground in North Birmingham. The "first" Sarah-Jane Harvey, imposter Louise Dixon, was living in a Walsall flat with her boyfriend when her mother Jill Harvey came looking for her.
Locations are local to Nottingham. A shopping centre in Bingham (east of Nottingham) has appeared.
"Keeping Up Appearances" is a sitcom filmed in Coventry and Warwickshire.
KUA isn't set in a specific, "real" town - but it was filmed in a number of "real life" locations. Most of the characters' homes were in and around Coventry. The Bucket residence is situated at 117, Heather Road, Binley Woods, a village just east of Coventry. Obviously, Elizabeth and Emmett live next door at 119. Onslow, Daisy, Rose and father live at 3, Michell Close, in the Stoke district of Coventry - some road filming was completed on nearby Aldermoor Lane, The Moorfield and Stoke Green roads for the Buckets' approach to Onslow's house.
Scenes "about town" were mostly shot in Royal Leamington Spa, where Hyacinth's sister Violet's house was also "located". Northumberland Road and Kenilworth Road have certainly featured in some driving sequences.
Lost in Leamington
So it is that when Daddy got lost and Richard had to go the police, it
was, sure enough Leamington Spa's central police station from which he
was seen emerging. But what a horrible building it is! Hardly Hyacinth's
style - there isn't even a blue lamp! - although the Warwickshire location
is proclaimed by the Bear and Ragged Staff
Lillington
The Leamington suburb of Lillington featured on some occasions. Buckley Road was often used for driving scenes. In one episode, Hyacinth's family end up in the pub whilst she gets carried away on the back of a truck. The pub is the Rugby Tavern in Rugby Road in Lillington (currently undergoing restoration), whilst the truck proceeds away from the pub along Rugby Road towards Cubbington.
Northampton
When Daddy ends up raiding a supermarket dressed as a spaceman, the film crew were really shooting in Debenhams in The Drapery, Northampton.