Transmissions started 30th August 1958.

The Southern ITV area was a sprawling mass along the south coast from Weymouth along to Southend, a town which was a mecca for the TV enthusiast as London ITV, Southern and Anglia could all be picked up there. In fact Southern could be received as far away as Newbury, Lyme Regis and The Channel Isles also! Main studios were at Northam Southampton in a converted cinema, with a separate newsroom at Dover eventually increasing local news coverage.

First General Manager- CD Wilson. Head of Outside Broadcasts- Berkeley Smith.
Among those who later became more widely known outside the region were station announcers Meryl O'Keefe and Julian Pettifer as well as newscaster Martin Muncaster. Also, Programme director Anna Lett in Feb 1959 married Chris Chataway. And Tony Hancock's brother, Roger, worked for Southern for a time as Personal Assistant to Programme Controller Roy Rich.
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Some Local Southern Progammes
Clive Lythgoe appeared on the opening night, introducing the station's theme music, Southern Rhapsody. His series The Lythgoe Touch was for a while the longest running musical series of its type, perhaps its most famous producer being Peter Frazer-Jones.
Bandleader Eric Winstone was associated with the company during its first year.
Lunchtime programmes for the remainder of the year included "Flotsam's Follies", "Take Forty" and "Three's Company," all featured singer John Harvey.
Jack Hargreaves rose to national prominence with his weekly confidential chat Out of Town. It used to send me to sleep. After being curator of the Piscatorial Museum in London (!) he was invited to present the fortnightly Gone Fishing directed by George Egan in May 1959. "Such was the interest" that from August it became a weekly feature on Fridays at 6.35pm. Surprise surprise, Barbara Hargreaves, wife of JH, then joined Farm in the South!
Sea War was an acclaimed 13 part documentary made in conjunction with Rank, detailing the role of the Royal Navy in the war.
Southern Programmes on Opening week that lasted at least the first two years were-
Southern Heritage introduced by George Egan with script and narration by Willoughby Gray.
Sports Club produced by Terry Yarwood. Danny Blachflower was one resident compere.
Come Gardening and of course their own agricultural effort Farm in the South. Other shows with familiar faces were ex-BBC Marguerite Patten who hosted the Thursday Your Ideal Home. And well known comedy writer Alan Melville had his own nicely titled show Melvillainy late on Sunday evenings. And celebrated radio man Leslie Mitchell also appeared in Southern programmes.
Like most stations Southern had their own talent spotting show. Easy to produce, the butt of complaints from professionals, theirs was Home-Grown. After six eliminating heats, in which winners were adjudged by viewers' votes, the finalists were faced by a panel of judges, including Roy Rich, Southern's Programme Controller and Eric Winstone, Musical Director. Directed by their stalwart Terry Yarwood, winners of the first series were The Brooks Brothers, who subsequently obtained a record contract (New Century Artists). BBC's Peter Haigh was a presenter of a later series. The show made some sort of history when it became the first regionally produced programme to make it into the Regional TAM Top Ten ratings.
Of Southern's admags, perhaps the most interesting was Value for Money with Gerald Campion as resident compere using a script by Bob Kellett. Campion of course was celebrated for his portrayal as Billy Bunter, so was the main theme FOOD?!
Jim Dale hosted the thrice weekly 30 minute Take it Easy, a variety feature. With a script by Dick Vosburgh, singers featured included Janie Marden and Joyce Clark. Other regulars in this series which ran for eight months in 1959/60 were the Malcolm Mitchell Trio and Dany Clare. Jim moved on to The Lunchtime Show at 1.05pm which included regularly weekly items by Julie Harris on fashion and the ubiquitous Gerald Campion, on food of course.
Probe chaired by Fenton Bresler, was a fairly controversial show that "gives local residents the opportunity to vent their feelings on the way they are governed." People queued up to air their grievances, but Shaftesbury, Dorset, Town Council took a stand and in December 1959 voted against allowing cameras near them: "these programmes are not an advertisement but are just a means of taking the rise out of a town."
Quizzes included Snakes and Ladders hosted by the well known Kenneth Horne, who chaired several offerings from Southern TV, including the children's quiz Full Marks.

To Southern TV's Mary Britten MD
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Southern TV Plays - from The Old Vic
In January 1959 Southern announced an exciting new project - a collaboration to screen twelve full length plays from the Old Vic. In those heady days the problems of networking weren't fully appreciated, and Southern were to find to their bitter cost that The Big Four were far too powerful for them. A Southern spokesman said "at the very beginning we said if we didn't get the plays networked we would screen them ourselves."
Twelve months on - and with the third play completed, no networking had been forthcoming.
The first play was The Empty Chair- with Joss Ackland as Danton, and Derek Godfrey as Robespierre. Others in the cast included Donald Pickering (St Just), Manning Wilson (Barras), Gerald Cross (Mouche, "a spy with a soul"), John Woodvine (Hebert) and Phyllida Law (Mme Danton). A story of the French Revolution by Peter Ustinov and directed by Philip Dale. The tension lay in the question of which members of the Revolutionary Committee will sit in the chair stolen from the Royal Palace. Edna Morris, who played Mme Gaffe enthused, "it's terribly exciting to be in the first of a series like this. The atmosphere in the studio is wonderful- it's heaven to be associated with this production."
But Southern TV bosses might have diasgreed, for though the play was recorded in early October 1959, it wasn't until Easter Sunday 1960 that this first play was transmitted over the ITV network. Even then, there was a bit of a sting - it went out in the afternoon slot at 2.30pm, which had recently been filled by ATV and ABC dramas and which had failed to attract even as big an audience as the BBC who showed vintage feature films as competition. It achieved "really ghastly ratings." But Southern seemed to be so chuffed they announced plans for a £1,000 Play Competition. Such optimism was short lived. In fact, a preview of the play had been shown to the Commercial Television Circle at their Park Lane hotel dinner in December 1959.

The second Southern TV play was Guilt - with Donald Houston and Barbara Jefford, whilst the third was Clash of Arms by Howard Clews.
These had been made even before the first play of this series had been transmitted. And indeed more plays were made, five in total, all directed by Philip Dale. The fourth was The Old Gentleman.
And the fifth in June 1960 was titled Mary Stuart with Gwen Watford in the title role. But a projected sixth was "postponed" allegedly because Studio 'A' had to be closed for repairs during July 1960.
Failure to obtain networking for any apart from the first play, meant that Roy Rich, Southern's Controller of Programmes finally cancelled the series in the autumn of 1960, saying "Lew (Grade) has categorically said, 'don't push me and I'll probably use them next year.'" How kind! USA snubbed it, although CBC in Canada did buy 'Mary Stuart' for networking coast-to-coast.
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TAM ratings for South of England w/e 26 June 1960
1 Ward 10 (June 24) ATV 66
2 Twenty Questions A-R 61
3 No Hiding Place A-R 60
4 Arthur Haynes Show ATV 58
5 Riverboat Granada * 56
6 The Variety Show Granada 55
7 Delfont's Sunday Show ATV 53
8 Two's a Crowd Granada * 53 #
8= Knight Errant 60 Granada * 53
10 Ward 10 (June 21) ATV 51
Note-
*=NOT in National Top Ten. # not in any other regional top ten that week

TAM viewing figures for some Southern TV 1960 Serious programmes
Right to Reply (2.323 million)
For some other serious programmes shown on Southern in 1960.
This Week (2.989 million), About Religion (2.499 million), Sunday Break (2.403 million), What the Papers Say (1.906 million).

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Southern TV Programmes for Tuesday September 1st 1959
12.47 Take It Easy - with Malcolm Mitchell, Jim Dale, Janie Marden
1.25 Southern News - 1.30
5.05 Small Time - Colonel Crock's Boat Race, introduced by Muriel Young
5.15 Lucky Dip
5.45 The Secret of Carrick House - 1 Hot Water
6.15 News; Southern News
6.35 Sports Club - Julian Pettifer introduces John Graydon and John Rickman
7.05 Roving Report - A Day in Stockholm with Elizabeth Kenrick
7.30 Concentration - with David Gell
8.00 Emergency- Ward 10 - amongst the cast: Colin Douglas, Dandy Nichols
8.30 Play of the Week - The Younger Generation with John Barrie, Rene Ray, Dinsdale Landen, Prunella Scales
10.00 News
10.15 Probe - Fenton Bresler from the Town Hall, Ryde
10.45 M Squad - The Hard Case
11.15 The Lythgoe Touch; Weather Forecast
11.27 Night Light - Rev Canon Sir Percy Maryon-Wilson, Christ Church, St Leonard's-on-Sea
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Southern TV Programmes for Monday August 14th 1961
4.45 Small Time
5.00 Seeing Sport
5.25 Fury
5.55 ITN News
6.10 Day by Day
6.40 All Our Yesterdays
7.00 Criss Cross Quiz
7.30 Coronation St
8.00 Three Live Wires
8.30 Wagon Train;
9.25 News
9.35 Harpers W1
10.30 Another World
11.00 News Headlines
11.2 Strictly For the Birds- with Dudley Moore
11.32 Christian Compass
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Southern TV Programmes for Wednesday April 10th 1963
4.45 Small Time
5.00 Zoo Time
5.25 Full Marks - Grand Final: Glenmoor School for Girls Bournemouth v Pewsey Vale School
5.55 ITN News
6.05 Day by Day
6.45 Here and Now - Terence Carroll with Uffa Fox
7.00 Take A Letter
7.30 Coronation Street
8.00 Rawhide - Incident of the Black Ace
8.55 Take Four
9.00 News
9.15 Dickie Henderson Show - The Playwright
9.45 Intertel presents- Tahiti- Pacific Cocktail
10.45 Absolutely Barkers - with Eric Barker
10.15 News Headlines
11.17 The Deputy - The Lesson
11.45 Weather; The Living Word - Rt Rev TS Holland
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Southern TV Programmes for Saturday September 14th 1963
10.15 Liberal Party Assembly -11.15
1.12 Regional Weather Forecast by Graham West Jones
1.15 News; Saturday Sportstime
5.15 Huckleberry Hound
5.30 Sir Francis Drake - Gentleman of Spain rpt
6.00 News
6.05 Lucky Stars Craig Douglas, The Searchers, Brian Poole
6.45 The Flintstones Foxy Grandma
7.10 The Beverly Hillbillies Trick or Treat
7.40 Big Night Out - Joan Regan, The Springfields, Bill Maynard
8.30 Checkmate The Paper Killer
9.25 News
9.30 Morecambe and Wise Show, rpt
10.00 Sergeant Cork The Case of Ella Barnes
11.05 Best of Friends Foreign Policy
11.34 News Headlines, and Liberal Party Conference
11.49 Silver Wheel - Television's Motoring Club (ABC)
12.04 Weather; The Living Word - Rt Rev Michael Vonberg
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Southern TV Programmes for Thursday August 19th 1965
2.15 Racing from York
4.20 Crossroads
4.45 Small Time
5.00 Stubby's Silver Star Show
5.25 Stingray rpt
5.55 ITN News
6.05 Day by Day
6.35 The Beverly Hilbillies - The Big Bank Battle
7.00 That Show - guests Glen Mason and Joyce Howard
7.30 Branded - The First Kill
8.00 The Saint - The Spanish Cow
8.55 News
9.10 This Week
9.40 The Sullavan Brothers- The Salvation Man
10.35 What the Papers Say
10.50 News Headlines; Southern News Extra
11.2 No Time for Sergeants - Do Me a Favour and Don't Do Me Any
11.30 Weather; Belief - London Street Congregational Church Basingstoke
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Southern TV Programmes for Sunday September 19th 1965
10.45 The Peaceful Sky 25th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain-12.50
2.42 Reginal Weather Forecast by Cyril Ockenden
2.45 Farm in the South with Mark Jenner from Bank Farm Tudely
3.15 The Sentimental Agent Not Quite Fully Covered rpt
4.15 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea The Sky is Falling
5.05 Ready Steady Go Dusty Springfield, The Hollies
5.35 The Adventures of Robin Hood Errand of Mercy rpt
6.05 News
6.15 Storytime guest Cy Grant
6.35 Religion in Britain An ABC poll The TV Audience and Religion
7.25 News Headlines
7.30 The Anniversary Show Gracie Fields, Arthur Askey (10th Anniversary of ITV)
8.55 Attack! a film starring Jack Palance
(9.55 to 10.05 News)
10.45 Armchair Mystery Theatre - Ask Any Neighbour with Jack Hedley
11.45 Weather; Sacred Song Rev Michael Saunders
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Southern TV Programmes for Saturday October 5th 1968
1.17 Weather
1.20 News
1.25 World of Sport
5.08 Southern News
5.15 Gentle Ben
5.40 Time for Blackburn!
6.10 News
6.15 Tarzan
7.10 Startime
8.00 Film - File on Thelma Jordan
9.45 News
9.55 Saturday Special - Georgia Brown
10.55 Southern News Extra
11.00 Seaway
11.55 Weather; New Approach
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