Then there was Ted Tuckerman’s Tight Lines, a show that people could enjoy even if they knew nothing about fishing. Who remembers Clive Gunnell and the magnificent Walking Westward series? A programme where he took us on a tour of our area, visiting different places and meeting different people. What this meant was we were treated to a litany of different programmes which, aside from the one or two that made it to the network, were exclusively for us. Due to its small size and dedication to local programmes, Westward and TSW made a point of focusing mainly on their area. While now there’s very little in the way of regional television like many remember, with ITV coming from Bristol and programmes aimed at Devon and Cornwall increasingly scarce, let’s take a walk down memory lane and reminisce on the things that we enjoyed in the “good old days” when television for some was Television Simply Wonderful.įor a lot of the other ITV regions, success meant getting big programmes made and broadcast across the network. The Derry’s Cross Studios in the heart of Plymouth was the home of Westward and TSW from 1961 until 1992 before Westcountry Television took over at the beginning of 1993 from a studio at Langage Science Park in Plympton. After losing the 1980 ITV franchise round to Television South West (TSW), the company was bought by TSW in August 1981 before it started broadcasting at the beginning of 1982, an arrangement that lasted until the loss of its franchise saw it end broadcasting at the end of 1992. Not only could they watch the local news but there was a range of entertainment made locally and by the other ITV network companies.įrom 1961 to 1981, our local ITV company was Westward Television. It had been quite a long wait - London had got ITV thanks to Associated-Rediffusion in 1955.īut the lucky few who had a TV ready for Westward’s launch got the first sight of a type of entertainment that was completely new and exciting. Television in Devon and Cornwall was still very much in its infancy - BBC South West launched only nine days earlier and televisions were something that many couldn’t yet access or afford. It was the day commercial television came to the South West in the form of Westward Television. April 29, 1961, is a day whose significance many might not remember instantly - but it’s one that saw the start of something that was considered revolutionary in how we viewed television in Devon and Cornwall.

The end of something tsw