Manchester was once home to a TV studio which was said to have been "haunted" by an actor who died there.
In 1956, ABC Studios opened in Didsbury in the former Capitol Cinema on the corner of Parrs Wood Road and School Lane. There were three television studios which were used by ITV to film programmes that were only broadcast during the weekend.
The TV shows that were made at ABC Studios included early episodes of The Avengers, Opportunity Knocks and Armchair Theatre. The latter starred an actor who was said to later haunt the studios following his death during filming.
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We all know the perils of live television, from actors forgetting their lines to technical issues. This is why so many shows are pre-recorded nowadays, with scripted shows rarely being broadcast live. However, on November 28, 1958, the worst thing imaginable to happen during a live broadcast became a reality for ITV and the then head of drama, Sydney Newman.
Gareth Jones, who was 33 at the time, was filming the play Underground for Armchair Theatre at the time. It was between scenes when he unexpectedly collapsed after suffering a heart attack and died in front of his co-stars.
Years later, actor Peter Bowles, who starred in Underground alongside Jones, reportedly said: "During transmission, a little group of us were talking on camera while awaiting the arrival of Gareth Jones's character, who had some information for us. We could see him coming up towards us, but we saw him fall. We had no idea what had happened, but he certainly wasn't coming our way.”
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The cast had no choice but to improvise for the rest of the play and director Ted Kotcheff re-structured the story during the advert break so that viewers wouldn’t notice the missing character. Coincidentally, the character Jones was playing was supposed to have a fatal heart attack, adding another eerie element to this tragic event.
The other actors were not told Jones had died until after the play had finished. No recording of Underground exists, as live television transmissions were not automatically recorded or preserved at the time.
After the shocking event, the ghost of Jones is said to have haunted ABC Studios. The building was demolished in 1992 after briefly being used to teach a film and television production university course.
What are your memories of the Capitol Cinema and ABC Studios? Let us know in the comments section below.
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