[lookoutwales]

The reason the idea got delayed was that Granada tried a studio debate with party representatives (not leaders) in 1959 and the audience got so angry with the politicians that the parties simply refused to do any TV with an audience for nearly twenty years afterwards.

Are we sure that's what happened, though?

That year, Granada did Marathon - an experimental effort to give airtime to as many candidates from as many constituencies in the North as possible (this was off the back of their successful pilot with the Rochdale by-election coverage)

It wasn't attempted again but by all accounts, it didn't appear to put people off such an idea.

Transdiffusion covered the behind-the-scenes story very extensively.

granadatv.network