Olive Shapley
Encyclopedia
Olive Mary Shapley was a British radio producer and broadcaster.
As an undergraduate at St Hugh's College, Oxford
from 1929 she soon met her lifelong friend Barbara Betts, the future Labour politician Barbara Castle; the two women spent their holidays together, and unlike Betts Shapley was briefly drawn to communism. After a brief unhappy period working for the Workers' Educational Association
and teaching at several schools she joined the BBC in 1934 as an organiser of Children's Hour programming in Manchester, but soon developed an interest in documentary features as an assistant producer. This was not without its problems. During a live programme called Men Talking, Shapley had to use placards requesting Durham miners "not say bugger or bloody", one incident of several which persuaded BBC Director General Sir John Reith
to insist on broadcasts being scripted. Using a recording van, weighing "seven tons when fully loaded", Shapley recorded actuality, which was innovative at the time, but the broadcast of swear words could now be avoided. She thought a claim by Paddy Scannell and David Cardiff that she was an innovator as being expressed in "very flattering terms".
With Joan Littlewood
in 1939 she created The Classic Soil (the programme still exists) which compared the social conditions of the day with those observed a century earlier by Friedrich Engels
. Decades later, Shapley thought it "probably the most unfair and biased programme ever put out by the BBC". Other programmes from this period included the features Steel (1937), Cotton and Wool (both 1939).
In 1939, Shapley went freelance after her marriage to John Salt, the BBC's programme director in the North region; the couple worked for the BBC in New York for much of the war. Salt, the BBC's North America assistant director (1942–44) and later director (1944–45), died suddenly on 26 December 1947.
Following the war Shapley became the third presenter of Woman's Hour
, a programme with which she was associated ("on and off") for over twenty years, producing the programme between 1949 and 1953. Meanwhile, she began to develop a career as a presenter in television. In 1959 she took the six week BBC television training course, enabling her to become a producer in the newer medium. Though largely based in Manchester again, she regularly commuted to London for some years.
In the mid-1960s her Manchester home became a refuge (as a charitable trust) for single mothers and later, in the late 1970s, for Vietnamese boat people.
Olive Shapley published her autobiography, Broadcasting a Life, in 1996.
As an undergraduate at St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a fourteen and a half acre site on St Margaret's Road, to the North of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in its centenary year in 1986...
from 1929 she soon met her lifelong friend Barbara Betts, the future Labour politician Barbara Castle; the two women spent their holidays together, and unlike Betts Shapley was briefly drawn to communism. After a brief unhappy period working for the Workers' Educational Association
Workers' Educational Association
The Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
and teaching at several schools she joined the BBC in 1934 as an organiser of Children's Hour programming in Manchester, but soon developed an interest in documentary features as an assistant producer. This was not without its problems. During a live programme called Men Talking, Shapley had to use placards requesting Durham miners "not say bugger or bloody", one incident of several which persuaded BBC Director General Sir John Reith
John Reith, 1st Baron Reith
John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, KT, GCVO, GBE, CB, TD, PC was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom...
to insist on broadcasts being scripted. Using a recording van, weighing "seven tons when fully loaded", Shapley recorded actuality, which was innovative at the time, but the broadcast of swear words could now be avoided. She thought a claim by Paddy Scannell and David Cardiff that she was an innovator as being expressed in "very flattering terms".
With Joan Littlewood
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
in 1939 she created The Classic Soil (the programme still exists) which compared the social conditions of the day with those observed a century earlier by Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
. Decades later, Shapley thought it "probably the most unfair and biased programme ever put out by the BBC". Other programmes from this period included the features Steel (1937), Cotton and Wool (both 1939).
In 1939, Shapley went freelance after her marriage to John Salt, the BBC's programme director in the North region; the couple worked for the BBC in New York for much of the war. Salt, the BBC's North America assistant director (1942–44) and later director (1944–45), died suddenly on 26 December 1947.
Following the war Shapley became the third presenter of Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour is a radio magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.-History:Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey the programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme . It was transferred to its current home in 1973...
, a programme with which she was associated ("on and off") for over twenty years, producing the programme between 1949 and 1953. Meanwhile, she began to develop a career as a presenter in television. In 1959 she took the six week BBC television training course, enabling her to become a producer in the newer medium. Though largely based in Manchester again, she regularly commuted to London for some years.
In the mid-1960s her Manchester home became a refuge (as a charitable trust) for single mothers and later, in the late 1970s, for Vietnamese boat people.
Olive Shapley published her autobiography, Broadcasting a Life, in 1996.
External links
- Coal, broadcast 17 November 1938, BBC Archive site
- We Have Been Evacuated, documentary recorded in September 1939 presented and produced by Olive Shapley, BBC Archive site
- Woman's Hour, 9 April 2010 (iPlayer sound file)