Robert Henry Douglas Drane (10 March 1927 – 18 June 2011), known professionally as Robin Nash, was a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

producer and executive, who was probably best known as producer of ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

'' from 1973 to 1980. At the BBC, he became Head of Variety and later Head of Television Comedy.

Background and early career

Nash was born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

and grew up in

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are N ...

on the north

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

coast, where he was educated at Paston School. His initial theatrical training was as a young member of Miss Alexander's dance group at the Lecture Hall in the town. Often the only boy in the group, he was therefore sure of a place in their productions at the local venues. A fellow dancer was his sister Anne (Lewin), a ballerina and West End dancer who would later become a Wing Commander in the Royal Air Force. His secondary education was at The Paston School,

North Walsham North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England, within the North Norfolk district. Demography The civil parish has an area of and in the 2011 census had a population of 12,634. For the purposes of local government, the pa ...

(whose most distinguished former pupil was

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought ...

). As a teenager during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he entertained allied troops and met David Croft who later co-wrote ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' for the BBC. After a series of acting and other theatrical jobs in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

, Nash joined the BBC as a studio manager in 1955. In 1961 he directed location filming for Ted Willis's thriller '' Flowers of Evil'' and, in 1962–3, worked on two of Willis's other creations, the long-running police drama ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'' and the comedy-drama series '' Taxi!'' starring

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...

. Succeeding

situation comedies A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

included '' Marriage Lines'' (as producer from 1965), which, since 1961, had brought

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

and

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...

to a wide audience, and the ''

Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...

'' pilot (1967) for a series of '' The Old Campaigner'' with Terry-Thomas, Jonathan Cecil and Elaine Taylor among others. Nash also worked during this period with

Alan Melville Alan Melville (19 May 1910 – 18 April 1983) was a South African cricketer who played in 11 Tests from 1938 to 1949. He was born in Carnarvon, Northern Cape, South Africa and died at Sabie, Transvaal. Early life and cricket career Melville w ...

on '' Before the Fringe'' (re-enacting sketches from past theatrical revues, 1967), Beryl Reid (''Beryl Reid Says Good Evening'', 1968) and

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television.''The Times'', 9 July 2011

1970s and 1980s

From 1973 to July 1980 Nash was producer (later executive producer) of ''Top of the Pops'', the weekly chart-based popular music show created in 1964 by Johnnie Stewart, whom Nash succeeded. During this period ''TOTP'' regularly attracted audiences of 15 million.Dominic Sandbrook (2010) ''State of Emergency'' Nash briefly returned to the executive producer role in January 1981, whilst current executive producer Michael Hurll was on holiday leave. Concurrently, Nash produced for children's television ''

The Basil Brush Show ''The Basil Brush Show'' is a British children's television sitcom series, starring the glove puppet fox Basil Brush. It was produced for six series by The Foundation, airing on CBBC from 27 September 2002 to 25 December 2007. The show is a ...

'' (featuring Derek Fowlds and a garrulous puppet

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

, 1972–75) and the variety show '' Crackerjack'' (1975–77), and worked with

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...

and then Larry Grayson on '' The Generation Game'' (from 1976). In 1978 he became Head of Variety at the BBC. In the 1980s Nash produced such comedy shows as ''

Terry and June ''Terry and June'' is a BBC television sitcom, which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of '' Happy Ever After'', and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple ...

'' (with Terry Scott and

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress. Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...

, 1985) and Carla Lane's '' I Woke Up One Morning'' (1985–6) and '' Bread'' (1986–1991). He was appointed Head of Television Comedy in 1989, moving three years later into work for production companies, including Alomo's sitcom '' Goodnight Sweetheart'' for the BBC (1993–99) and

Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performa ...

's series for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

(1998–2000).

Demeanour and approach

With his background in the BBC's "old school", Nash was a dapper and quite flamboyant figure, recognisable by his jaunty

bow-tie The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that ...

s and

moustache A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio' ...

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC ...

, one of many ''TOTP'' presenters, recalled that he "seemed perfectly in tune with the

970s The 970s decade ran from January 1, 970, to December 31, 979. Significant people * Mar Abdisho I, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, held position 963–986 * Eric the Red (950–1003), Norse Explorer * Richard I of Normandy (933� ...

era, forever

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more natu ...

it up with his booming, over-the-top voice." A fellow BBC executive, Will Wyatt, described him as "a big, warm, cuddly bear of a man with an easy charm at work and a huge collection of

Clarice Cliff Clarice Cliff (20 January 1899 – 23 October 1972) was an English ceramic artist and designer. Active from 1922 to 1963, Cliff became the head of the factory creative department. Early life Cliff's ancestors moved from the Eccleshall are ...

pottery at home". Nash regretted that the use of recording and editing techniques detracted from the sense of "performance" that could be achieved from live television, and once said that he would "love ''Top of the Pops'' to be live" (rather as its forerunner, and then competitor, ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Associated-Rediffusion, Rediffusion TV. Al ...

'', had been). In his later years, Nash occasionally contributed to documentaries about the history of television. He died on 18 June 2011, aged 84, during a season of repeats on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

of editions of ''Top of the Pops'' that he had produced in 1976, and the day after the funeral of

Flick Colby Felicity Isabelle "Flick" Colby (March 23, 1946 – May 26, 2011) was an American dancer and choreographer best known for being a founding member and the choreographer of the United Kingdom dance troupe Pan's People, which appeared on the BBC1 ...

, who had choreographed dance sequences for the show with, among others,

Pan's People Pan's People were a British all-female dance troupe most commonly associated with the BBC TV music chart show ''Top of the Pops'', from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. They appeared on many other TV shows in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and al ...

and Ruby Flipper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Robin 1927 births 2011 deaths BBC executives British television executives British television producers People educated at Paston College People from Norwich