When PPS started, the committee knew that finances would be, as always, a bit of a balancing act. While the society sets out to be non-profit making, it was always felt that there would be some services that we would like to provide to members if sufficient money could be raised.

Initially, the costs of producing and mailing the member's packs, magazines, and membership lists took care fo the vast majority of our original membership fee, and the only increase since then has been to reflect a rise in postage costs. Considering that the magazine alone has almost doubled in size, this reflects on the dedication of the current Committee in providing a service out of commitment to the ideal as originally set out.

One service that the Committee would still like to get up and running is the society's own Library of material, as purchased from the television archives themselves, of shows which are less likely to be released on video or DVD. While the idea of 'self funding' is very appealing, the hire charges to members would be prohibitive; as recouping the cost of buying just one show could, depending on the material's supplier, cost upto 500 pounds for just one half-hour show, we didn't feel a 25 pound hire charge would be that acceptable!

Therefore, to fund this Library, we had the idea of creating our own material which we could sell to members, with any profits from the sales going towards the eventual starting up costs. Interviews on video seemed a viable possibility, though, at that point, we were unsure of how we could get hold of a suitable subject, be they actor, actress or production personnel, to interview, especially as since the Committee Members making them would be footing the bill we wouldn't be able to afford a fantastically generous fee.

At that point, we had a stroke of luck - and we haven't looked back!

Since we started we've conducted eight interviews and had one 'special project'. Six of the interviews are currently available, and the other two, when edited, will hopefully be available later in the year. All the currently available videos you can find out about below by clicking on the subject/title - keep an eye on the front page news for information about the new releases!

And the Library?
Well, that is still ongoing and as soon as the society is in a position to start it from monies raised, we will do so. Another good reason to buy all these super tapes to help make the PPS Library a reality, yes?

NEW April 1st 2005 (no, not an April Fool!)
First PPS DVD now available to members

Video clips from all our videos released to date are now available on this page.
There are two versions to download - one is more suitable for dialup connections, the other for ISDN/cable/broadband users

Typical download times (depending on connection speed):

Dialup users - Low Quality: 4-6 minutes High Quality: 30-40 minutes

ISDN/cable/broadband users - Low Quality: 20-30 seconds High Quality: 2-3 minutes

Anneke was an ideal subject because she had done so many other things in her life besides being an actress. Professionally she has run a spiritual community, been an interior designer and currently makes her living as an artist - you can see some of her work on her website.

She is also a very keen gardener, which was quite apparent when we travelled to Dorset to make the interview, and a good time was had by all!

UPDATE: This video has actually been unavailable for a few months due to the master tape snapping. However, a new edit has been made from the original source material and the video is now once more available

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Michael was one of the guests we approached during the convention about making a video interview with them - and as we cornered Michael at the bar, I think that might be why he agreed! :-)

However, if ever there was an actor we could do a boxed set of tapes on it would be Michael Sheard. With a career going back over forty years and covering over thirty-five features fims - including Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade and The Empire Strikes Back - and hundreds of television appearances including his most famous recurring role as teacher Mr. Bronson in children's drama Grange Hill, he's done it and seen it all. He's even played three entirely different versions of Hitler - and one was an alien!

Michael was a real gent when we interviewed him, very easy going despite the problems we had on the day and made this a highly memorable and informative tape.

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When choosing potential subjects to approach for an interview, we didn't want to only ask 'the names' - for one reason, we knew we wouldn't be able to afford them as stated earlier, and the other was we would only be turning over the same ground as covered by TV companies. We had to go for people who were known, but hardly ever seemed to do interviews for whatever reasons.

This time around we were fortunate to be able to interview the great supporting actor John Barron. John is known for roles in Emergency Ward 10, All Gas and Gaiters, Doomwatch and Timeslip, but above all else as Leonard Rossiter's boss C.J. in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

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Like Michael and John before him, Douglas Wilmer is one of those faces who has been seen over and over in supporting roles on television and film. From film appearances including El Cid, Jason and the Argonauts, Khartoum, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and the Bond film Octopussy to television appearances in Markheim, The Invisible Man, The Saint, The Avengers and UFO, Douglas has appeared across all the genres.

But it is as the BBC's first Sherlock Holmes in the mid Sixties that he will be best remembered, with one Sherlockian society saying that he was the one actor who 'got it right' as Holmes.

Douglas is now retired from acting, making a living in the same way as Anneke as an artist, but was still more than happy to talk to us about his career with many fascinating insights into the productions he was in and the people he worked with.

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• 
  In August 2001, David, Richard and myself finally met up 'somewhere in East Anglia' to record our most complicated video to date with David Cleveland, David Wyatt and Tony Amies, film makers extraordinaire responsible for films of the Prof from Vision On and Cid Sleuth from Jigsaw.
  
  With recording around the original location for the films shot a quarter of a century ago, and at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, In Search Of... The Prof looks in depth at how the team met, started making the films and how the two characters first came about and appeared on BBC Television in the Sixties and Seventies.
  
  And not only does it feature the new documentary material, but it also features the following, jam-packed into its three hour running time:
  
  

If you're a member of PPS it couldn't be easier.

The tapes - all of which are only available in UK PAL format - are available from the people below, who will despatch them just as soon as they are able.

Each one costs - including postage and packing

£ 10 to UK members, £ 13 to overseas members


The PPS DVD Video Sampler is available at the very reasonable price
of £ 4.99 to UK members and £ 6.99 to overseas members
You will need to be able to play Region 2 PAL DVDs to play this disc