Autobiography
After his retirement from the BBC, Donnellan wrote a polemical memoir about his experiences in Radio and TV entitled 'We Were the BBC: an alternative view of a producer's responsibility, 1948-1984'. In it Donnellan outlines his professional life and opinions, offering (amongst other things) invaluable first-hand recollections of the establishment of regional TV in the UK, the organisation and production practices of the BBC as well as the culture and politics of this milieu. The cast of characters includes Grace Wyndham Goldie, David Attenborough, Huw Wheldon, Charles Parker and many other figures who cemented the reputation of the BBC in the age of TV.
This autobiography exists in the form of a 354 page unedited manuscript held in the Donnellan Archive at Birmingham Central Library. If you wish to read the manuscript you should seek the permission of the trustees of the archive (http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/archives).
There has been some attempt to seek a publisher for the autobiography, which would lend itself to adaptation in annotated form. Enquiries from parties interested in supporting publication are welcome.
On this page we present sample pages in PDF form from the manuscript including the Introduction and a chapter on the reception of 'The Colony'.
Download: We Were the BBC.pdf
