Series 1 — Episode 9
Ashes Of Roses
by Peter Ling and Sheilah Ward
Production No 3373, VTR/ABC/1170
Production completed: March 4 1961. First transmission: March 4 1961.
Production details
Studio details: Teddington Two
Production No. 3373
Tape No. VTR/ABC/1170 (To be recorded of [sic] TX.)
Transmission: 4th March 1961, 10.00–11.00 p.m.
Schedule
| Friday, 3rd March 1961 | |
|---|---|
| Camera Rehearsal | 14.30 — 18.00 |
| Supper Break | 18.00 — 19.00 |
| Camera Rehearsal | 19.00 — 21.00 |
| Saturday, 4th March 1961 | |
| Camera Rehearsal | 10.00 — 12.30 |
| Lunch Break | 12.30 — 13.30 |
| Camera Rehearsal | 13.30 — 18.15 |
| Supper Break | 18.15 — 19.15 |
| Line-up, Normal Scan, Make-up | 19.15 — 19.55 |
| Promotion Ampex | 19.55 — 20.00 |
| Dress rehearsal | 20.00 — 21.30 |
| Line-up | 21.30 — 22.00 |
| TRANSMISSION | 22.00 — 23.00 |
Equipment
Cameras: 4 Pedestals
Sound: 3 booms
Telecine: A.B.C. Symbol, Slides, 35mm mute inserts.
Total running time: 57.10 = Play portion: 52.30 + 2 commercial breaks: 2.05 and 2.35
Regional broadcasts
| ITV Broadcaster | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| ABC Midlands | 4/03/1961 | 10.00pm |
| ABC North | 4/03/1961 | 10.00pm |
| Anglia Television | 4/03/1961 | 10.00pm |
| ATV | - | - |
| Southern Television | - | - |
| Tyne Tees Television | - | - |
| Television Wales & West | - | - |
| Ulster Television | - | - |
| Westward Television | - | - |
| Scottish Television | - | - |
| Border Television | - | - |
| Grampian Television | - | - |
TV Times listing
10.0 THE AVENGERS
starring
IAN HENDRY
in
ASHES OF ROSES
Teleplay by Peter Ling and Sheilagh Ward
Also starring
PATRICK MACNEE
Cast includes:
| John Steed | Patrick Macnee |
| Olive Beronne | Olga Lowe |
| Johnny Mendelssohn | Peter Zander |
| Dr. David Keel | Ian Hendry |
| Carol Wilson | Ingrid Hafner |
| Denise | Heidi Erich |
“The Avengers” theme composed and
played by Johnny Dankworth
Designed by Patrick Downing
Produced by LEONARD WHITE
Directed by DON LEAVER
The girls of a hairdressing salon are oddly
involved when The Avengers are on the
trail of an arson gang
An ABC Television Network Production
Episode availability
- Video - none
- Audio - reconstruction in The Lost Episodes vol. 2, by Big Finish
- Script - clean archive copy of the original camera script, from a private collection
- Publicity Stills - 1
- Tele-Snaps - none
Continuity and trivia
- This episode is unique in series 1 for giving the lead rôle in the investigation to Carol, paving the way for Venus Smith and Cathy Gale in the next season, and Emma Peel, Tara King and Purdey is the more distant future. Leonard White has earlier issued a memo suggesting that as they had done Steed and Keel episodes, they should do several Carol episodes.
- This episode was originally going to be a Carol and David Keel episode but was rewritten, possibly due to actors’ workloads and availability as it changed order in the schedule, to become a Carol episode with Steed. Dr. Keel does not appear for most of the episode.
- This episode was originally going to have been the eighth episode but was moved down to number nine when Diamond Cut Diamond was added to the initial run. Most of the schedule changes were actually caused by delays with Patrick Brawn’s adaptation of Fred Edge’s Canadian TV script for The Radioactive Man.
- The production assistant for this episode was Verity Lambert who went on to great success and fame at the BBC with Doctor Who, among other productions including the BBC’s “answer” to The Avengers, Adam Adamant Lives!.
- Steed refers to his dog having to go out to go to the toilet, maybe that’s why he’s gone off them by the time of The £50,000 Breakfast!
- A memo dated March 30 1962 proposed a replay season for the nine episodes not broadcast by ATV and Anglia and also the first two episodes, which had been seen on ATV but not Anglia. This proves that all live episodes had been recorded any may yet be out there somewhere.
This episode was proposed to be run eighth so must not have been liked by the producers despite being in the top category of viewer ratings when first broadcast. Perhaps this was due to Leonard White wanting to no longer have Carol at the forefront. - The production schedule above has an entry for “Promotion Ampex” which was presumably the recording of a trailer to introduce the show to the ITV regions that would be starting with Hot Snow the following week while ABC and Anglia were showing Hunt the Man Down.