Admags
A now forgotten alternative to the commercial break in the
early days of British commercial television was the Advertising
Magazine (or 'Admag') in which performers were allowed to extol
the virtues of various products during the course of a generally
vapid quarter-hour of chat.
Jim's Inn was the best-known example. The show featured
Jimmy Hanley and his real-life wife Maggie (Margaret Avery)
running a cosy pub in the (fictitious) village of Wembleham,
providing the perfect opportunity for visitors to the pub to
discuss a variety of products over a pint or two.
Pub regulars were played by played by Roma Cresswell, John
Sherlock, Jack Edwardes, Diane Watts, Dennis Bowen, Ken Howard and
Victor Platt. Jim's Inn ran from 1957 until 1963, and Jimmy
Hanley ended up on the children's television series The Five O'
Clock Club.
Other Admags included About Homes and Gardens (1956)
with Noele Gordon, Bazaar (1957 - 1959), Flair, Girl
With a Date, In Store (with Kenneth Horne and Tommy
Trinder), Over the Hills (1956), Send for Saunders, Shop
on the Corner, What's in Store? (1956), What's New?
(1957) and Where Shall We Go? (1956).
The facility was withdrawn by the Independent Television
Authority in 1963.
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