AustLit

'Television down under was less than a decade old when in 1964, Carol Raye, a UK-born actress and television presenter arrived in Australia from Kenya where she had established the first television station in the capital, Nairobi. Raye settled in Beecroft NSW close to the ATN Channel 7 television studios. Raye had completed a Producers’ course at the BBC and was looking for a role in production. Armed with her credentials, Raye met with Jim Oswin, the General Manager of Channel 7. Oswin employed Raye, who became the first female television executive in Australia. Raye saw that there was an opportunity to produce a show which dealt with biting political and topical satire which was a bold idea, particularly for a commercial network which had more to lose than, say, the politically fence-sitting ABC. Raye pitched the idea to Oswin. The risk was taken and the result was The Mavis Bramston Show, a ground-breaking show on ATN Channel 7 which held record-breaking ratings for two straight years... no seasons in those days – they did forty shows, an hour weekly, every year.

[...]

'The documentary will explore the effect of Mavis Bramston on a rapidly changing Australian society and how this pioneering show set the scene for generations of satirical programs including: Fast Forward, Norman Gunston Show, The Gillies Report, Full Frontal, Frontline, The Big Gig, Clark & Dawe, The Chasers and Mad As Hell.'

Source: Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.