The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
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Plymouth's Mayor and TV mascot Gus Honeybun
Mayor meets mascot Gus Honeybun at TV studios in Plymouth
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Overview
Mayor and Mayoress of Plymouth Mr. and Mrs Thompson meet Westward TV’s mascot, Gus Honeybun at the Derry’s Cross studios. The Chairman Peter Cadbury and reporters Judi Spiers and John Doyle greet them and they are filmed with Gus Honeybun, the South West’s Sooty and Sweep. Four different bunnies exist, he was found by a camera team under a gorse bush on Dartmoor. Gus has a special place in the hearts of the SW TV audience for his slot reading out birthdays.
Westward Television launched in April 1961 but lost its ITV franchise in December 1980 when Southern and Western Television had not had their licences renewed by the Independent Broadcasting Authority. (TSW) Television South West was to gain the franchise and launch at midnight on 31 December 1981 following Westward’s farewell announcement of “So we say goodbye from Westward in 1981” and “Let’s say welcome to 1982 from our new television station, Television South West…” TSW was replaced by Westcounty Television in December 1992. The South West Film and Television Archives core collection is Westward and TSW a suite is named after the popular bunny. Bunny rights were given to Flambards in 1992.
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