Sylvia Anderson

NFTS announce the Sylvia Anderson Scholarship

Posted on by Parker

The UK’s National Film and Television School announces a new scholarship supported by ITV Studios

The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is delighted to announce a new scholarship supported by ITV Studios in memory of the life and work of Sylvia Anderson, co-creator of Thunderbirds and a pioneering force in screen storytelling.

The Sylvia Anderson Scholarship will support students on the NFTS’ world-renowned two year Screenwriting MA, ensuring that the next generation of screenwriters continue to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation. Over the next decade, the scholarship will provide full funding for five students, with the first scholar beginning their training in January 2026.

The newly created scholarship coincides with the landmark 60th anniversary of Thunderbirds in 2025, the iconic series created by Sylvia and Gerry Anderson. Originally airing from 1965, Thunderbirds remains a beloved classic, celebrated for its ground-breaking storytelling and innovative puppetry. In addition to serving as co-creator and co-writer, Anderson was a costume designer and actress, providing the voices for several characters including the legendary Lady Penelope.

Jon Wardle, Director of the NFTS, said: “Sylvia Anderson was an extraordinary storyteller whose creative vision left an indelible mark on British film and television. We are incredibly grateful to ITV Studios for this generous scholarship, which will help nurture emerging screenwriting talent and ensure Sylvia’s legacy continues to inspire new generations of creatives.”

Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive of ITV, added: “Sylvia Anderson’s contribution to the industry is immeasurable. As we celebrate 60 iconic years of Thunderbirds, ITV Studios is proud to support aspiring screenwriters in her memory, helping them develop the skills needed to shape the future of storytelling.”

Sylvia’s daughter, Dee Anderson, said: “I am so proud of my mother Sylvia Anderson for her remarkable achievements as a writer and pioneer for women in film and television. She would be so happy to inspire and support the next generation of creative writers on this ground-breaking course at the NFTS with the help and backing of ITV.”

Applications are now open for the National Film and Television School’s prestigious Screenwriting MA, led by Brian Ward, with the deadline for submissions due to close on 1st May 2025.

Alumni of the Screenwriting MA include Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917, The Good Nurse), Nathaniel Price (The Outlaws), Malorie Blackman (Noughts And Crosses), Laurie Nunn (Sex Education), Daniel Brierly (Trigger Point), Jess Williams (Grace), France Poletti (Without Sin) and Jessica Sinyard and Shyam Popat (The Jackal). Recent graduates of the MA have been nominated for and have won numerous prestigious awards, including BAFTAs, Royal Television Society Awards, Academy Awards, and Women in Film and Television New Talent Awards. Several alumni have also been named among Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow.

To apply for the Screenwriting MA and the Sylvia Anderson Scholarship, go to: nfts.co.uk/screenwriting

[UPDATED] Growing up with Thunderbirds

Posted on by Parker

Dee Anderson is embarking on a tour of the UK, sharing her memories of ‘growing up with Thunderbirds‘

As the daughter of Sylvia and Gerry Anderson, Dee Anderson, lived and breathed the magic of Thunderbirds and all the other Supermarionation programmes as a child. In this show, Dee presents a heartfelt tribute to the boundless imagination and thrilling adventures that defined a generation.

Gerry and Sylvia’s extraordinary legacy comes to life on stage like never before, inviting you into the world of a child who grew up with Thunderbirds. In her words “It was simply FAB!”

Dates/venues being added as confirmed and tickets become available:

London, 12th May Phoenix Arts Club
Pudsey, Yorkshire, 29th June The Old Woollen
Great Yarmouth, 25th July St George’s Theatre
New Milton, Hampshire, 30th August Forest Arts Centre
London, 30th November The Cinema Museum
Aldershot, TBA West End Centre

RIP Dr Gerry Anderson (1967-2023)

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Fanderson is saddened to report the death of Dr Gerry Anderson, Gerry and Sylvia’s son.

Dr Gerry Anderson was the only son of Sylvia and Gerry, the legendary husband and wife team of Thunderbirds fame. He was born in Windsor on 31st July 1967 and his parents issued an invitation to the celebration of his birth in the image of a clapper board saying “Proudly presenting Gerry Anderson Jnr” bearing his weight and time of birth.

Gerry had been suffering from an incurable brain tumour for a number of years, but prior to that was a renowned anaesthetist, who was headhunted from the UK to New Zealand. He was then offered a prestigious medical consultancy in Tasmania, where he decided to live with his wife and three children.

Gerry had taken a different route to his parents and sister Dee Anderson, who were all in the creative arts, as he had always wanted to enter the medical profession. Dee remembers him asking her for a blood pressure monitor as a Christmas present when only 8 and diagnosing medical conditions from an early age.

Gerry had many experiences in his medical career before becoming an anaesthetist. One of his favourite memories was when he was a ‘flying doctor’ travelling all over the world to treat the sick and dying. He also set up a medical centre in the middle of a remote area of the Amazon forest where he treated a primitive tribe, alongside two other doctors who were travelling with him. He was always trying to utilise his medical skills to improve people’s lives.

In later years, Gerry was an exceptional anaesthetist, who had a gentle confidence which was reflected in his work. Many of his patients kept in touch with him years after their treatment, saying he had made a huge impact on them and their hospital experience.

Although Dee was several years older than Gerry she shared extraordinary experiences with him when they would spend their holidays on film sets at Pinewood Studios, watching their parents programmes being made like Space:1999 and UFO, and mingled with stars from stage and screen like Cliff Richard, Joan Collins, Shirley Bassey and Des O’Connor, who visited their home in Gerrards Cross or at their villa in Portugal.

Gerry was married with three teenage children, Kelsey, Eamear and Max, who gathered around his bedside with his wife Andrea in the last few days of his life.

Dr Gerry Anderson was just 55 years old when he passed away on Wednesday 26th April 2023, and although he did not pursue the stage or screen, was really a true star who made a difference as he touched so many people’s lives.

The following photos are © Sylvia Anderson estate

Sylvia Anderson and women in TV

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Thunderbirds‘ co-creator Sylvia Anderson and her influence on women working in TV is one of the subjects to be discussed in BBC Radio 4’s Front Row programme on Wednesday 13th September 2022.

Front Row is Radio 4’s live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.

The name Sylvia Anderson was recently invoked by Dr. Lisa Cameron MP, during a debate on gender equality in the media in Westminster Hall. The late Sylvia Anderson was a pioneer in the male dominated world of television, co-creating Thunderbirds in the 1960s with her then husband Gerry. But her family say her name has often been omitted from credits and merchandise in the years since then. Samira Ahmed speaks to Sylvia’s daughter Dee Anderson and Dame Heather Rabbatts, Chair of Time’s Up UK, who are campaigning for her legacy to be restored and to Barbara Broccoli, producer of the James Bond films, who remembers Sylvia as her mentor.

The programme is the latest discussion of Dee Anderson’s high-profile and growing campaign for posthumous justice for her late mother, Sylvia.

Front Row is available on BBC iPlayer, though you may be required to sign-in to listen. Wind through to 12:52 for the start of article on Sylvia.

Just one week until our 40th birthday party!

Posted on by Parker

It’s just one week until club members will be joining special guests and committee members to celebrate 40 years of the world’s only official appreciation society for Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson and their wonderfully talented teams that made some of our favourite television programmes and films.

We’d planned to do it in 2021, but Covid-19 and travel restrictions put paid to that!

We’ll be at the Pinewood Hotel (Wexham Park Lane, George Green, Slough, Buckinghamshire SL3 6AP) from 14:00, where we’ll have a barbecue and, like all good birthday parties, music, drink and (of course) cake! There will also be a cash bar for drinks.

We’ll even have some surprises to keep you entertained between conversations…

Just bring along your order confirmation to show us when you arrive, and we’ll check you against our guest list. Sorry, there will be no on-the-door admissions.

It’s a relaxed event, so dress code is casual.

See you on Saturday!

AUS: Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons on DVD

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Australia’s cult and classic film and television label Via Vision is following up their historic Joe 90 DVD release with Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons.

For AU$59.95, this Complete Series box set includes all 32 episodes across 6 discs, plus special features:

  • Gerry Anderson Commentary on 2 episodes
  • five TV21 audio adventures
  • Character identities
  • ITC publicity
  • Original TV adverts
  • Stills galleries and more

Via Vision’s Joe 90 release was historic as the package is labelled as “Gerry And Sylvia Anderson’s Joe 90″ – the first time since the early 1990s that Sylvia has been credited as such and so prominently for her co-creation. We’re delighted that Sylvia’s contribution to Captain Scarlet is again recognised so prominently on this release.

How long before other licensees catch up?

AUS: History-making Joe 90 DVD from Via Vision

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Australia’s cult and classic film and television label Via Vision is releasing Joe 90 on DVD this February. Details are sketchy but the set includes all 30 remastered episodes “plus special features” for AU$59.95.

This release is surely historic as the package is labelled as “Gerry And Sylvia Anderson’s Joe 90″ – possibly the first time that Sylvia has been credited as such and so prominently for her co-creation. Let’s hope other licensees follow suit.

 

 

Christmas TV – not EastEnders again!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

At a loss for some quality seasonal television from the broadcasters this Christmas? Why not dig out the TVTimes special that we mailed with FAB last year (and again recently for new members)?

Surround yourself with some treats and a little something to wash it all down, then feast out all day on the very best seasonal Gerry and Sylvia Anderson entertainment (and remember, Stingray A Christmas To Remember is just one of the many programmes now available in high definition).

PS – Obviously, but just in case anyone thought otherwise, in the supplement the 40th Anniversary Quiz closed on 31st January 2021, and Six-Five Special offers were valid until 14th February 2021!

Podcast 2 is here!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

New for 2020 is the Fanderson Podcast!

Hosted by journalist and broadcaster (and long-time Fanderson member) Ros Connors, our podcasts will share information, views and stories with fans – just like you.

  • Podcast 2 – Mike Jones talks design and FAB magazine, archive interview with Sylvia Anderson, Ralph Titterton tells all about the Barry Gray Archive
  • Podcast 1 – Ian Fryer discusses Doppelgänger, archive interview clips with Space:1999‘s Barry Morse, and a club update from Nick Williams.

Let us know what you liked, what you’d like to hear in future editions, and anything else at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com

The Animates – can you help?

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

The Animates, Sylvia Anderson‘s first solo production after leaving Space:1999, has been added to the Productions page of the website.

This series for pre-schoolers was designed to help children learn some simple life lessons, and merchandise included a series of books and episodes on VHS cassette in the 1980s. The series appears to have been largely forgotten following its initial broadcast across much of the ITV network in the late 1970s.

The club has three episodes in its archive and screened one of these at our Special Assignment convention in 2017.

We’re keen to know more about the series – especially episode synopses and broadcast dates. Contact us at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com if you can help.