The first play, The Outsider, was a medical drama adapted from the stage play by Dorothy Brandon, which was transmitted live on 8 July 1956 from ABC's Manchester studios in Didsbury. In its early years the series drew heavily on North American sources. The original producer of the series was Dennis Vance, who was in charge for the first two years. The series was launched by Howard Thomas, head of ABC at the time, who argued that 'Television drama is not so far removed from television journalism, and the plays which will grip the audience are those that face up to the new issues of the day as well as to the problems as old as civilisation.' Armchair Theatre filled a Sunday-evening slot on ITV, Britain's only commercial network at the time, in which contemporary dramas were the most common form, though this was not immediately apparent.