Although two previously-taped mimed music performances were already slotted into the program, Johnnie Stewart, the producer of Top Of The Pops '64 - the special year-end edition of the weekly show set for transmission between 7:25 and 8:25 pm on December 24th - was keen to feature something altogether new by the group. When he learned that one of the four hosts of his program, Jimmy Savile, would be appearing in the forthcoming "Another Beatles Christmas Show" production, he dispatched cameras to the nearby Hammersmith Odeon to film a brief interview during a rehearsal break on this day. Brief was the word - Savile and the Beatles were seen chatting for all of 1 minute, 23 seconds, the interview coming up into view after a few bars of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and fading out again near to the end of the song, neatly obscuring the fact that the Beatles had never filmed/taped this song for the BBC's cameras.
The Complete Beatles Chronicle - Mark Lewisohn
