Historical Television Website

This was real broadcast TV in Wales in the 70s. Comes close to the oddness of the QTV clip m.youtube.com/watch?v=_rWo...

The Simpsons is set to leave Sky One on Saturday 31 October, with the channel marking the occasion with an afternoon marathon of episodes.

An advert for Microsoft Word that mentions Crossroads, there. Yes, *that* Crossroads.

The impasse right now is causing immense problems. Saturday nights are dull - Strictly padded beyond belief, everything else chaff. Weeknights rely on soap and makeover shows. Dramas have to be gritty. No, no they don't! Make a mix of stuff. Make some of it cheaply. But make stuff.

This type of programming is not for all, but broadcasters should make a wide range of shows for a wide audience. When BBC Four started, they did some great folk sessions. When Dave Allen was at Large, he did stand-up from a chair. Even Mrs Brown can teach us about banging out cheaper TV quickly.

Coming next: the BBC weather correspondent puzzles over how it can be raining one day and sunny the next.

Every time the BBC announces major cuts and pretends it isn't diminished, I recall the scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which the Black Knight insists, "It's only a flesh wound", as his limbs are hacked off. Except, he wasn't doing it to himself.

March 30, 2005 - Evening Standard - Graham Norton managed to sneak on to the set of Doctor Who, but not in the way one might expect. Audio from his show bleeds into the first episode, "Rose" just as the title character is being threatened by Autons.

We are heading to a point where there is just BBC Television again. Everything else goes on iPlayer. IMHO, a mistake but stems from the bigger mistake of removing channel controllers and that commissioning setup.

Sherlock Holmes Mystery BBC tv 20 October - 1 December 1951 The first televised series of the legendary sleuth. Adapted for television by CA Lejeune from the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle. Tap the ALT to see a partial cast list.

Can't believe they've axed EBC1.

BBC Scotland in this case is a 5 hours a night channel started a decade ago to remove a bunch of Scottish programming from BBC Two opt-outs to its own channel. BBC One Scotland, BBC Alba, Radio Scotland and Radio Nan Gàidheal remain untouched.

At least with BBC3 closing we might start getting some new comedy commissions on BBC1 and 2, right? RIGHT?

I think people might be confusing the BBC Scotland channel with BBC Scotland the organisation- and its Pacific Quay hq.

And so it begins...BBC Three was worthy but was brought back when budget cuts started to bite and now the situation's untenable. Never saw much of BBC Scotland but the same logic applies. Will BBC Four close soon as well? Sadly I think so unless new funding is secured.

BBC Three and BBC Scotland TV channels to be shut down next year. Corporation announces broadcast closures and job losses in effort to find savings of £500m. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/o...

Sykes (19th October 1972). Little Tommy Grando (Peter Sellers) pays a surprise visit to Eric and Hattie. In the original (wiped) 1960's version, the part was played by Leo McKern.

If the subscriber only had a 405-line set, they wouldn't've seen BBC-2 — there was no line conversion done by STAR, it was just a frequency shift down to Band I, necessary because their cables were VHF only. A dual-standard 405/625 set would still be needed.

‘The rapidly changing world of today’ (as viewed from 1968) (Kings and Queens, book 2, 1968) Artist: Frank Hampson

Never heard of that "wideband coil" modification for 405-line VHF-only sets (using ch. 1/2) to receive BBC2 which was normally only for 625 lines UHF reception. Cable distribution only I'm guessing.

BBC-2 comes to town (1966) The new channel arrives in Spalding courtesy of the local cable company

On this day in 1965, the first edition of The Magic Roundabout was broadcast on BBC1. Using the animation from the French show Le Manège Enchanté, completely new scripts (which bore no resemblance to the originals) were written and narrated by Eric Thompson.

Introducing The Pres Desk. Your new destination for the latest in television presentation news. We track new idents, channel rebrands, studio redesigns, continuity moments, and on-air broadcast shifts as they happen.

I had great fun revisiting this classic sitcom to write this one. I hope you enjoy it.

Advert Lucky Dip: Oct 1990: Ad for The Simpsons on Sky Television (more at @OldUKPrintAds.bsky.social) «Introducing Bart Simpson. Sexier than Tom Cruise! Funnier than Eddie Murphy! Cooler than Bruce Willis!»

The Trigger Effect, the first edition of Connections, was originally broadcast on this day in 1978.

Part of a brilliant Ray Gosling documentary about the midlands. This is the Nottingham part. Worth watching for Yates wine lodge alone. Can't deny I'm offended by his Meadows slum comments though. I'll post the Leicester part below this one. youtu.be/SDwiJXXroFk?...

Something interesting: due to the Celebrity Traitors final on the 30th October, HIGNFY will be on pre-watershed, at 7:30pm. Has this ever happened before?

Just looking through a 1986 edition of Private Eye and just spotted this story about "Brush Strokes" apparently being plagiarised which I've never heard before. Anyone know anything about this?

A Guildford Institute show/talk on how the BBC began: From the Pips to the Proms, Wed 25 Nov. This sequel is on the early years inc iconic moments from the birth of drama/comedy to early sports commentaries. Local for me, and for you if you live here... www.guildford-institute.org.uk/event/from-t...

Oh and before that, there was ATV's medical soap opera Emergency Ward 10, with Joan Hooley as Surgeon Louise Mahler, who in July 1964, had an interracial relationship with Doctor Giles Farmer (John White), extremely daring at the time.

[1970] Fleetwood Mac - The Green Manalishi. Pan's People dance at Stonehenge and lead the faithful around Portobello Road.

Ever heard about the BBC showing of 2001: A Space Odyssey where they stuck an animated starfield at the top and bottom of the screen? No? Well you can hear all about it Looks Unfamiliar... timworthington.org/2019/10/31/l...

I’ve done another guest post for the long running twinpeaksblog, looking at the neglected topic of the series’ UK viewing figures back in 1990 / 91. twinpeaksblog.com/2026/10/11/h... Free to read. Lots of other great stuff on that site too. Check it all out.

If you haven't seen it, set aside five minutes of your life and I guarantee you it will make everything better youtu.be/waTrwyp7R3U?...

I always love a bit of archive continuity, and here's one showing BBC1 introducing its repeat showing of classic rabies drama THE MAD DEATH on 14 June 1985. Saturday's Val Doonican Show was possibly even scarier.

#OnThisDay 14 October 1979 The Mirror reveals THE SAD TALE OF PETRA THE TV PUPPY - Why #BluePeter told a little white lie - "The pup fell ill and died. So we decided to do what most responsible parent would do - get a replacement."

#OnThisDay 14 October 1980 ITV'S SEVENTEEN DAYS OF CHRISTMAS ITV are splashing out £30 million on a bumper bundle of Christmas shows. Leading ITV's homegrown campaign will be Alf Garnett. There will be specials from Morecambe and Wise, Kenny Everett, the Muppets, Bruce Forsyth...

#OnThisDay 14 October 1984 Thames Television take out full-page newspaper ads to promote #TheBill HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ON A COPPER'S BEAT IN LONDON'S EAST END? A new police drama series filmed entirely on location, The Bill is a true life drama giving a realistic insight ...

#OnThisDay 13 October 1980 WILL VIEWERS EXTERMINATE DR. WHO BEFORE THESE DO? #DoctorWho's biggest threat doesn't come from the Daleks or the Androids. It comes from TV licence evaders . . .