1978 in British television
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This is a list of British television related events from 1978.
Events
January
- 20 January – The first of ITV's occasional An Audience With programmes is aired. The first presenter is Jasper Carrott.
- 27 January – In an interview for Granada Television's World in Action programme, Leader of the Opposition Margaret Thatcher remarks, "people are really rather afraid that this country might be rather swamped by people with a different culture".[1] Critics regard the comment as a veiled reference to people of colour, thus pandering to xenophobia and reactionary sentiment. However, Thatcher receives 10,000 letters thanking her for raising the subject and the Conservatives gain a lead against Labour in the opinion polls.[2]
February
- 13 February – Anna Ford becomes the first female newscaster on News at Ten.[3]
- 22 February – The Police appear in a television commercial for Wrigley's chewing gum.
- 24 February – 7 April – The BBC airs Going Straight. The sitcom is a direct spin-off from Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher, newly released from the fictional Slade Prison where Porridge had been set. The programme airs for one series.
March
- 7 March – 11 April – Dennis Potter's groundbreaking drama serial Pennies From Heaven airs on BBC1.
April
- 6 April – The four-part drama series Law & Order begins airing on BBC2. Each of the four stories within the series is told from a different perspective, including that of the Detective, the Villain, the Brief and the Prisoner. The series proves to be highly controversial upon its release due to its depiction of a corrupt British law enforcement and legal system.[4]
May
- 24 May – The iconic skateboarding duck item first airs on BBC TV's Nationwide.
- 28–29 May – British television debut of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, airing as a two-part presentation over two consecutive nights on BBC1.[5][6]
June
- 3 June – Long running US children's educational series Sesame Street starts airing on both ATV and Border.
July
- 13 July – The original series of Top Gear begins airing on BBC2 having started as a locally produced programme at BBC Pebble Mill the previous year.
August
- No events.
September
- 4 September – British television premiere of the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service on ITV.[7]
- 10 September – Return of the Saint. The Saint returns with a new actor named Ian Ogilvy and introducing the Jaguar XJ-S to take over the Volvo P1800 from the Saint 1962 TV series. The first episode is The Judas Game.
- 23 September – Larry Grayson succeeds Bruce Forsyth as presenter of The Generation Game.[8]
October
- 17 October – James Burke's history of science series Connections first airs on BBC.
November
- 6 November – ITV airs the first episode of Edward & Mrs. Simpson, a seven-part British television series that dramatises the events leading to the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, who gave up his throne to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson.
- 23 November – 15th anniversary of the first episode of the science-fiction series Doctor Who.
- ITV started broadcasting the ORACLE-teletext based service. It ended on 31 December 1992.
December
- 21 and 22 December - BBC1 and BBC2 were forced off the air due to industrial action at the BBC by the ABS union which started on Thursday 21 December 1978. On Friday 22 December 1978 the radio unions joined their BBC Television counterparts and went on strike too, forcing the BBC to merge their four national radio networks into one national radio station from 4.00pm that afternoon and called it the BBC All Network Radio Service. The strike was settled shortly before 10.00pm on Friday 22 December 1978, with the unions and BBC management reaching an agreement at the British government's industrial disputes arbitration service ACAS. BBC1 resumed broadcast at 3.00pm on Saturday 23 December, with BBC2 resuming at 1.00pm that same afternoon. Threat of disruption to the BBC's festive television schedules was averted. BBC Radio networks resumed normal schedules on the morning of Saturday 23 December 1978.[9][10][11][12]
- 25 December –
- BBC1 airs the British television premiere of The Sound of Music.[13]
- British television premiere of the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever on ITV.[7]
Debuts
BBC1
- 2 January – Blake's 7 (1978–1981)
- 8 January – All Creatures Great and Small (1978–1990)
- 29 January – Hawkmoor (1978)
- 8 February – Grange Hill (1978–2008)
- 24 February – Going Straight (1978)
- 7 March – Pennies from Heaven (1978)
- 10 April – Cheggers Plays Pop (1978–1986)
- 10 October –
- 22 October – Huntingtower (1978)
- 3 December – Pinocchio (1978)
BBC2
- 11 March – Something Else (1978–1982)
- 10 November – Butterflies (1978–1983, 2000)
- 3 December – BBC Television Shakespeare (1978–1985)
ITV
- 14 January – The South Bank Show (1978–2010, 2012–present)
- 16 January – Hazell (1978–1979)
- 21 February – Armchair Thriller (1978–1981)
- 29 April – Scorpion Tales (1978)
- 26 May –
- 5 June – Strangers (1978–1982)
- 8 July – Saturday Banana (1978)
- 18 July – Spearhead (1978–1981)
- 29 July – 3-2-1 (1978–1988)
- 7 September –
- 9 September –
- 10 September – Return of the Saint (1978–1979)
- 13 September – Born and Bred (1978)
- 18 September – The Sandbaggers (1978–1980)
- 24 September –
- Bless Me, Father (1978–1981)
- Lillie (1978)
- 7 October – Bruce Forsyth's Big Night (1978, 1980)
- 8 October – The Clifton House Mystery (1978)
Television shows
1920s
- BBC Wimbledon (1927–present)
1930s
- BBC Cricket (1939–1999, 2020–2024)
1940s
- Come Dancing (1949–1998)
1950s
- The Good Old Days (1953–1983)
- Panorama (1953–present)
- Crackerjack (1955–1984)
- What the Papers Say (1956–2008)
- The Sky at Night (1957–present)
- Blue Peter (1958–present)
- Grandstand (1958–2007)
1960s
- Coronation Street (1960–present)
- Songs of Praise (1961–present)
- Animal Magic (1962–1983)
- Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005–present)
- World in Action (1963–1998)
- Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
- Match of the Day (1964–present)
- Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
- Play School (1964–1988)
- Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999, 2008–2010, 2012–present)
- World of Sport (1965–1985)
- Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006–present)
- Sportsnight (1965–1997)
- It's a Knockout (1966–1982, 1999–2001)
- The Money Programme (1966–2010)
- ITV Playhouse (1967–1982)
- Magpie (1968–1980)
- The Big Match (1968–2002)
- The Liver Birds (1969–1979, 1996)
- Nationwide (1969–1983)
- Screen Test (1969–1984)
1970s
- The Goodies (1970–1982)
- The Onedin Line (1971–1980)
- The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)
- The Two Ronnies (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)
- General Hospital (1972–1979)
- Sykes (1972–1979)
- Clapperboard (1972–1982)
- Crown Court (1972–1984)
- Pebble Mill at One (1972–1986)
- Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
- Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)
- Emmerdale (1972–present)
- Newsround (1972–present)
- Weekend World (1972–1988)
- Pipkins (1973–1981)
- We Are the Champions (1973–1987)
- Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)
- That's Life! (1973–1994)
- It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981)
- Tiswas (1974–1982)
- Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)
- Celebrity Squares (1975–1979, 1993–1997, 2014–present)
- The Cuckoo Waltz (1975–1980)
- Arena (1975–present)
- Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
- George and Mildred (1976–1979)
- The Muppet Show (1976–1981)
- When the Boat Comes In (1976–1981)
- Multi-Coloured Swap Shop (1976–1982)
- Rentaghost (1976–1984)
- One Man and His Dog (1976–present)
- Robin's Nest (1977–1981)
- You’re Only Young Twice (1977–1981)
- The Professionals (1977–1983)
Ending this year
- 20 March – Opportunity Knocks (1956–1978, 1987–1990)
- 10 April – 1990 (1977–1978)
- 15 April – Within These Walls (1974–1978)
- 9 May – Rising Damp (1974–1978)
- 24 May – A Bunch of Fives (1977–1978)
- 10 June – The Good Life (1975–1978)
- 21 July – The Black and White Minstrel Show (1958–1978)
- August – This Week (1956–1978, 1986–1992)
- 20 September – Z-Cars (1962–1978)
- 20 December – Happy Ever After (1974–1978)
- 25 December – Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973–1978)
- 28 December – The Sweeney (1975–1978)
Births
- 13 January – Yiolanda Koppel, UK presenter
- 22 February – Jenny Frost, singer, dancer, television presenter and model
- 23 March — Joanna Page, actress
- 31 March – Daniel Mays, actor
- 28 April — Lauren Laverne, radio and television presenter and singer
- 9 May – Georgina Mellor, British actress (Footballers' Wives: Extra Time)
- 29 May — Adam Rickitt, actor
- 10 July — Sarah-Jane Mee, journalist and news and sports presenter
- 24 July — Joanna Taylor, actress and model
- 19 August — Callum Blue, actor
- 8 November — Jane Danson, actress
- 17 November – Tom Ellis, actor
Deaths
- 11 January – Michael Bates, actor
- 5 October – May Warden, actress
- 1 December – David Nixon, magician
See also
References
- ↑ Interview for Granada TV with journalist Gordon Burns (27 January 1978), TV Interview for Granada World in Action ("rather swamped"), Margaret Thatcher Foundation. Retrieved 6 May 2009. Archived 2009-05-08.
- ↑ John Campbell, Margaret Thatcher: Volume One: The Grocer's Daughter (Jonathan Cape, 2000), p. 400.
- ↑ ""1978: Ford makes her ITN debut", BBC On This Day". BBC News. 1978-02-13. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ↑ Newman, G.F. Television interview with Mark Lawson. Mark Lawson Talks to... G.F. Newman. United Kingdom: BBC Four. Accessed 3 April 2018
- ↑ "The Godfather – BBC One London – 28 May 1978". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ↑ "The Godfather – BBC One London – 29 May 1978". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- 1 2 "James Bond On TV – Movies". MI6 – The Home Of James Bond 007. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
- ↑ "Larry Grayson's Generation Game – BBC One London – 23 September 1978". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- ↑ http://andywalmsley.blogspot.com/2011/05/bbc-all-network-service.html
- ↑ http://boggenstrovia.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-christmas-that-nearly-wasnt-bbc.html
- ↑ https://www.transdiffusion.org/2004/06/01/union
- ↑ http://tv.cream.org/extras/strike.htm
- ↑ "The Sound of Music – BBC One London – 25 December 1978". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
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