1982 in British television

January

• 1 January – Central Independent Television starts broadcasting in the English Midlands, replacing ATV. Also, TVS starts broadcasting to the South and South East of England, replacing Southern, and TSW starts broadcasting to the South West, replacing Westward.
• 3 January – Final edition of The Generation Game to be presented by Larry Grayson. It is a compilation of highlights of the previous series.^[1]
• 4 January – Peter Davison makes his first full appearance as the Fifth Doctor in the Doctor Who serial "Castrovalva".

February

• February – The first-ever 3D broadcast in the UK is screened by Television South. The programme includes excerpts of test footage shot by Philips in the Netherlands. Red/green 3D glasses were given away free with copies of the TV Times listings magazine, but the 3D sections of the programme were shown in monochrome.

March

• 5 March – The BBC is given permission by the Government to start broadcasting television programmes on two satellite channels from early 1986.^[2] Ultimately, however, the channels were not launched.
• 28 March – British television premiere of the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me on ITV.^[3]

April

• 2 April – The Falklands War begins as Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.^[4]
• 24 April – The 27th Eurovision Song Contest is held in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The contest is presented by Jan Leeming and won by Germany's Nicole with Ein bißchen Frieden.
• 26 April – "The Satellite Channel" is launched. In 1984 it is renamed Sky Channel after it is purchased by Rupert Murdoch and in 1989 it becomes known as Sky One. Today it is named Sky1.^[5]

May

• 1 May – British television debut of the US soap opera Dynasty.^[6]
• 28 May–2 June – The BBC and ITV provide extensive live coverage of Pope John Paul II's visit to the United Kingdom.

June

• 14 June – The Falklands War ends after Argentina surrenders.^[4]
• 17 June – American musical high school drama Fame starts airing on UK television on BBC1.
• 20 June – The BBC relaunches its Sunday morning programme for the Asian community. The new programme is called Asian Magazine.^[7]
• 26 July – Alasdair Milne succeeds Ian Trethowan as Director-General of the BBC.

July

• 9 July – British television premiere of science-fiction horror film Alien on ITV.

August

• August – Test broadcasts commence for Channel 4 and S4C. These mainly consist of showing the IBA's testcard ETP-1.

September

• 20 September – The first showing of BBC Schools' first computer generated ident takes place.

October

• 3–9 October – As part of its coverage of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, the BBC broadcasts a two-hour breakfast programme Breakfast with Brisbane. The programme includes regular news summaries. This is the first time the BBC has broadcast a news bulletin at breakfast and comes three months ahead of the launch of Breakfast Time.^[8]
• 10 October – Boys from the Blackstuff premieres on BBC2 (last episode was shown on 7 November).
• 24 October – British television premiere of Star Wars on ITV.

November

• 1 November – S4C, the first Welsh language TV service is launched.^[9]
• 2 November – Channel 4 starts broadcasting in the UK at 4:45pm.^[9] The first programme shown is the game show Countdown, which, barring the news, is the only programme from the launch night that is still running today. The first ever episode of Brookside is broadcast. The programme was shown on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00pm.
• 5 November – Debut of Channel 4's innovative music programme The Tube.
• 9 November – The first edition of anarchic sitcom The Young Ones starring Rik Mayall is transmitted on BBC2.

December

• 2 December – 10.2 million viewers saw a classic comedy scene from the Only Fools and Horses episode "A Touch of Glass" in which the Trotters accidentally smash a priceless chandelier.
• 23 December – Service Information is broadcast on BBC2 for the final time.
• 27 December – British television premiere of the James Bond film film Moonraker on ITV.^[3]
• December – ITV conducts a national 3D experiment, with red/blue glasses allowing colour 3D to be shown for the first time. The programme, an episode of the weekly science magazine The Real World (produced by TVS) is shown on a weekday evening, and repeated that weekend on Sunday afternoon, followed by a rare screening of the Western Fort Ti starring George Montgomery and Joan Vohs.

BBC1

• 16 April – Odd One Out (1982–1985)
• 4 May – Wogan (1982–1992)
• 17 June – Fame (1982–1987)
• 4 September – The Late, Late Breakfast Show (1982–1986)
• 29 September – The Jockey School (1982)
• 2 October – Saturday Superstore (1982–1987)
• 30 December – 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)

BBC2

• 1 September – Timewatch (1982–present)
• 10 October – Boys from the Blackstuff (1982)
• 9 November – The Young Ones (1982–1984)

ITV

• 1 January – Central News (1982–present)
• 2 January –
  • No. 73 (1982–1988)
  • O.T.T. (1982)
• 4 January – Let's Pretend (1982–1988)
• 5 January – CBTV (1982–1985)
• 8 January – Shine on Harvey Moon (1982–1985, 1995)
• 16 February – On Safari (1982–1985)
• 1 March – Murphy's Mob (1982–1985)
• 29 March – 3-2-1 Contact (1980–1988)
• 16 April – The Bounder (1982–1983)
• 9 June – Andy Robson (1982–1983)
• 6 July – Pullover (1982)
• 12 July – A.J. Wentworth, B.A. (1982)
• 13 September – Hold Tight! (1982–1987)
• 25 October –
  • Foxy Lady (1982–1984)
  • Harry's Game (1982)
• 30 October – The Saturday Show (1982–1984)

Channel 4

• 2 November –
  • Countdown (1982–present)
  • Brookside (1982–2003)
  • Channel 4 News (1982–present)
  • The Comic Strip Presents (1982–2005)
• 5 November – The Tube (1982–1987)
• 14 November – Right to Reply (1982–2001)
• 26 December – The Snowman (1982)
• 28 December – Treasure Hunt (1982–1989)

S4C

• 1 November – Newyddion (1982–present)
• 3 November – Y Byd ar Bedwar (1982–present)

Changes of network affiliation

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 (1963–1989,1993,1996,2005–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)
• Sportsnight (1965–1997)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• The Money Programme (1966–2010)
• The Big Match (1968–2002)
• Nationwide (1969–1983)
• Screen Test (1969–1984)

1970s

• The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)
• The Two Ronnies (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)
• Crown Court (1972–1984)
• Pebble Mill at One (1972–1986)
• Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)
• Emmerdale (1972–present)
• Newsround (1972–present)
• Weekend World (1972–1988)
• We Are the Champions (1973–1987)
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)
• That's Life! (1973–1994)
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)
• Arena (1975–present)
• Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
• Rentaghost (1976–1984)
• One Man and His Dog (1976–present)
• Open All Hours (1976, 1981–1982, 1985)
• The Professionals (1977–1983)
• Butterflies (1978–1983, 2000)
• 3-2-1 (1978–1988)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008)
• Terry and June (1979–1987)
• The Book Tower (1979–1989)
• Blankety Blank (1979–1990, 1997–2002)
• The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1979–1994)
• Antiques Roadshow (1979–present)
• Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

• The Gentle Touch (1980–1984)
• Juliet Bravo (1980–1985)
• Cockleshell Bay (1980–1986)
• Children in Need (1980–present)
• The Gaffer (1981–1983)
• A Fine Romance (1981–1984)
• Punchlines (1981–1984)
• Finders Keepers (1981–1985, 1991–1996, 2006)
• Freetime (1981–1985)
• Game for a Laugh (1981–1985)
• Tenko (1981–1985)
• That's My Boy (1981–1986)
• Razzamatazz (1981–1987)
• Bergerac (1981–1991)
• BBC News After Noon (1981–1986)
• Sorry! (1981–1988)