1983 in British television

January

• 3 January – Children's ITV premieres on ITV as a programming block.
• 17 January – Breakfast Time, Britain's first-ever breakfast show, launches on BBC1.
• January – BBC1 starts broadcasting a full afternoon service, consisting of regional programmes, repeats and old feature films.

February

• 1 February – TV-am launches, with Good Morning Britain
• 6 February – The Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters makes its British television debut when Central becomes the first ITV region to begin screening the programme. All other ITV regions soon follow suit.
• 8 February – Minipops premieres on Channel 4. Though a ratings success, it is axed after only one series due to heavy media criticism.
• 23 February – After months of "will she or won't she?" drama, Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) makes the choice to break up with Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) and reunite with her estranged husband Ken (William Roache) on Coronation Street. The episode was one of the highest-rated in the soap's history.

March

• late February/early March – The BBC begins broadcasting a 30-minute Ceefax slot prior to the start of Breakfast Time. It is called Ceefax AM. It is first mentioned in the Radio Times on 21 March.^[1]

April

• No events.

May

• 2 May – From today Ceefax pages are broadcast during all daytime downtime although BBC2 continues to fully close down for four hours after Play School. Teletext transmissions also begin on Channel 4 at around this time.
• 5 May – Top of the Pops celebrates its 1000th edition. The programme is also broadcast on BBC Radio 1 to allow viewers to listen to the programme in stereo.^[2]
• 11 May – Peter Adamson makes his last appearance as Len Fairclough on Coronation Street.
• 17 May – Engineering Announcements is broadcast on ITV for the final time.^[3]
• 24 May – Engineering Announcements is shown on Channel 4 for the first time.

June

• 9–10 June – BBC1 and ITV broadcast coverage of the 1983 general election.
• 15 June – The first episode of The Black Adder, the first in the successful Blackadder series of sitcoms, debuts on BBC One.
• 24 June – BBC Schools programmes are broadcast as For Schools, Colleges, and on BBC1, for the final time ahead of their move to BBC2 in the autumn.
• 27 June – The shareholders of Satellite Television agree a £5 million offer to give News International 65% of the company.^[4][5]

July

• 29 July – Hit US action-adventure series of the 1980s The A-Team is shown for the first time in the UK on ITV.

August

• 16 August – ITV broadcasts Woodentop as part of its Storyboard series. It would later be turned into a series and re-titled The Bill, commencing in October 1984 and lasting until August 2010.
• 29 August – Blockbusters is launched on ITV, hosted by Bob Holness and features sixth-form students as contestants.

September

• 6 September – ITV broadcasts Killer. It would later be turned into a series and re-titled Taggart.
• 12 September – Animated series for children Henry's Cat created by veteran British animators Stan Hayward and Bob Godfrey begins its screening on BBC1.
• 16 September – BBC2 closes down during the day for the final time – all future daytime downtime is filled by Pages from Ceefax.
• 19 September – Daytime on Two launches on BBC2. Broadcasting during termtime from just after 9am until 3pm, the strand encompasses the BBC Schools programming previously shown on BBC1 and the BBC's adult educational programmes which are shown at lunchtime. A special version of the BBC Two 'Computer Generated 2' ident is launched to introduce the programmes.

October

• 2 October – ITV shows a live top flight football match for the first time since 1960. This marks the start of English football being shown on a national basis rather than on a regional basis, resulting in The Big Match becoming a fully national programme.
• 4 October – BBC1 broadcasts the Welsh children's animated series SuperTed which was based on a series of stories written by Welsh writer, producer and animator Mike Young to help his son overcome his fear of the dark. The series had been so popular it was spawned into merchandising and was broadcast in many countries worldwide.
• 12 October – Doris Speed makes her last appearance as Annie Walker on Coronation Street.
• 24 October – Sixty Minutes launches on BBC1, replacing Nationwide but it ended less than a year later.

November

• 23 November – 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who.
• 25 November – The BBC airs "The Five Doctors", a 90-minute episode of Doctor Who made to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
• ITV's animated series Danger Mouse viewing figures reach 21.59 million,^[6] an all-time high for a British children's programme.

December

• 21 December – First showing on British television of The Fog, John Carpenter's 1980 horror film, which airs on BBC1.^[7]
• 27 December – BBC2 shows the British television debut of Oh, God!, Carl Reiner's comedy about an unassuming supermarket manager chosen by God to spread his message, and starring George Burns and John Denver.^[8]

BBC1

• 5 January – Captain Zep – Space Detective (1983–1984)
• 12 January – Skorpion (1983)
• 17 January – Breakfast Time (1983–1989)
• 17 February – Gran (1983)
• 23 February – The Machine Gunners (1983)
• 8 March – Baker Street Boys (1983)
• 5 June – The Hot Shoe Show (1983–1984)
• 15 June – Blackadder (1983–1989)
• 12 September – Henry's Cat (1983–1995)
• 22 September – Just Good Friends (1983–1986)
• 3 October – Bananaman (1983–1986)
• 4 October – SuperTed (1983–1986)
• 16 October –
  • By the Sword Divided (1983–1985)
  • Sweet Sixteen (1983)
• 24 October – Sixty Minutes (1983–1984)
• 25 October – Don't Wait Up (1983–1990)
• 10 November – Johnny Jarvis (1983)

BBC2

• 10 January – Making the Most of the Micro (1983)
• 10 March – Tucker's Luck (1983–1985)
• 7 July – The Crystal Cube (1983)

ITV

• 3 January – CITV (Afternoon block 1983–2007, Morning block 1983–present)
• 5 January – Unknown Chaplin (1983)
• 10 January – Alphabet Zoo (1983–1984)
• 24 January – The Moomins (1983–1985)
• 1 February –
  • Good Morning Britain (1983–1992)
  • TV-am (1983–1992)
• 6 February – Sons and Daughters (1982–1987)
• 5 April – First Tuesday (1983–1993)
• 16 April – Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983–1986)
• 29 April – Hallelujah! (1983–1984)
• 1 May – Alfresco
• 20 June – The Happy Apple (1983)
• 5 July – Moschops (1983)
• 29 July – The A-Team (1983–1987)
• 29 August – Blockbusters (1983–93, 1994–95, 1997, 2000–01, 2012)
• 5 September –
  • Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983)
  • He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983–1985)
• 6 September – Taggart (1983–2011)
• 12 September – Dramarama (1983–1989)
• 3 October –
  • Orm and Cheep (1983–1985)
  • Terrahawks (1983–1986)
• 4 October – The Adventures of Portland Bill (1983)
• 16 October – Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime (1983–1984)
• 23 October – Highway (1983–1993)
• 11 November – Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–1986, 2002–2004)
• 14 November – The Witches and the Grinnygog (1983)
• 30 November – Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1983–1985)
• 10 December – The Day After (1983)
• 27 December – The Wind in the Willows (1983–1990)

Channel 4

• 8 January – The Lady Is a Tramp (1983–1984)
• 8 February – Minipops (1983)

Changes of network affiliation

1920s

• BBC Wimbledon (1927–present)

1930s

• BBC Cricket (1939–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• 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)
• 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)
• Sportsnight (1965–1997)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• The Money Programme (1966–2010)
• The Big Match (1968–2002)
• Screen Test (1969–1984)

1970s

• The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)
• The Two Ronnies (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)
• Crown Court (1972–1984)
• Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
• Pebble Mill at One (1972–1986)
• Weekend World (1972–1988)
• Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)
• Emmerdale (1972–present)
• Newsround (1972–present)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• The Saturday Show (1982–1984)
• The Young Ones (1982–1984)
• Odd One Out (1982–1985)
• On Safari (1982–1985)
• Only Fools And Horses (1981–2003)
• 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
• Wogan (1982–1992)
• Saturday Superstore (1982–1987)
• The Tube (1982–1987)
• Brookside (1982–2003)
• Let's Pretend (1982–1988)
• No. 73 (1982–1988)
• Timewatch (1982–present)
• Countdown (1982–present)
• Right to Reply (1982–2001)