1950 in British television explained

This is a list of British television related events from 1950.

Events

January

• No events.

February

• 23 February – First televised report of general election results in the UK with coverage of the 1950 United Kingdom general election, although the footage is not recorded. Richard Dimbleby hosts the BBC coverage of the election which he will do again for the 1951, 1955, 1959 and the 1964 United Kingdom general elections (and he or members of his family will do for 67 years). On this occasion, Dimbleby is joined in the BBC Lime Grove Studios by R. B. McCallum, Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford and author of The British General Election of 1945 and David Butler, research student of Nuffield College. The first election night programme runs from 10:45pm until just after 1am.

March

• No events.

April

• 3 April – The BBC aspect ratio changes from 5:4 to 4:3.

May

• 21 May – The BBC's Lime Grove television studios open officially.

June

• No events.

July

• 11 July – Andy Pandy premieres on the BBC Television Service.

August

• 27 August – The first ever live television pictures from across the English Channel are transmitted by the BBC Television Service. The two-hour programme, Calais en fête, is broadcast live from Calais in northern France to mark the centenary of the first message sent by submarine telegraph cable from England to France.^[1]

September

• 8 September–27 October — No issues of Radio Times are published, due to a printing dispute.
• 8 September – The first outside broadcast of snooker takes place, at Leicester Square Hall.^[2]
• 30 September – First BBC Television Service broadcast from an aircraft.

October

• 13 October – George Barnes becomes Director of BBC Television, taking over from Norman Collins.^[3]

November

• No events.

December

• 20 December – Poet T. S. Eliot expresses concerns about "the television habit" in a letter to The Times (London).
• 23 December – Gala Variety with Tommy Cooper, becomes the first programme to be broadcast by the BBC from the former Gainsborough Studios in Lime Grove, purchased by the corporation in the previous year.^[4]

Undated

• A cable network is launched in Gloucester, to provide better television reception than is possible at this time via a rooftop aerial.^[5]
• The first film made specifically for British television, A Dinner Date With Death, shot in 1949,^[6] is premiered, giving rise to an anthology series, "The Man Who Walks by Night".^[7]
• The BBC sets up a Children's Department.

Debuts

• 8 January – Rope (1950)
• 2 February – The Scarlet Pimpernel (1950)
• 5 March – Sunday Night Theatre (1950–1959)^[8]
• 6 June – The Admirable Crichton (1950)
• 11 July – Andy Pandy (1950–1970, 2002–2005)
• 30 July – Adventure Story (1950)
• 24 November – Pet's Parlour with Petula Clark (1950–1953)^[9]
• 12 December – Little Women, drama serial in six parts, starring Norah Gorsen, David Jacobs, Barbara Everest and others^[10] (ends 23 January 1951)
• 31 December – Mr. Pastry's Progress (1950–1951)

Continuing television shows

1920s

• BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–2024)

1930s

• Picture Page (1936–1939, 1946–1952)
• For the Children (1937–1939, 1946–1952)
• Trooping the Colour (1937–1939, 1946–2019, 2023–present)
• The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present)
• BBC Cricket (1939, 1946–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s

• Kaleidoscope (1946–1953)
• Muffin the Mule (1946–1955, 2005–2006)
• Café Continental (1947–1953)
• Television Newsreel (1948–1954)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
• Come Dancing (1949–1998)
• How Do You View? (1949–1953)

Births

• 20 January – Liza Goddard, stage and television actress
• 27 January
  • Derek Acorah, medium and television host (died 2020)
  • Alex Norton, actor and screenwriter
• 3 February – Pamela Franklin, actress
• 22 February – Julie Walters, actress
• 22 March – Mary Tamm, actress (died 2012)
• 30 March – Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor and comedian (died 2022)
• 3 April – Sally Thomsett, actress
• 9 May – Matthew Kelly, English actor and television host
• 10 May – Sally James, television presenter and actress
• 11 May – Jeremy Paxman, television presenter and author
• 9 June – David Troughton, actor
• 8 July – Sarah Kennedy, broadcaster
• 19 July – Simon Cadell, actor (died 1996)
• 26 July – Susan George, actress
• 19 August – Jennie Bond, journalist and television presenter
• 17 September – Sherrie Hewson, actress, television presenter and novelist
• 14 December – Vicki Michelle, actress
• 17 December – Michael Cashman, actor and politician

Deaths

• 4 March — Anthony Holles, actor, aged 49
• 8 May — Franklin Dyall, actor, aged 80^[11]
• June — Claude Bailey, actor, aged 54

See also

• 1950 in British music
• 1950 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1950

External links

• List of 1950 British television series at IMDb

Notes and References

1. Web site: Television crosses the Channel. BBC On This Day. 19 May 2009 . 1950-08-27.
2. News: untitled article . Lincolnshire Echo . 9 Sep 1950 . 6.
3. Book: Tony Currie. A Concise History of British Television, 1930-2000. 2004. 978-1-903053-17-1. 44.
4. Book: Chris Perry. The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937-2013. 3 February 2016. Lulu.com. 978-1-900203-60-9. 528.
5. Web site: The Michael Aldrich Archive – Cable Systems . Aldricharchive.com . 2012-02-14.
6. News: Today in History. Metro. London. 2023-07-11. 2.
7. Web site: A Dinner Date with Death. Plex. 2023-07-11.
8. Book: Howard Maxford. Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company. 8 November 2019. McFarland. 978-1-4766-2914-8. 387.
9. Web site: British Television Appearances – The Fifties. Petula Clark. 2020-11-17.
10. Web site: Little Women. https://web.archive.org/web/20090601065439/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/26307. dead. 1 June 2009. Film and TV Database. British Film Institute. 11 May 2014.
11. Book: Theatre World Annual (London): A Pictorial Review of West End Productions with a Record of Plays and Players. 1950. Rockcliff. 22.