1961 in British radio explained

This is a list of events from British radio in 1961.

Events

5 June – Hans Keller broadcasts a performance of the spoof avant-garde composition Mobile for Tape and Percussion by the fictitious composer Piotr Zak on the BBC Third Programme.^[1] ^[2] ^[3]
29 July – William Glock is now controller of music for the BBC and The Proms. One of his first commissions is of Symphonies, Op 46 by Elisabeth Lutyens, an indication of his modernistic sympathies.
September – Alan Freeman replaces David Jacobs as the main presenter of Pick of the Pops.
David Davis is appointed head of children's sound broadcasting at the BBC.
Chorus singer Irene Thomas enters and wins the Brain of Britain contest, heralding a forty-year period as a mainstay of radio panel game quiz programmes.

Programme debuts

8 October – In Touch on the BBC Home Service (1961–Present)
October – Once Over Lightly on the BBC Light Programme (1961–1962)^[4]

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

Music While You Work (1940–1967)
Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
Family Favourites (1945–1980)
Down Your Way (1946–1992)
Have A Go (1946–1967)
Housewives' Choice (1946–1967)
Letter from America (1946–2004)
Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
Twenty Questions (1947–1976)
Any Questions? (1948–Present)
Mrs Dale's Diary (1948–1969)
Billy Cotton Band Show (1949–1968)
A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

1950s

The Archers (1950–Present)
Listen with Mother (1950–1982)
From Our Own Correspondent (1955–Present)
Pick of the Pops (1955–Present)
The Clitheroe Kid (1957–1972)
My Word! (1957–1988)
Test Match Special (1957–Present)
The Today Programme (1957–Present)
The Navy Lark (1959–1977)
Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

1960s

Farming Today (1960–Present)
Easy Beat (1960–1967)

Ending this year

29 January – Ray's a Laugh (1949–1961)

Births

1 January – Fiona Phillips, radio and television presenter
3 January – Justin Webb, journalist and presenter on Today
3 March – Paul Baskerville, disc jockey
10 April – Nicky Campbell, Scottish-born broadcast presenter
14 May – David Quantick, comedy writer, music journalist and radio broadcaster
28 June – Mark Goodier, disc jockey
10 July – Marc Riley, disc jockey
17 July – Jeremy Hardy, comedian (died 2019)
22 July – Carolyn Quinn, journalist and presenter on PM
27 June – Lynn Parsons, disc jockey
25 October – Pat Sharp, radio and television presenter
Unknown
- Robin Brooks, radio dramatist
- Corrie Corfield, newsreader

Deaths

21 April – Wallace Greenslade, announcer (born 1912)
22 October – L. Stanton Jefferies, musician and radio producer (born 1896)

See also

Notes and References

News: B.B.C. Deny Hoax. The Times. London. 55148. 1961-08-01. 10D.
News: Anthony Lewis. Lewis. Anthony. B.B.C. Admits a Musical Hoax: Noise by Imaginary Composer. The New York Times. 1961-08-02. 1.
News: Donald Mitchell (writer). Mitchell. Donald. Critics Were Not Deceived: Zak and His 'Mobile'. The Daily Telegraph. London. 1961-08-18. 10.
Book: Slide, Anthony. Just a Regular Bloke: the Ted Ray Story. BearManor. 2023. 9798887711072.