1980 in British television explained

This is a list of British television related events from 1980.

Events

January

• 1 January – The sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, set in a holiday camp in 1959/60, makes its debut on BBC1.^[1]
• 6 January – Debut of the game show Family Fortunes on ITV, presented by Bob Monkhouse.
• 20 January – The largest ever British TV audience for a film is recorded when some 23,500,000 viewers tune in for the ITV showing of the James Bond film Live and Let Die, released in 1973 and starring Roger Moore, making his debut as Ian Fleming's secret agent 007.^[2]
• 24 January – The Independent Broadcasting Authority announces that in the next ITV franchising round it will offer a national licence for breakfast television on ITV.
• 26 January – ITV show the feature length pilot episode of Hart to Hart, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers.
• 28 January – The first edition of Newsnight is broadcast on BBC2.^[3] Its launch has been delayed for four months by the Association of Broadcasting Staff, at this time the main BBC trade union.^[4]

February

• 1 February – Debut of the game show Play Your Cards Right on ITV, presented by Bruce Forsyth.^[5]
• 10 February – London Weekend Television launches Gay Life, a late night regional series for gay viewers airing on Sundays. It is the first UK television series specifically aimed at a gay audience and is aired for two series in 1980 and 1981.^[6]
• 19 February – Debut of the Scottish Television produced soap opera Take the High Road on ITV.
• 25 February – The political sitcom Yes Minister makes its debut on BBC2 with the episode "Open Government".^[7]

March

• 12 March – The very first in-vision Ceefax transmissions is broadcast on BBC1^[8] between 8:30am and 9am. In-vision teletext broadcasts on BBC2 start shortly after, airing between 10 and 10:30am and 3:30 and 4pm although if BBC2 were to be transmitting programmes at these times, the channel would broadcast Ceefax pages for the 30 minutes prior to the start of the first programme. These broadcasts are shown only on weekdays.

April

• 2 April – Violet Carson makes her last appearance as Ena Sharples on Coronation Street.
• 8 April – Decided by the IBA, weekly episodes of Crossroads are now reduced from four to three, Tuesday to Thursdays. Starting from that day, ATV had planned to replace the fourth episode with a spin-off series called A Family Affair but the idea was dropped.
• 9 April – ITV airs the critically acclaimed Death of a Princess, a drama documentary about a young princess from a fictitious Middle-Eastern Islamic nation and her lover who are publicly executed for adultery. The drama is believed to be based on the true story of Princess Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud and its showing causes a great deal of controversy, provoking an angry response from the Government of Saudi Arabia.
• 12 April – The comedy sketch show Russ Abbot's Madhouse makes its debut on ITV.
• 17 April – BBC1 begin showing the US sitcom Taxi, starring Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Andy Kaufman and Christopher Lloyd.
• 26 April – The Dallas spin-off series Knots Landing makes its debut on BBC1. It is shown on the same time slot where Dallas itself had been shown.
• 28 April – Thames launches its long-awaited late night Thames News bulletin to follow News at Ten, the launch having been postponed from September 1978 due to union problems.

May

• 5 May – Both the BBC and ITV interrupt their scheduled programming to live broadcast footage of the SAS assault which ends the Iranian Embassy siege in London. The coverage launches the careers of several journalists such as the BBC's Kate Adie, while ITN Director, David Goldsmith and his team receive a BAFTA for their coverage.
• 22 May – Blue Peter interviews two of the stars of The Empire Strikes Back, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. Hamill goes on to name the next Star Wars movie (Revenge of the Jedi) as well as an accurate prediction on the eventual prequels almost two decades later.
• 24 May – The fantasy game show The Adventure Game makes its debut on BBC1.
• 26 May – BBC1 airs the third-season finale of the US drama series Dallas two months after its US airing in which J. R. Ewing is shot by an unknown assailant in his office; this leads to the Who shot J.R.? phenomenon which lasts until November 1980 when the series returns for the fourth season.

June

• 23 June – ITV airs the 2000th episode of Coronation Street.

July

• 19 July–3 August – The BBC and ITV provide live coverage of the 1980 Summer Olympics from Moscow.

August

• 30 August
  • BBC1 launch the long running police drama Juliet Bravo, starring Stephanie Turner.
  • The science-fiction series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century makes its debut on ITV.

September

• 4 September – The US science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica makes its debut on ITV.
• 6 September
  • BBC2 launches a computer generated clock, probably the first in the world,^[9] although ATV has an electronic digital timepiece by this time, the digits are electronically superimposed onto a physical "ATV – COLOUR" caption.
  • The family comedy series Metal Mickey makes its debut on ITV in which a five foot silver robot becomes the member of a household. The show attracts an audience of 12 million viewers.
• 8 September – Watchdog is launched as a weekly consumer slot on BBC1's news magazine programme Nationwide. It becomes a series in its own right in 1985.^[10]
• 13 September – ITV begin showing Hammer House of Horror, the supernatural annthology series produced by Hammer Films.
• 17 September – The government reverses its position on the establishment of a separate Welsh language television service for Wales following opposition from the public and Welsh politicians and the idea is given the green light. This leads to the establishment of the Welsh Fourth Channel Authority and ultimately S4C.^[11]
• 19 September – Regional peak time continuity on BBC1 ends and with it the weeknight closedown regional news bulletin.
• September – Edmund Dell is appointed as the chairman of Channel 4, the UK's forthcoming fourth channel while Jeremy Isaacs becomes its chief executive.

October

• 1 October – BBC1's lunchtime children's block is now called See Saw.^[12]
• 2 October – Thames airs a 10-hour Telethon to raise money for good causes in the London area.

November

• 9 November – BBC1 starts airing season 4 of the US drama series Dallas.
• 13 November
  • The Broadcasting Act 1980 paves the way for a fourth UK television service, leading to creation of Channel 4 and S4C in Wales, beginning transmission in 1982. The IBA begins the process of creating Channel 4 as a subsidiary: a subscription will be levied on the ITV companies to pay for the channel and they will sell Channel 4's airtime in return.^[13]
  • The Times reports that News International has sold its remaining 25% stake in London Weekend Television, bringing an end to LWT's connection with Australian businessman Rupert Murdoch.^[14]
• 17 November – BBC1 debut the Jackanory spin-off series Spine Chillers, in which a various actors read ghost stories from authors such as H. G. Wells and M. R. James.
• 21 November – The first annual Children in Need charity appeal is broadcast on BBC1. Although it does not broadcast the full evening until 1984, it shows a series of short segments linking the evening's programmes.^[15]
• 22 November – 21.5 million viewers tune in to watch the episode of Dallas which answers the question of Who shot J.R.? less than 18 hours after its showing in the United States, At this time the audience figures are a record for a soap in Britain.^{[16] [17]}
• 24 November – The US sitcom Diff'rent Strokes makes its UK debut on ITV, starring Gary Coleman with his catchphrase "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

December

• 1 December – BBC Scotland carries out a one-week experiment in breakfast television. It is a simulcast of BBC Radio Scotland's breakfast show Good Morning Scotland.^[18]
• 6 December – ITV screen the 1976 Richard Lester-directed romantic drama film Robin and Marian, starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn.
• 8 December – Ian Allen's puppet series for children called Button Moon makes its debut on ITV with narration by actor Robin Parkinson ('Allo 'Allo!) and a theme tune sung by husband and wife stars Peter Davison (Doctor Who) and Sandra Dickinson (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Amazing World of Gumball and The Tomorrow People).
• 9 December
  • The single drama The Flipside of Dominick Hide is first broadcast as part of the Play for Today series on BBC1.^[19]
  • 20th anniversary of the first episode of Coronation Street.
• 23 December – The US animated special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer airs for the last time on ITV.
• 25 December – The network television premiere of the 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun on ITV, starring Roger Moore.^[2]
• 26 December – BBC1 screen the network television premiere of the 1975 disaster film The Towering Inferno, starring Paul Newman and Steve McQueen.
• 28 December – The IBA announces the results of the 1980 franchise round. TSW will replace Westward and TVS will replace Southern. ATV must restructure the company to create a separate East and West Midlands service and reduce the shareholding of its parent body to 51% by February 1981.^[20] Also announced is the winner of a national franchise to provide a breakfast television service on ITV. TV-am is awarded the contract to begin transmission in 1983.
• 30 December – The BBC announces their intention to launch their own breakfast television service to compete with TV-am which was announced two days earlier. Breakfast Time is launched on BBC1 on 17 January 1983, two weeks before TV-am.

Unknown

• BBC Video is established as a division of BBC Enterprises.
• The Independent Broadcasting Authority starts licensing terrestrial analogue relay stations which repeat TV signals to areas not covered by broadcaster-owned transmitters. 

Debuts

BBC1

• 1 January
  • Hi-de-Hi! (1980–1988)
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980)
• 2 January – Our John Willie (1980)
• 4 January – The Assassination Run (1980)
• 8 January – Flesh and Blood (1980–1982)
• 13 January – Spy! (1980)
• 17 January – Watch This Space (1980)
• 25 January – Francis Durbridge Presents: Breakaway (1980)
• 6 February – God's Wonderful Railway (1980)
• 28 February – Sweet Nothings (1980)
• 1 March – Holocaust (1978)
• 2 March – The History of Mr Polly (1980)
• 17 April – Taxi (1978-1983)
• 18 March – Time of My Life (1980)
• 13 April – The Swish of the Curtain (1980)
• 25 April – The Sun Trap (1980)
• 26 April – Knots Landing (1979–1993)
• 27 April – Buccaneer (1980)
• 29 April – Hannah (1980)
• 11 May – Doom Castle (1980)
• 24 May – The Adventure Game (1980–1986)
• 1 June – Coming Home (1980)
• 12 June – Square Mile of Murder (1980)
• 6 August – Golden Soak (1980)
• 30 August – Juliet Bravo (1980–1985)
• 3 September – Oh Happy Band! (1980)
• 4 September – Mackenzie (1980)
• 8 September – Watchdog (1980–present)
• 13 September – Romie-0 and Julie-8 (1979)
• 1 October – King Rollo (1980)
• 5 October – A Tale of Two Cities (1980)
• 13 October – The Amazing Adventures of Morph (1980–1981)
• 14 October – Forgive Our Foolish Ways (1980)
• 15 October
  • Stone (1980)
  • Nice Work (1980)
• 17 October – To Serve Them All My Days (1980–1981)
• 11 November – The Waterfall (1980)
• 17 November – Spine Chillers (1980)
• 19 November – A Little Silver Trumpet (1980)
• 21 November – Children in Need (1980–present)
• 30 November – The Talisman (1980)
• 4 December – Sink or Swim (1980–1982)
• 9 December – The Flipside of Dominick Hide (1980)
• 23 December – The Bells of Astercote (1980)
• 29 December – The Devil and Daniel Mouse (1978)

BBC2

• 7 January – Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way (1980)
• 8 January – Company and Co (1980)
• 13 January – Pride and Prejudice (1980)
• 30 January – Newsnight (1980–present)
• 25 February – Yes Minister (1980–1984 1986–1988 as Yes, Prime Minister)
• 12 March – Therese Raquin (1980)
• 25 March – A Question of Guilt (1980)
• 15 April – The Enigma Files (1980)
• 7 May – 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1980)
• 1 September – Wainwright's Law (1980)
• 10 September – We, the Accused (1980)
• 12 September – Escape (1980)
• 29 October – Oppenheimer (1980)
• 30 October – Great Railway Journeys of the World (1980; 1994)
• 1 November – Did You See...? (1980–1993)
• 20 November – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1980)
• 2 December – Ireland: A Television History (1980–1981)
• 28 December – Maria Marten or Murder in the Red Barn (1980)

ITV

• 6 January
  • Shillingbury Tales (1980–1981)
  • Family Fortunes (1980–1985, 1987–2002, 2006–2015, 2020–present)
• 7 January – Keep It in the Family (1980–1983)
• 8 January – Hollywood (1980)
• 24 January – Together (1980–1981)
• 26 January – Hart to Hart (1979-1984)
• 27 January
  • Pig in the Middle (1980–1983)
  • The Spoils of War (1980–1981)
• 1 February – Play Your Cards Right (1980–1987, 1994–1999, 2002–2003)
• 11 February – Jukes of Piccadilly (1980)
• 18 February – Rushton's Illustrated (1980)
• 19 February
  • Take the High Road (1980–2003)
  • The Hard Way (1980)
• 2 March – The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist (1980)
• 10 March – Fox (1980)
• 12 March – The Setbacks (1980–1986)
• 22 March – Bloody Kids (1980)
• 30 March – Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1980)
• 2 April – Noah's Castle (1980)
• 9 April – Death of a Princess (1980)
• 11 April – The Gentle Touch (1980–1984)
• 12 April – Russ Abbot's Madhouse (1980–1985)
• 13 April – Cribb (1980–1981)
• 14 April
  • Against the Wind (1978)^[21]
  • Young at Heart (1980–1982)
• 17 April – The Nesbitts Are Coming (1980)
• 1 May – For Maddie with Love (1980–1981)
• 6 May – Cockleshell Bay (1980–1986)
• 30 May – The Other 'Arf (1980–1986)
• 2 June
  • The Latchkey Children (1980)
  • Can We Get on Now, Please? (1980)
• 25 June – Maggie's Moor (1980)
• 2 July – Sounding Brass (1980)
• 14 July – Grundy (1980)
• 20 July – Lady Killers (1980–1981)
• 10 August – Watch All Night (1980)
• 12 August – The Square Leopard (1980)
• 30 August – Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979–1982)
• 1 September – Just Liz (1980)
• 2 September
  • Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World (1980)
  • Cooper's Half Hour (1980)
• 3 September – Cowboys (1980–1981)
• 4 September – Battlestar Galactica (1978–1979)
• 5 September – Holding the Fort (1980–1982)
• 6 September – Metal Mickey (1980–1983)
• 13 September – Hammer House of Horror (1980)
• 17 September – Flickers (1980)
• 24 September – Munch Bunch (1980–1982)
• 28 September – Nobody's Perfect (1980–1982)
• 1 October – The Squad (1980)
• 19 October – Blade on the Feather (1980)
• 23 October – The Glamour Girls (1980)
• 24 October – Fancy Wanders (1980)
• 26 October – Rain on the Roof (1980)
• 29 October – Love in a Cold Climate (1980)
• 2 November – Cream in My Coffee (1980)
• 14 November – The Good Companions (1980)
• 24 November – Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986)
• 8 December – Button Moon (1980–1988)
• 16 December – An Audience with... (1980–2013)
• 17 December – Secombe with Music (1980–1982)
• 25 December – Janet and Company (1980–1982)
• 28 December
  • Drake's Venture (1980)
  • Staying On (1980)
• 30 December – Take a Chance (1980–1981)
• 31 December – Brendon Chase (1980–1981)
• Unknown – Aubrey (1980)

Continuing television shows

1920s

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

1930s

• 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

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• The Good Old Days (1953–1983)
• Panorama (1953–present)
• Crackerjack (1955–1984, 2020–present)
• What the Papers Say (1956–2008)^[22]
• 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. (1965–1999)
• World of Sport (1965–1985)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006)
• Sportsnight (1965–1997)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• It's a Knockout (1966–1982, 1999–2001)
• The Money Programme (1966–2010)
• ITV Playhouse (1967–1982)
• Reksio (1967–1990)
• The Big Match (1968–2002)
• Nationwide (1969–1983)
• Screen Test (1969–1984)

1970s

• The Goodies (1970–1982)
• The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)
• The Two Ronnies (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)
• Clapperboard (1972–1982)
• Crown Court (1972–1984)
• Pebble Mill at One (1972–1986)
• Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1997)
• 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)
• Arena (1975–present)
• Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
• 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)
• Blake's 7 (1978–1981)
• Ski Sunday (1978–present)
• Strangers (1978–1982)
• Butterflies (1978–1983, 2000)
• 3-2-1 (1978–1988)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008)
• Agony (1979–1981)
• Something Else (1979–1981)
• To the Manor Born (1979–1981, 2007)
• Worzel Gummidge (1979–1981)
• Dick Turpin (1979–1982)
• Friday Night, Saturday Morning (1979–1982)
• Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)
• Only When I Laugh (1979–1982)
• Sapphire & Steel (1979–1982)
• 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)

Ending this year

• 6 June – Magpie (1968–1980)
• 7 August – The Cuckoo Waltz (1975–1980)
• 26 October – The Onedin Line (1971–1980)
• 21 December – Shoestring (1979–1980)
• 25 December – Thunderbirds (1972–1980, 1984–1987)
• 31 December – Citizen Smith (1977–1980)
  Tom Sawyer (1980)

Births

• 31 January – Clarissa Ward, television journalist
• 29 February – George Young, actor
• 24 March – Amanda Davies, sportscaster
• 8 April – Ben Freeman, actor
• 30 April – Sam Heughan, actor
• 22 May – Lucy Gordon, actress and model (died 2009)
• 1 June – Oliver James, actor
• 4 June – Philip Olivier, actor
• 22 June – Charlene White, television presenter and newsreader
• 17 July – Brett Goldstein, actor and comedian
• 18 July – Tasmin Lucia-Khan, journalist and news presenter
• 23 August – Joanne Froggatt, actress
• 1 September – Lara Pulver, actress
• 6 September – Kerry Katona, television presenter, actress and singer
• 19 November – Adele Silva, actress
• 30 November – Tom Basden, actor and scriptwriter
• 5 December – Cherry Healey, television presenter
• 25 December – Laura Sadler, television actress (died 2003)

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Cinematic Credibility
9 January	Charles Curran	58	television executive
24 January	Sam Leitch	52	television presenter
25 January	Queenie Watts	56	actress
4 February	David Whitaker	51	television screenwriter
8 February	Leslie Welch	72	television entertainer
9 February	Heron Carvic	67	actor
	Renée Houston	77	actress
24 March	John Barrie	62	actor
31 March	John Nightingale	37	actor
1 April	Joyce Heron	63	actress
11 April	Nicholas Phipps	66	actor
15 April	Catherine Salkeld	70	actress
26 April	Cicely Courtneidge	87	actress
14 May	Hugh Griffith	67	film, stage and television actor
23 June	John Laurie	83	actor (Dad's Army)
24 July	Peter Sellers	54	comic actor (Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther)
21 August	Norman Shelley	77	actor
24 August	Yootha Joyce	53	actor (Man About the House, George and Mildred)
19 September	Jacky Gillott	40	television presenter
6 October	Hattie Jacques	58	comic actress
12 October	Ambrosine Phillpotts	68	actress
20 October	Isobel Barnett	62	broadcast personality (What's My Line?)
29 October	Ouida MacDermott	91	actress
3 November	Dennis Burgess	54	actor
8 November	Julian Wintle	67	television producer
10 November	Patrick Campbell	67	television personality (Call My Bluff)
16 November	Imogen Hassall	38	actress
26 November	Rachel Roberts	53	actress
	Hector Ross	66	actor
25 December	Fred Emney	78	actor and comedian

See also

• 1980 in British music
• 1980 in British radio
• 1980 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1980

External links

• List of 1980 British television series at IMDb

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hi De Hi – BBC One London – 1 January 1980 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 26 October 2018.
2. News: James Bond On TV – Movies . MI6 – The Home Of James Bond 007 . 5 April 2011 . 26 January 2018.
3. Web site: Newsnight – BBC Two England – 28 January 1980 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 26 October 2018.
4. Andrew Billen "Flagship sails on", New Statesman, 7 February 2000
5. Web site: Play Your Cards Right . UKGameshows.com . 18 August 2017.
6. Book: Glyn Davis. Gary Needham. Queer TV: Theories, Histories, Politics. 3 December 2008. Routledge. 978-1-134-05856-3. 109–.
7. Web site: Yes Minister – BBC Two England – 25 February 1980 – BBC Genome . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
8. https://rewind.thetvroom.com/on-this-day-in-tv-history/ On This Day in History 12th March 2021
9. https://cleanfeed.thetvroom.com/2343/features/bbc-two-clock-goes-electronic/ BBC Two Clock Goes Electronic
10. Web site: Nationwide – BBC One London – 8 September 1980 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 26 October 2018.
11. Web site: A channel for Wales. Dafydd. Hancock. EMC Seefour. Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090304205140/http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/seefour/wales.php. 4 March 2009. dmy-all.
12. Web site: See-Saw – BBC One London – 1 October 1980 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 26 October 2018.
13. Web site: Channel 4’s 25 year Anniversary. Channel 4. 2007. 26 January 2019. PDF.
14. Peter Wilson-Smith "Murdoch group sells 25pc stake in LWT", The Times, 13 March 1980
15. Web site: BBC Children in Need: Our History. bbc.co.uk. 23 April 2009.
16. News: Echoes of who shot JR . BBC . BBC News . 5 April 2001 . 8 June 2013.
17. News: Ronald . Bergan . Larry Hagman obituary . Guardian Media Group . The Guardian . 24 November 2012 . 8 June 2013.
18. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbcone/scotland/1980-12-01 BBC Genome Project BBC1 Scotland listings 1 December 1980
19. Web site: Play for Today: The Flipside of Dominick Hide – BBC One London – 9 December 1980 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 26 October 2018.
20. News: Green light for breakfast television. BBC On This Day. 15 May 2009. 1980-12-28.
21. Web site: Listings Monday, 14th April 1980 . TVRDB . 2023-12-10.
22. Web site: What the Papers Say in pictures . The Guardian . 2 April 2022 . 29 May 2008.