1955 in British television
This is a list of British television related events from 1955.
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|---|---|---|---|
Events
January
- January – First televised Welsh language play, Cap Wil Tomos.
- 2 January – Annette Mills who hosted Muffin the Mule makes her last appearance on television.
- 10 January – Annette Mills dies from a heart attack after an operation. Following her death, Muffin the Mule is dropped by the BBC Television Service.
- 15 January
- The Benny Hill Show premieres on the BBC Television Service, later moving to ITV. Its global audience figures will be counted in the billions.
- The BBC broadcasts Heinz Sielmann's pioneering nature documentary Zimmerleute des Waldes as Woodpecker at the behest of David Attenborough and presented by Peter Scott; it is repeated several times during the year.
- 16 January – Sooty gets his own TV series hosted by Harry Corbett.
February
- No events.
March
- No events.
April
- 8 April – The BBC broadcasts Billy Graham's All Scotland Crusade live from the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow.[1] This has the second highest audience share at this time, after the Coronation.
May
- May – A consortium of the initial four Independent Television broadcasting companies establishes ITN, which will provide ITV with its news service when it launches in September.
- 17 May – Sir Anthony Eden hosts a ground-breaking television election programme for the Conservative Party, the first broadcast of its type. The 30 minute programme features government ministers pitted against newspaper editors.[2]
- 26–27 May – The BBC provides around 17 hours of results coverage of the 1955 United Kingdom general election. The BBC records the coverage for the first time but only around three hours still exists in the BBC archives.
June
- 29 June – Life with the Lyons, one of the first successful British sitcoms (though starring the American, Ben Lyon), premieres on the BBC Television Service, having previously been broadcast only on radio.
July
- 9 July – Dixon of Dock Green premieres on the BBC Television Service.
- 21 July – The BBC brings into service its Divis transmitting station, its first permanent 405-line VHF Band I facility serving Northern Ireland, marking the launch of a television service for Northern Ireland; the 35 kW transmissions can also be readily received in much of the Republic of Ireland.[3]
- 29 July – This Is Your Life premieres on the BBC Television Service.
August
- No events.
September
- 4 September – Newsreaders appear "in vision" for the first time.
- 22 September – Commercial television starts in the UK, with the launch of ITV in London, Associated-Rediffusion on weekdays and Associated Television Network (ATV) at weekends. The rest of the UK receive their ITV regions over the next seven years.[4] Leslie Mitchell is the first announcer to be heard, the first advertisement shown is for Gibbs SR toothpaste.
- September – Barbara Mandell becomes Britain's first female newsreader, presenting the Midday News bulletin on ITV.[5]
October
- 10 October – Alexandra Palace begins test transmissions of a 405-line colour television service.
- 22 October – Quatermass II sequel to 1953's The Quatermass Experiment, premieres on the BBC Television Service. It ends on 26 November.
November
- No events.
December
- 25 December – After being on radio since 1932, the Royal Christmas Message is broadcast on British television for the first time, in sound only at 3pm. The first visual Christmas message is shown in 1957.
Undated
- Fanny Cradock records the pilot for a long-running cookery series with the BBC.
New channels
| Date | Channel |
|---|---|
| 22 September | ITV |
Debuts
BBC Television Service/BBC TV
- 8 January – Return to the Lost Planet (1955)
- 15 January – The Benny Hill Show (1955–1961; 1964; 1966–1968; 1969–1989)
- 16 January – The Sooty Show (1955–1967; 1968–1992)
- 16 February – Portrait of Alison (1955)
- 16 February – Look at It This Way (1955)
- 22 February – Benbow and the Angels (1955)
- 5 April – The Children of the New Forest (1955)
- 16 April – The Mulberry Accelerator (1955)
- 17 May – Thunder Rock (1955)
- 21 May – The Ted Ray Show (1955–1959)
- 28 May – Terminus (1955)
- 3 June – Bath-Night with Braden (1955)
- 29 June – Life with the Lyons (1955–1960)
- 3 July – Holiday Hotel (1955)
- 5 July – The Gordon Honour (1955–1956)
- 9 July – Dixon of Dock Green (1955–1976)
- 15 July – Appointment with Drama (1955)
- 29 July – This Is Your Life (1955–1964, 1969–2003, 2007)
- 21 August – The Prince and the Pauper (1955)
- 10 September – As I Was Saying (1955)
- 14 September – Crackerjack (1955–1984, 2020–present)
- 2 October – The Blakes (1955)
- 4 October – Great Scott, It's Maynard (1955–1956)
- 15 October – The Dave King Show (1955–1957)
- 22 October – Quatermass II (1955)
- 30 October – St. Ives (1955)
- 10 December – The Adventures of Annabel (1955–1956)
- 16 December – Here and Now (1955)
- 22 December – Vera Lynn Sings (1955–1959)
- Unknown
- Kitchen Magic (1955)
- Sunday Night Theatre (1955–1959)
- The Brains Trust (1955–1961)
- Look (natural history series presented by Peter Scott, 1955–1981)
- Picture Book (1955–1965)
- The Woodentops (1955–1958)
- The Gardening Club (1955–1967)
- It's Magic (1955–1958)
ITV
- 23 September – Sixpenny Corner (1955–1956)
- 23 September – Take Your Pick (1955–1968, 1992–1999)
- 24 September –
- My Hero (1955–1956)
- Colonel March of Scotland Yard (1955–1956)
- 25 September –
- I Love Lucy (1951–1957) (later The Lucy-Desi Show 1957–1960; The Lucy Show 1962–1967; Here's Lucy 1968–1974)
- The Adventures of Noddy (1955–1956)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955–1959)
- Sunday Night at the London Palladium (1955–1967, 1973–1974)
- 26 September – Double Your Money (1955–1968)
- 27 September – ITV Play of the Week (1955–1974)
- 28 September – The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1955–1956)
- 2 October – Joan and Leslie (1955–1958)
- 9 October – Theatre Royal (1955–1956)
- 10 October – The Granville Melodramas (1955–1956)
- 4 November – Love and Kisses (1955)
- Unknown –
- Mick and Montmorency (1955–1958)
- Douglas Fairbanks Presents (1955–1959)
- Sailor of Fortune (1955–1956)
- The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954–1959)
- Lassie (1954–1974)
- The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957)
Continuing television shows
1920s
- BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–2024)
1930s
- The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019)
- BBC Cricket (1939, 1946–1999, 2020–2024)
1940s
- Television Dancing Club (1948–1962; 1963–1964)
- Come Dancing (1949–1998)
1950s
- Andy Pandy (1950–1970, 2002–2005)
- What's My Line? (1951–1963; 1973–1974; 1984–1990)
- Flower Pot Men (1952–1958, 2001–2002)
- Watch with Mother (1952–1975)
- The Appleyards (1952–1957)
- All Your Own (1952–1961)
- Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School (1952–1961)
- Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? (1952–1959)
- Before Your Very Eyes (1953–1956; 1956–1958)
- Asian Club (1953–1961)
- Rag, Tag and Bobtail (1953–1965)
- The Good Old Days (1953–1983)
- Panorama (1953–present)
- Fabian of the Yard (1954–1956)
- The Grove Family (1954–1957)
- Zoo Quest (1954–1963)
- Sportsview (1954–1968)
- Emney Enterprise (1954–1957)
- Carols from King's (1954—present)
Ending this year
- Muffin the Mule (1946–1955, 2005–2006)
- Garrison Theatre (1953–1955)
- Face the Music (1953–1955)
- Walk in the Air (1954–1955)
- Stage by Stage (1954–1955)
- Fast and Loose (1954–1955)
- Show Case (1954–1955)
Births
- 5 January – Jimmy Mulville, comedian and producer
- 6 January
- Rowan Atkinson, comedian and actor
- Arthur Bostrom, actor
- 17 January – Gaby Rado, television journalist (died 2003)
- 3 February – Kirsty Wark, television presenter
- 8 February – Carol Harrison, actress and writer
- 18 March – Jeff Stelling, sports journalist and television presenter
- 29 March – Marina Sirtis, actress
- 5 April – Janice Long, née Chegwin, pop music presenter (died 2021)
- 22 May – Dale Winton, broadcast presenter (died 2018)
- 7 June – Dean Sullivan, actor
- 14 June
- Gillian Bailey, actor
- Paul O'Grady, talk show host and comedian
- 23 June – Maggie Philbin, broadcast presenter
- 14 August – Gillian Taylforth, actress
- 20 September – David Haig, actor
- 18 October – Timmy Mallett, television presenter
- 9 November – Karen Dotrice, actress
- 22 November – George Alagiah, BBC journalist and newsreader
References
- Genome Project - BBC TV listings 8 April 1955
- "Eden takes to the airwaves". BBC On This Day. 1955-05-17. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- "The 1950s". Irish TV: The story of Irish Television. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
- "New TV channel ends BBC monopoly". BBC "On This Day". 1955-09-22. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
- Hayward, Anthony (5 September 1998). "Obituary: Barbara Mandell – Arts & Entertainment". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
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