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1950
Forget David and Jonathan Dimbleby who were at least thirty years into the future; the first ever General Election Results were televised on February 23rd 1950, which in the same year followed by the first transmission live from the continent on August 27th 1950. The first broadcast from the air was on September 30th and the first television broadcast from the House of Commons was on October 26th.
1951
In 1951, the first televised Party Election programme happened on October 15th. Eamonn Andrews and Barbara Kelly were inviting guests to sign their name and mime their job in WHAT’S MY LINE?
1952
1952 saw programmes like ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MINERAL? on television with a new series for the kids that has been remade for the millennium. BILL AND BEN, THE FLOWERPOT MEN.
1953
The long running PANORAMA began in November 1953, with THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT beginning in July. A very political and historical year as the first Budget was televised on April 16th. I bet that the Chancellor of the day wouldn’t have put the prices too high on booze and tobacco as they do nowadays, but on the other hand, the health warnings weren’t around in the 1950’s. The first party political broadcast happened on May 2nd 1953, followed by Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation exactly a month later. The Anglican Holy Communion was televised for the first time on November 1st 1953. THE GOOD OLD DAYS was first transmitted on July 20th 1953 with a nostalgic look at music hall (a bit like what we’re doing now).
1954
Years before Michael Fish and his false hurricane predictions, the first weatherman in vision was seen on January 11th 1954. Don’t ask me what the weather was like on that day – I don’t have that information! Television highlights in 1954 included Roger Banister’s four-minute mile race filmed for television on 6th May 1954 and SPORTSVIEW, just a month before. Other new television programmes included the news and newsreel, CHURCHILL AT EIGHTY on November 30th and thirty years ahead of its time and title, NINETEEN EIGHTY FOUR was seen on 12th December. The first televised coverage of a party conference was seen on October 7th 1954.
1955
For the very first time, commercial television was coming to Britain with Associated Rediffusion operating the Monday to Friday contract and Associated Television operating the Saturday and Sunday contract. As I said, commercials were seen in Britain for the first time, and the very first one at 8.12 p.m. was for Gibbs SR toothpaste. "It's tingling fresh. It's Gibbs SR toothpaste". The commercial was voiced by Alex Mackintosh over a block of SR in ice, surrounded by 400 gallons of water siphoned from the gents toilet in the Pathe studios in Wardour Street and Meg Smith brushing her teeth. (But what was she doing in a gent's toilet brushing her teeth? Was the ladies toilet closed?) You could say that the initials SR stood for the company that originally transmitted it. 'Sociated Rediffusion! Other advertisers on day one included Guinness, Batchelor's Peas, Brillo, Cadbury's Crosse and Blackwell, Dunlop Rubber, Esso, Ford, Remington Rand, Shredded Wheat, Surf, Watney's, National Benzole, Kraft Cheese, Woman magazine, Coty, Brown and Polson, Express Dairy, Crompton Lamps, Summer County margarine, Ecko radio and television sets and Oxo (a couple of years before the Oxo family first arrived). It cost £975 for one minute and £650 for half a minute's advertising on Associated Rediffusion, while Associated Television were cheaper with £950 a minute and £633 for half a minute. Towards the end of 1955, two long running advertising campaigns began. Murray Mints were too good to hurry mints, and Kellogg's Rice Krispies were full of snap, crackle and pop for the first time. ITV was only available in the London area, but it was less than six months before ITV began in the Midlands, and nine months before ITV started in the North. Here is a look at what was on television back in 1955:
BBC TELEVISION had in the slot that is now used for national and regional news programmes, two hours of children's television. I suppose that it was a way to get them to go to bed and sleep much earlier. The news was twenty minutes long, and was situated after the children's television programmes at 7.00 p.m. On ITV'S opening night, the BBC had THE DONALD DUCK STORY, which told the story of one of Walt Disney's best-loved cartoon characters. End of the day marked with newsreel and closedown.
ITV started life at 7.15 p.m. on Thursday, September 22nd 1955. The first programmes were just preparations for the opening ceremony at the Guildhall, followed by the inaugural speeches by the Lord Mayor, the Postmaster General, and the chairman of the Independent Television Authority, Sir Kenneth Clark at 7.45 p.m. While ITV'S opening night had excerpts from THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST, by Oscar Wilde, with Dame Edith Evans, Margaret Leighton and Sir John Gielgud, as well as SAKI with Pamela Brown, Alec Guinness and Faith Brook, and PRIVATE LIVES with by Noel Coward, with Kay Hammond and John Clements. Throughout the autumn of 1955, the top watched programmes were I LOVE LUCY, THEATRE ROYAL, and THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, starring Richard Greene. The very first boxing match on ITV saw Terence Murphy against Lew Lazar. There was NEWS AT TEN on the very first night, but this was only 15 minutes long. This new television channel was the shape of things to come for both the television companies and the advertisers.
1956
ATV, which had already made its mark in the London area at weekends, returned to the Midlands Monday to Friday. This meant that the company had a seven-day a week service between two regions. ABC television was finally on air, serving the region at weekends. Three months later, Granada started up in Manchester, providing a Monday to Friday service to the north of England. ABC also served the region at the weekend, along with the Midlands. Whether you're a Ding a dong, or a boom bang a bang, the good news was that the EUROVISION SONG CONTEST was transmitted in Britain for the very first time, because we didn't get to qualify in the previous year. The event was held in Switzerland, where they won it the previous year. We've been in it every year ever since. And we've done a very good job at coming second over the years! In the world of advertising, children's sweets were first advertised, which included Rowntree's Fruit Gums. Quote: Don't forget the Fruit Gums, Mum. Here is a taste of what we would have been watching on television back in 1956:
BBC TELEVISION had a very young Terry Hall together with LENNY THE LION. While a decade before PLEASE SIR! With Jimmy Edwards as a slight name change to his character, Professor James Edwards MA (applied for) as headmaster in WHACK-O! The sitcom ran for eight series, including a revival in 1971-72. Frank Muir and Denis Norden wrote it. One supposes that a lot of comedy films of this era inspired this sitcom like Will Hay's BOYS WILL BE BOYS, and CARRY ON TEACHER. It also seems that WHACK-O! did to the boys what the ST. TRINIANS films did for the girls. One thing that reflects the time as this was originally on as its title suggests also reflected the fact that corporal punishment was still used in grammar schools. THE BILLY COTTON BAND SHOW started in May of this year, reflecting the style of music that was popular at this time. The BBC first televised the Winter Olympics in this year, as well as the first commissioned television opera. And the first Prime Minister to make a ministerial broadcast on television happened in this year. SIR ANTHONY EDEN was that person who made that appearance. The BBC also introduced a new test card in this year. Well, with about 18 hours to spare during the day, where there are no programmes on, they need a good test card to pass the hours away.
ITV, less than a year old was still transmitting some programmes in the London area, even when the Midlands and the north of England were on the air. This became more common at the weekends, when ATV London refused to transmit some programmes made by ABC. Yet the relationship between the two companies when they are both in the Midlands are very good as they shared studios in Aston, and that saved both companies a lot of money. Popular programmes in this year include SECRET MISSION, FIRESIDE THEATRE, which one supposes is a variation of ARMCHAIR THEATRE, which was also very popular in this year. So was ASSIGNMENT FOREIGN LEGION. Spike Milligan wrote and Peter Sellers appeared in A SHOW CALLED FRED, SON OF FRED and THE IDIOTS WEEKLY, PRICE 2d. Reg Dixon appeared in LET'S STAY HOME, with Rosemary Squires as Dixon's wife. I haven't given a mention at all in this series of Associated Rediffusion's famous continuity announcer Redvers Kyle, have I? The way that the announcers used to boom single words out on air.
1957
Let’s go back in time to 1957. ITV had another addition to its network as Scottish Television began broadcasting on August 31st. The north of Scotland had to wait another four years to be served by an ITV station. The first outside broadcast from Eastern Europe (Prague) happened in June, while it was a terrific year for the royal family as both the two mediums were pulled together. The Queen had her first television broadcast in October, while the Queen’s first Christmas broadcast was televised for the first time on Christmas Day at 3 pm. It’s always been on the same time ever since on Christmas Day. Both the BBC and ITV’s schools programmes started in September of this year, helping us to learn more by sitting in front of a television set. Let’s see what we were watching on television back in 1957:
BBC TELEVISION had the BENNY HILL SHOW starting back in 1957. You may think that Hill was more famous for the shows that he did for Thames Television and ITV, but he started on the BBC, and remained there for the next ten years. The pop music shows seemed to have started in 1957, due to programmes like the 6.5 SPECIAL. Armand and Michaela Dennis presented ON SAFARI, (not to be confused with that children’s television programme that Christopher Biggins in the early 1980’s). Patrick Moore presented his first SKY AT NIGHT, while Prince Philip was in THE RESTLESS SPHERE. PINKY AND PERKY was first on our screens in 1957, surviving into colour television in 1971. Yes, they both sang well-known pop songs that were really 45 records played at 78 rpm. (The same technique is also used for the voices of Chip ‘n’ Dale).
ITV also had a touch of the royal family fever on its channel, as the PRINCE OF WALES’ show became the sixth most watched programme in that year. SALUTE TO SHOWBUSINESS was the ninth most popular. THE DICKIE HENDERSON SHOW became a series of irregular specials on Saturday evenings, while game shows were playing a big part in ITV’s schedules. Remember TWENTY-ONE? One of the biggest cash jackpot prizes of its time. TWENTY-ONE was a loose adaptation of Pontoon (very similar to the game show Gambit over twenty years later). Requiring separate isolation booths for the two players who selected questions worth between 1 and 11 to reach 21. However a cloud hung over the programme when Stanley Armstrong, a waiter who had won £30 on TWENTY-ONE alleged that he had been given “definite leads” to questions before he appeared. A former Attorney General, Sir Lionel Heald QC was appointed by Granada Television to investigate and he later reported that the allegations were “true in substance”, with his description of the briefings of contestants as “highly imprudent”. TWENTY-ONE disappeared and the quiz shows popularity waned after what was dubbed “The Great Quiz Swiz”. (Legal Disclaimer: This page does not imply or mean to imply that Granada Television or any contestants on its programme TWENTY-ONE were guilty of any impropriety). Mind you, rules were strict for early game shows as no more than £1000 could be given away as prize money and no more than three shows that did have big amounts of money to give away could be shown in one week. And the host must receive the questions sealed before the show and must have nothing to do with the compilation. It’s not like that now, of course.
1958
ITV had reached Wales, the west and the south of England in 1958. In January, Television Wales and West or TWW began broadcasting. The company served South Wales more than the north and Granada had to transmit the Welsh programmes for the north, until the short-lived WWN arrived. Of course, Granadaland was never in Wales, and served the north, but was nearest to North Wales transmitterwise. TWW'S Bristol headquarters didn't open until November 1960, so people who lived in the Bristol area kept getting Welsh programmes from the early days. Later on in the year, August 30th to be precise, a star was born in the south. A star that pointed south. This star, when pointed out, came to be the new logo for Southern Television. Its first evening consisted of a programme introducing their viewers to the new company. SOUTHERN TELEVISION WELCOMES ITS FIRST VIEWERS followed by WELCOME AGAIN. The appropriately named SOUTHERN RHAPSODY was networked on Southern's opening evening to the rest of the ITV network. Here is what we were watching on television back in 1958:
BBC TELEVISION launched two programmes that are still going strong, over forty years later. GRANDSTAND, with original presenter David Coleman beginning on October 11th, starting a Saturday afternoon trend of sport. The programme was meant to rival WORLD OF SPORT on ITV, then presented by the late Eamonn Andrews. While BLUE PETER started five days later, with original presenters Christopher Trace and Leila Williams. Very much of here's one I made earlier and sticky back plastic. The girls' things originally done by Williams on the early shows i.e. how do dress a doll, etc. lived onto when Valerie Singleton joined the programme in 1962. Trace later left the programme to go into regional broadcasting. He presented LOOK EAST for a short time, in the Norwich area. Trace sadly died in 1992. The BBC also had the first appearance of a Prime Minister in a regular television programme in this year. Harold Macmillan appeared in PRESS CONFERENCE. If you wanted some entertainment, then THE BLACK AND WHITE MINSTREL SHOW could have been for you. The performers, with dark make up on their faces to make their skin look darker than it really was sang songs and told jokes. The show lasted for twenty years, before it was finally axed. Why was it axed? Could have been because the words "black and white" didn't appeal, now that the BBC was broadcasting in colour? No, in 1978, it was taken off the air because the performers who turned their skin black for the show were considered racist, and a few years later, Politically Incorrect. So away it went. But it did make its mark in twenty years on television, didn't it?
ITV saw weekend television from an unusual angle. ABC television, which served the Midlands and North at weekends, still had regional variations between the Midlands and the North for different programmes. THE CHARLIE DRAKE SHOW had an irregular series of specials back in 1958, soon to work with Henry MacGee in THE WORKER. THE DAVE KING SHOW also had a series of irregular specials in this year. TWW had MISS HOLIDAY BELLE 1958 in their region. Probably a regional attempt at having their own local version at MISS WORLD? As for sport on the television, there was sport on in Saturday afternoons, but I am not too sure whether the words WORLD OF SPORT were used as one programme back then.
1959
The ITV companies once again spread themselves around Britain, with Tyne Tees Television starting in January, and Anglia and Ulster Television starting within four days of each other in October. Tyne Tees were originally going to call themselves Three Rivers Television; those three rivers in question were Tyne, Wear and Tees. Then they dropped the "Wear" and called themselves Tyne Tees. They still played Three Rivers Fantasy when the station went on the air for the first time. Anglia's ident first came into use when Lord Townshend, Anglia's chairman saw a knight in Asprey's in New Bond Street. The knight had been modelled on a statue of Richard Coeur outside the houses of parliament, although it actually represented the black prince. It had been commissioned from a London firm of Silversmiths by the king of the Netherlands in 1850 as a trophy for a sporting contest, but it was won by an Englishman who brought it home where it remained in the possession of his family until Anglia required it. The Bond Street firm made modifications, including the "Anglia" pennon on the lance, and the knight stood in the reception area of Anglia House for nearly thirty years until Anglia decided to introduce a new symbol in 1988. Anglia's signature music was Handel's water music, which the company used with the knight ident and also in their opening up sequences. Ulster Television's logo was made up of zigzag lines, which I suppose represented the true nature of Northern Ireland. Later came the rotating television on a stick. (They might have just used it for a kebab, instead). Let's have a look at what we were watching on television back in 1959:
BBC TELEVISION saw a change in music programmes when the last edition of the original OH BOY was broadcast on May 30th, (as sung by Buddy Holly who sadly in a plane crash in this year, aged just 22, so it must have ended as a tribute). and the first edition of JUKEBOX JURY began two days later, presented by David Jacobs. The show featured a celebrity panel of four people who had to decide whether a new single was a hit or a miss. Catchphrases include "I'll give it five", except that the word catchphrase wasn't coined until many years later. Children's television programmes consisted of TORCHY THE BATTERY BOY, who of course was a dim operated boy. TWIZZLE was able to twist his arms and legs and neck to make himself much taller and longer if he wanted to. A sort of INSPECTOR GADGET for the late 1950's!
ITV saw a lot of westerns arrive onto our screens at once, including MAVERICK with James Garner, LARAMIE which was set in a Wyoming trading station during the American civil war. (Anything to do with THE MAN FROM LARAMIE and Jimmy Young singing the titles?) HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL with Richard Boon and WAGON TRAIN, which became a political issue as the Labour Party and its then leader, Hugh Gaitskill worried about the general election being held on the same day as the series, in case it kept their supporters away from the polling stations! Nowadays, its programmes like CORONATION STREET that usually gets politicians worried that it might coincide with polling day. Nevertheless, it must have done some harm to the Labour Party at that year's general elections, for the Conservatives won and Harold Macmillan won a second term as Prime Minister. HUCKLEBERRY HOUND entertained the kids on those dark black and white days of the late 1950's. Not to be confused with HUCKLEBERRY FINN!
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