1938 in British television

This is a list of events related to British television in 1938.

Events[]

January[]

• No events.

February[]

• 21 February – The BBC Television Service broadcasts the first ever piece of television science-fiction, a 35-minute adaptation of a segment of the play R.U.R. by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek.

March[]

• 12 March – First news bulletin carried by the BBC Television Service, in sound only. Previously, the service had aired British Movietone News cinema newsreels.

April[]

• 1 April – The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race is first televised on the BBC Television Service.
• 19 April – The first televised football (soccer) match, England v Scotland, shown on the BBC Television Service.
• 30 April – The FA Cup Final is televised for the first time on the BBC Television Service.

May[]

• 31 May – The first quiz show, Spelling Bee, is televised on the BBC Television Service.^[1]

June[]

• 24 June –
  • Test Match Cricket is broadcast for the first time on the BBC Television Service, with coverage of the second test of The Ashes series between England and Australia, live from Lord's Cricket Ground.
  • John Logie Baird gives the world's first public demonstration of a colour television broadcast.^[2] The 120-line image is projected at the Dominion Theatre, London on a 12 by 9 feet (3.7 by 2.7 m) screen in front of an audience of 3,000.

July – December[]

• By the end of the year 9,315 television sets have been sold in England.

Debuts[]

• 1 April - The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019)
• 10 August – Telecrime (1938–1939, 1946)
• 31 May – Spelling Bee (1938)
• July – Ann and Harold (1938)

Continuing television shows[]

1920s[]

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

1930s[]

• Picture Page (1936–1939, 1946–1952).
• The Disorderly Room (1937–1939)
• For the Children (1937–1939, 1946–1950)

Ending this year[]

• Ann and Harold (1938)

Births[]

• 14 March — Eleanor Bron, actress and author
• 6 April — Paul Daniels, magician and television performer (d. 2016)
• 20 April — Peter Snow, radio and television presenter
• 7 June — Ian St. John, Scottish footballer and TV pundit
• 20 July — Diana Rigg, actress (d. 2020)
• 22 July — Terence Stamp, actor
• 28 July — Ian McCaskill, weatherman (d. 2016)
• 3 August — Terry Wogan, Irish broadcaster (d. 2016)^[3]
• 31 August — Martin Bell, UNICEF ambassador, war correspondent and independent politician
• 22 October — Derek Jacobi, actor
• 28 October — David Dimbleby, broadcaster

See also[]

• 1938 in British music
• 1938 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1938

Notes[]