1946 in British radio
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This is a list of events from British radio in 1946.
Events[]
January[]
- 3 January – American-born Nazi propagandist William Joyce is hanged at HM Prison Wandsworth in London for high treason for his English-language wartime broadcasts on German radio.
- 20 January – Composer Granville Bantock writes to fellow composer Rutland Boughton criticising the BBC Music Department's attitude towards some newer composers.[1]
February[]
- No events.
March[]
- 5 March – Have A Go with Wilfred Pickles and his wife, Mabel, is introduced; it is the first British quiz show to offer prizes (although these are limited to a few pounds and some home-made produce).[2] Initially broadcast as Have a Go, Joe! on BBC Home Service North until August, from 16 September it is produced by BBC Manchester for national transmission on the Light Programme.[2]
- 24 March – BBC Home Service radio in the UK broadcasts Alistair Cooke's first American Letter. As Letter from America, this programme will continue until a few weeks before Cooke's death in 2004.
April[]
- No events.
May[]
- No events.
June[]
- The BBC's regional director for Wales tells Welsh MPs that there is "not enough talent... to sustain a full continuous programme".[3]
July[]
- No events.
August[]
- No events.
September[]
- 29 September – The BBC Third Programme launches at 6pm. The evenings-only service is devoted to broadcasting classical music and programming about the arts.[4]
October[]
- 7 October – The BBC Light Programme transmits the first episode of the daily magazine programme Woman's Hour (initially presented by Alan Ivimey), which will still be running 75 years later.
- The BBC begins broadcasting a 2-month comedy series Heigh-Ho, its first script by Frank Muir, featuring Peter Waring, Kenneth Horne and Charmian Innes, and produced by Charles Maxwell; no further series is commissioned after Waring's criminal convictions come to light.[5]
November[]
- No events.
December[]
- 31 December – BBC General Forces Programme closes down.
Unknown[]
- The BBC adopts the Paris Theatre, a former cinema in London's Regent Street, as a studio for recording comedy and other shows before a live audience.[6]
- Bush DAC90 bakelite radio introduced in the UK: it becomes the best-selling model for some years.[7]
Station debuts[]
- 29 September – The BBC Third Programme
Closing this year[]
- 31 December – BBC General Forces Programme
Debuts[]
- 4 January – Housewives' Choice (1946–1967)
- 5 March – Have A Go (1946–1967)
- 24 March – Letter from America (1946–2004)
- 7 October
- Dick Barton – Special Agent (1946–1951)
- Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
- 29 December – Down Your Way (1946–1992)
Continuing radio programmes[]
1930s[]
- In Town Tonight (1933–1960)
1940s[]
- Music While You Work (1940–1967)
- Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
- Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
- Family Favourites (1945–1980)
Births[]
- 25 January – Pete Price, Merseyside media personality and radio presenter
- 4 February – Peter Allen, radio broadcaster
- 18 February – Michael Buerk, journalist and broadcast presenter
- 22 March – Jonathan James-Moore, radio comedy producer (died 2005)
- 11 April – Bob Harris, broadcast music presenter
- 17 April – Henry Kelly, Irish-born broadcast presenter
- 7 May – Michael Rosen, children's poet and radio presenter
- 26 May – Simon Hoggart, journalist and broadcaster (died 2014)
- 26 August – Alison Steadman, comic actress
- 7 October – Jenny Abramsky, BBC Director of Audio and Music
- 13 October – Edwina Currie, Conservative politician, author and radio personality
- Sue Limb, scriptwriter
Deaths[]
- 3 January – William Joyce, 39, American-born propagandist
- 16 October – Sir Granville Bantock, 78, composer
See also[]
- 1946 in British music
- 1946 in British television
- 1946 in the United Kingdom
- List of British films of 1946
References[]
- ^ Schaarwächter, Jürgen (2015). Two Centuries of British Symphonism: From the beginnings to 1945. A preliminary survey. 2. Georg Olms Verlag. pp. 779–. ISBN 978-3-487-15228-8.
- ^ a b "Have A Go". UK Game Shows. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ Briggs, Asa (1995). The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom:. IV. Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-19-212967-3.
- ^ Hewison, Robert (1995). Culture and Consensus: England, Art and Politics Since 1940. London: Methuen Publishing. ISBN 0-413-69060-1 – via Google Books..
- ^ Brunning, Peter (2019). "Peter Waring – magic, comedy and crime, 1916–1949" (PDF). Davenport Collection. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ "Paris Studios". History of the BBC. BBC. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
- ^ Evans, Paul; Doyle, Peter (2009). The 1940s Home. Oxford: Shire Publications. ISBN 978-0-7478-0736-0.
Categories:
- 1946 in radio
- Years in British radio
- 1946 in the United Kingdom