1965 in British television

List of years in British television (table)
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This is a list of British television related events from 1965.

Events[]

January[]

• January – The BBC collaborates with Ireland's RTÉ on an historic television broadcast as Irish Taoiseach Seán Lemass and Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Terence O'Neill meet for the first time in Belfast.^[1]
• 2 January – World of Sport premieres on ITV with Eamonn Andrews as its first presenter.
• 9 January – Sketch comedy show Not Only... But Also, featuring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, debuts on BBC2.^[2]
• 12 January – Doctor Who begins premiering in Australia on the ABC by first being shown in Perth. It will later start airing for the first time in several states; including Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne during January and the next two months.

February[]

• No events.

March[]

• 26 March – Border Television begins broadcasting to the Isle of Man.

April[]

• 7 April – BBC1 airs Three Clear Sundays, a Wednesday Play about the events leading to a man's conviction for capital murder.^[3] It is repeated on BBC2 on 16 July.^[4]

May[]

• 30 May – A televised tribute to the late British bandleader and impresario Jack Hylton called The Stars Shine for Jack is held in London at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

June[]

• 18 June – The last edition of Tonight is broadcast on BBC1.
• 27 June – The final episode of science-fiction marionette puppet series Stingray is broadcast on ITV.

July[]

• 5 July – Anglia Television starts broadcasting on VHF channel 6 from Sandy Heath transmitting station, extending coverage into Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Until late 1966, there are no morning broadcasts from this transmitter due to a clash with the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory.
• 7 July – The long-running science and technology programme Tomorrow's World makes its debut on BBC1.

August[]

• 1 August – Cigarette adverts are banned from British television. Pipe tobacco and cigar adverts will continue until 1991.
• 6 August – The War Game, a drama-documentary by director Peter Watkins depicting the events of a fictional nuclear attack on the United Kingdom, is controversially pulled from its planned transmission in BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand. The BBC has been pressured into this move by the British government, which does not want much of the play's content to become public.^[5] It is eventually released to cinemas, and wins the 1966 Academy Award for Documentary Feature; the BBC finally screens the play in 1985.

September[]

• 12 September – BBC2 Wales goes on the air. To introduce the service, BBC2 airs a programme titled BBC-2 Comes to Wales, featuring the Secretary of State for Wales James Griffiths, the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, the Deputy Mayor of Newport, Chairman of the Broadcasting Council for Wales Professor Glanmor Williams, BBC2 Controller David Attenborough, and BBC2 Wales Controller Alun Oldfield-Davies.^[6]
• 30 September – Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's well known science-fiction electronic marionette puppet (known as Supermarionation) series Thunderbirds premieres on ITV.

October[]

• 2 October – American science-fiction series Lost in Space debuts on ITV; it is later adapted for the feature film version in 1998 and then again for the revived television series in 2018, after the original series ends in 1968.
• 4 October –
  • United! premieres on BBC1.
  • Science-fiction anthology series Out of the Unknown debuts on BBC2.
  • 24 Hours launches on BBC1 for the first time.
  • The BBC announces plans to introduce a new service for Asian immigrants starting the following week.^[7]
• 10 October – The BBC Asian service, broadcast on Sunday mornings, launches with a programme called In Logon Se Miliye and at the start of 1966 it is renamed Apma Hi Ghar Samajhiye. Later in the decade it is called Nai Zindagi-Naya Jeevan and in June 1982 it is renamed and relaunched as Asian Magazine.
• 18 October – The British version of children's programme The Magic Roundabout debuts on BBC1; it continues until 1977.
• 31 October – BBC2 in the North of England goes on the air.

November[]

• 4 November – The current affairs and documentary series Man Alive makes its debut on BBC2.
• 8 November – American sitcom My Mother the Car debuts on ITV; it becomes known for negative reception.
• 13 November – The word "fuck" is spoken for the first time on British television by the theatre critic Kenneth Tynan.

December[]

• 13 December – Children's storytelling series Jackanory debuts on BBC1. It runs until 1996 and is briefly revived in 2006.
• 20 December – Anglia starts broadcasting on VHF channel 20 from Belmont transmitting station, extending coverage into Lincolnshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and northern parts of Norfolk.

Debuts[]

BBC1[]

• 6 January – Jonny Quest (1964–1965)
• 9 January – Not Only... But Also (1965–1970)
• 28 January – (1965)
• 2 March – (1965)
• 24 March – The Airbase (1965)
• 27 March – The Flying Swan (1965)
• 31 March – Going for a Song (1965–1977, 1995–2002)
• 11 April – A Tale of Two Cities (1965)
• 13 April – The Bed-Sit Girl (1965–1966)
• 18 April – (1965)
• 23 April – (1965–1966)
• 30 May – The World of Wooster (1965–1967)
• 5 June – The Val Doonican Show (1965–1970)
• 20 June – (1965)
• 24 June – The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–1968)
• 6 July – (1965–1966)
• 7 July – The Troubleshooters (1965–1972)
• 7 July – Tomorrow's World (1965–2003)
• 15 July – The Illustrated Weekly Hudd (1965–1967)
• 22 July – Till Death Us Do Part (1965–1975)
• 29 July – Pogles Wood (1965)
• 1 August – (1965)
• 3 August – 199 Park Lane (1965)
• 4 August – (1965)
• 26 August – (1965)
• 12 September – Hereward the Wake (1965)
• 2 October – BBC-3 (1965–1966)
• 4 October – United! (1965–1967)
• 4 October – 24 Hours (1965–1972)
• 6 October – Hector Heathcote (1959–1963)
• 8 October – The Mask of Janus (1965)
• 9 October – The Munsters (1964–1966)
• 12 October – The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1965–1966)
• 16 October – Get Smart (1965–1970)
• 18 October – The Magic Roundabout (1965–1977)
• 19 October – The Newcomers (1965–1969)
• 19 October – Play of the Month (1965–1983)
• 23 November – (1965)
• 13 December – Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006)
• 17 December – Barney Is My Darling (1965–1966)

BBC2[]

• 18 January – (1965)
• 27 January – Night Train to Surbiton (1965)
• 21 February – (1965)
• 22 March – (1965)
• 24 March – The Airbase (1965)
• 5 May – (1965)
• 9 May – (1965)
• 13 May – (1965)
• 13 June – (1965)
• 9 July – (1965)
• 31 July – Gaslight Theatre (1965)
• 8 September – (1965)
• 2 October – For Whom the Bell Tolls (1965)
• 4 October – Out of the Unknown (1965–1971)
• 7 October – Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965–1973)
• 17 October – Call My Bluff (1965–1988, 1994, 1996–2005)
• 17 October – An Enemy of the State (1965)
• 4 November – Man Alive (1965–1981)
• 5 December – (1965–1966)

ITV[]

• 2 January – World of Sport (1965–1985)
• 19 January – (1965)
• 23 January – Public Eye (1965–1975)
• 27 February – The Worker (1965–1970)
• 13 April – Orlando (1965–1968)
• 30 April – Six Shades of Black (1965)
• 8 May – Undermind (1965)
• 2 June – Pardon the Expression (1965–1966)
• 11 June – The Man in Room 17 (1965–1966)
• 2 August – (1965)
• 11 August – (1965)
• 21 August – (1965)
• 21 August – (1965–1966)
• 10 September – (1965–1966)
• 30 September – Thunderbirds (1965–1966)
• 1 October – The Addams Family (1964–1966)
• 2 October – Lost in Space (1965–1968, 2018–2021)
• 2 October – Knock on Any Door (1965–1966)
• 19 October – (1965)
• 8 November – My Mother the Car (1965–1966)
• 13 December – The Power Game (1965–1969)
• 16 December – Court Martial (1965–1966)
• 25 December – (1965–1969)

Television shows[]

Changes of network affiliation[]

Shows	Moved from	Moved to
Match of the Day	BBC2	BBC1

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[]

• Watch with Mother (1946–1973)
• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s[]

• Andy Pandy (1950–1970, 2002–2005)
• The Good Old Days (1953–1983)
• Panorama (1953–present)
• Sunday Night at the London Palladium (1955–1967, 1973–1974)
• Take Your Pick (1955–1968, 1992–1998)
• Double Your Money (1955–1968)
• Dixon of Dock Green (1955–1976)
• Crackerjack (1955–1984, 2020–present)
• Opportunity Knocks (1956–1978, 1987–1990)
• This Week (1956–1978, 1986–1992)
• Armchair Theatre (1956–1974)^[8]
• What the Papers Say (1956–2008)
• The Sky at Night (1957–present)
• Blue Peter (1958–present)
• Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s[]

• The Flintstones (1960–1966)
• Coronation Street (1960–present)
• The Avengers (1961–1969)
• Songs of Praise (1961–present)
• Hugh and I (1962–1967)
• The Saint (1962–1969)
• Z-Cars (1962–1978)
• Animal Magic (1962–1983)
• Ready Steady Go! (1963–1966)
• Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005–present)
• World in Action (1963–1998)
• The Likely Lads (1964–1966)
• Redcap (1964–1966)
• The Wednesday Play (1964–1970)
• Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999, 2008–2010, 2012–present)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Match of the Day (1964–present)
• Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
• Play School (1964–1988)

Ending this year[]

• Rag, Tag and Bobtail (1953–1965)
• Picture Book (1955–1965)
• Monitor (1958–1965)
• Noggin the Nog (1959–1965, 1966–1982)
• Sykes and A... (1960–1965)
• Compact (1962–1965)
• Steptoe and Son (1962–1965, 1970–1974)
• The Beat Room (1964–1965)
• Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life (1964–1965)
• The Sullavan Brothers (1964–1965)

Births[]

• 4 January – Julia Ormond, British actress
• 9 January – Joely Richardson, British actress
• 14 January – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, English chef
• 15 January – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
• 27 January – Alan Cumming, Scottish actor
• 22 February – John Leslie, television presenter
• 26 February – Alison Armitage, English model and actress
• 11 March – Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen, British television presenter
• 22 March – Emma Wray, actress
• 30 March – Piers Morgan, British tabloid journalist
• 4 April – Sean Wilson, British actor
• 21 April – Jacquie Beltrao, sports presenter
• 27 April – Anna Chancellor, British actress
• 29 April – Rosie Rowell, actress
• 3 May – Michael Marshall Smith, novelist, screenwriter and short story writer
• 17 May –
  • Jeremy Vine, British BBC radio and television presenter
  • Alice Beer, television presenter.
• 19 June – Simon O'Brien, television actor and radio presenter
• 4 July – Jo Whiley, British Radio DJ
• 8 July – Matthew Wright, journalist and television presenter
• 6 August – Mark Speight, British television presenter (died 2008)
• 24 September – Sheryl Gascoigne, television personality
• 14 October – Steve Coogan, British comedian and actor
• 15 October – Stephen Tompkinson, British actor
• 31 October – Rob Rackstraw, British voice actor
• 4 November – Shaun Williamson, British actor
• 10 November – Sean Hughes, English-born Irish comedian (died 2017)
• 12 November – Eddie Mair, British BBC radio and television presenter
• 16 November – Mark Benton, actor
• 21 November – Alexander Siddig, Sudanese-born actor

Deaths[]

• 23 February – Stan Laurel, English-born comedian, surviving half of Laurel and Hardy, 74 (b. 1890)
• 22 December – Richard Dimbleby, journalist and broadcaster, 52, testicular cancer (b. 1913)

See also[]

• 1965 in British music
• 1965 in British radio
• 1965 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1965

References[]