1984 in British television

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of years in British television (table)

This is a list of British television related events from 1984.

Events[]

January[]

  • 4 January – Pat Phoenix leaves Coronation Street for the second and final time as Elsie Tanner goes to live with old flame Bill Gregory in Portugal, having been in the show since its inception in 1960.
  • 7 January –
    • Fraggle Rock debuts on British television on ITV, nearly 1 year after airing on television in the United States and Canada. The series is a co-production by British television company Television South (TVS), CBC Television, U.S. pay television service HBO and Henson Associates.
    • Daytime Ceefax transmissions are renamed Pages from Ceefax following the decision by Radio Times to begin listing daytime Ceefax broadcasts.[1]
  • 9 January – Children's animated series Towser premieres on ABC in Australia, several months before airing in its country of origin.
  • 16 January – "The Satellite Channel" is renamed "Sky Channel".
  • 30 January – The BBC's Panorama documentary strand broadcasts "Maggie's Militant Tendency" which claims links between several Conservative MPs and far-right organisations both in Britain and Europe. Two of the MPs named, Neil Hamilton and Gerald Howarth subsequently sue the BBC for slander. In 1986 after the BBC withdraws from the case Hamilton is awarded £20,000 damages.[2]

February[]

  • 14 February – An estimated 24 million viewers watch Torvill and Dean win Gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics skating to Ravel's Boléro.

March[]

  • 10 March – British television debut of US teenage science fiction series Whiz Kids, aired as a Saturday feature by most ITV regions. Exceptions are Ulster which airs the series on Sundays and TVS which airs it at a later date.
  • 16 March – Peter Davison's last serial as the Fifth Doctor in Doctor Who, The Caves of Androzani, finishes; Colin Baker becomes the Sixth Doctor in the same episode.
  • 22 March –
    • Colin Baker makes his first full appearance as the Sixth Doctor in the Doctor Who serial The Twin Dilemma.
    • Horse racing is shown on Channel 4 for the first time.
  • 24 March – The Price Is Right makes its British television debut on ITV. The programme is produced for ITV by Central Television in association with Mark Goodson Productions and Talbot Television.[3]
  • 26 March – Return of the popular 1950s panel game show What's My Line? after 20 years, with original host Eamonn Andrews in the chair, now on ITV.

April[]

  • 15 April – Comedian and magician Tommy Cooper dies from a fatal heart attack on live television at the age of 63, during Live From Her Majesty's.
  • 21 April – replaces as the BBC's summer Saturday morning magazine programme. Its running time is extended and begins at the earlier time of 8.45 am.

May[]

  • 10 May–14 June – First run of the five-part BBC Schools French language adventure series La Marée et ses Secrets (The Tide and its Secrets), which is repeated each year until 1993.[4]

June[]

  • 4 June – The hit animated series Danger Mouse is broadcast on children's cable network Nickelodeon in the US, becoming the first British cartoon to air on that channel and one of the earliest to be in syndication in America.
  • 7 June – The first edition of Crimewatch UK is broadcast on BBC1.[5] The first case to be featured on the show is the murder of Colette Aram, which had occurred the previous year. A man is finally charged with the murder in 2009,[6] and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2010 after pleading guilty.[7]
  • 23 June – ITV broadcasts the rock concert New Brighton Rock recorded at the event staged in the seaside resort of New Brighton, Merseyside over two days on 21 and 22 May.

July[]

  • 27 July – The final edition of Sixty Minutes is broadcast on BBC1, ending less than a year after it first went on air.
  • 28–29 July – BBC2 hosts Jazz on a Summer's Day, a weekend of programmes devoted to jazz music.[8]
  • 28 July–12 August – BBC Television broadcasts the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. Due to the Games taking place in Los Angeles, the BBC stays on air into the night to provide live coverage of the major events.
  • 30 July – BBC1's teatime news programme reverts to its original name of Evening News and to its original broadcast time of 5.40 pm. The regional news programmes follow, broadcasting for 20 minutes from 5.55 pm. This is a stop-gap measure and continues for five weeks until the launch of BBC1's new teatime newshour.

August[]

  • 4–12 August – During the second week of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, the BBC extends its live coverage until around 4 am. Rather than closing down, the BBC fills the gap with Ceefax Olympics AM which provides news from the Games to fill the gap between the end of live coverage and the start of Olympic Breakfast Time.[9] This is the first time that Ceefax pages are broadcast overnight.
  • 25–26 August – For the second time, BBC2 Rocks Around the Clock.[10]
  • 27 August – Technicians at Thames Television walk out on strike over the use of new cameras and editing equipment along with overtime payments for transmission staff. The strike lasts for two weeks but the station is off the air for just one day over the August Bank Holiday weekend.[11] Management and administration staff take over their roles, broadcasting a skeleton service.[12]

September[]

  • 1 September – The Children's Channel launches.
  • 2 September – British television premiere of the two-part US mini-series Lace on ITV.
  • 3 September –
    • BBC1's teatime news hour is relaunched and now runs from 6 pm until 7 pm. A new 30-minute long news programme the Six O'Clock News is launched and this is followed by a longer regional news magazine, which is expanded to 25 minutes.
    • ITV airs the British television premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley.
  • 11 September – After making its debut in Australia, Towser finally premieres in the UK on ITV.
  • 23 September – British single TV drama play Threads premiered on BBC2.[13]

October[]

  • October – BBC2 launches a full afternoon service, consisting primarily of repeats of Dallas and old feature films.[14]
  • 5 October –
    • The very first television programme produced by Maddocks Cartoon Productions The Family-Ness begins on BBC1.
    • BBC2 broadcasts an Open University programme at teatime for the final time.
  • 6 October – TVTimes Magazine is rebranded back to its original TVTimes name.
  • 7 October–December – Pirate television station Thameside TV broadcasts illicitly from south London.[15]
  • 8 October – The Australian soap Prisoner: Cell Block H makes its British television debut when Yorkshire Television becomes the first ITV region to begin airing the programme in a late night slot. It is followed by all other ITV regions over the following five years.
    • Scottish Television relaunches its regional news programme Scotland Today as a features-led magazine format with the news relegated to brief summaries before and after the programme.[16]
    • Pirate television station Channel 36 'Late Night London Television' (run by Waveview Holdings) begins broadcasting illicitly.[15]
  • 9 October – The television series based on the children's books by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry and narrated by Ringo Starr, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends is first broadcast on ITV, becoming one of the most successful children's TV programmes of all time since Postman Pat on the BBC three years prior. The programme would move to one future station Cartoon Network in the mid 90s, before returning to terrestrial television in 2003 and moving to its new permanent future station Channel 5 three years later.
  • 15 October – Channel 4's output increases by 25%. The weekday schedules now begin at 2.30 pm instead of 5:00 pm, while weekend airtime starts at 1:00 pm rather than 2:00 pm.[17]
  • 16 October – The Bill, a police TV drama, airs for the first time on ITV. It debuted last year as a pilot show Wooden Top.[18] When the last episode is shown in 2010 it will be the longest-running police procedural in British television history.
  • 19 October – Yorkshire Television broadcasts a special documentary on the birth of Prince Harry.
  • 23 October – BBC News newsreader Michael Buerk gives a powerful commentary of the famine in Ethiopia which has already claimed thousands of lives and reportedly has the potential to kill as many as 7 million people.

November[]

  • 3 November – Following the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October, coverage of her funeral is televised by the BBC and ITV.
  • 4 November – Channel 4 airs London Weekend Television's four-hour drama-documentary .[17]
  • 7 November – BBC1 airs season 8 of the US drama series Dallas.
  • 21 November – Debut of Alan Seymour's dramatisation of the John Masefield fantasy adventure novel The Box of Delights.[19] The six part series concludes on Christmas Eve.[20]

December[]

  • 1 December – The Cable Authority comes into existence and on 1 January 1985 it takes on the functions granted to it by the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984, paving the way for fully commercial cable franchise to be awarded on a city-by-city basis.
  • 10 December – Channel 4 airs An Evening with Mary Tyler Moore, with episodes of St. Elsewhere and The Betty White Show.[17]
  • 26 December – Joan Hickson makes her debut as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in BBC1's eponymous television series, with the first part of a three-part adaptation of The Body in the Library.[21] Part two airs on 27 December,[22] and Part three on 28 December.[23]
  • 30 December – BBC1 airs the British television premiere of Kramer vs. Kramer, the Oscar-winning 1979 legal drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep.[24]

Unknown[]

  • Telstar TV, the UK's first pirate television station goes on air in Birmingham. The channel broadcasts for about eight weeks on the BBC2 transmitter in the Northfield and Rubery areas of the city, showing a mixture of films and pop videos after BBC2 closes at weekends. It goes unnoticed by the authorities for several weeks much to their embarrassment.[25]

Debuts[]

BBC1[]

BBC2[]

ITV[]

Channel 4[]

Channels[]

New channels[]

Date Channel
29 March Music Box
Screensport
The Entertainment Network
1 September The Children's Channel

Rebranded channels[]

Date Old Name New Name
16 January Satellite Television Sky Channel

Television shows[]

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer[]

  • 26 March – What's My Line? (1951–1964, 1984–1996)
  • 9 September Thunderbirds (1972–1980, 1984-1987)

Continuing television shows[]

1920s[]

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

1930s[]

  • The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019)
  • BBC Cricket (1939, 1946–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s[]

1950s[]

  • What's My Line? (1951–1964, 1984–1996)
  • Panorama (1953–present)
  • What the Papers Say (1956–2008)
  • The Sky at Night (1957–present)
  • Blue Peter (1958–present)
  • Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s[]

  • Coronation Street (1960–present)
  • Songs of Praise (1961–present)
  • Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005–present)
  • World in Action (1963–1998)
  • Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
  • Match of the Day (1964–present)
  • Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
  • Play School (1964–1988)
  • Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999)
  • World of Sport (1965–1985)
  • Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006–present)
  • Sportsnight (1965–1997)
  • Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
  • The Money Programme (1966–2010)
  • The Big Match (1968–2002)

1970s[]

1980s[]

Ending this year[]

  • 12 January – Shelley (1979–1984, 1988–1992)
  • 14 January – Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime (1983–1984)
  • 17 February – A Fine Romance (1981–1984)
  • 29 March – Crown Court (1972–1984)
  • 2 April – Alphabet Zoo (1983–1984)
  • 3 April – The Jewel in the Crown (1984)
  • 14 April – The Saturday Show (1982–1984)
  • 11 June – Rentaghost (1976–1984)
  • 19 June – The Young Ones (1982–1984)
  • 27 July – Sixty Minutes (1983–1984)
  • 16 October – Towser (1984)
  • 20 November – Rub-a-Dub-Dub (1984)
  • 24 November – The Gentle Touch (1980–1984)
  • 11 December – On Safari (1982–1984)
  • 20 December – Screen Test (1969–1984)
  • 21 December – Crackerjack (1955–1984, 2020–present)
  • 22 December – Punchlines (1981–1984)
  • 30 December - Thunderbirds Weekends (1981-1983)
  • 31 December - Katri, Girl of the Meadows (1984)
  • 31 December – Give Us a Break (1983-1984)

Births[]

  • 6 February – Gemma Merna, actress
  • 7 March – Rachel Rice, actress and reality show contestant
  • 28 March – Nikki Sanderson, actress
  • 22 April – Michelle Ryan, actress
  • 19 August – Simon Bird, actor
  • 27 October – Kelly Osbourne, singer
  • 16 November – Gemma Atkinson, actress and model
  • 25 December – Georgia Tennant (née Moffett), actress

Deaths[]

Date Name Age Cinematic Credibility
11 February John Comer 59 actor (Sid in Last of the Summer Wine)
4 March Geoffrey Lumsden 69 actor (Captain Square in Dad's Army)
12 March Arnold Ridley 88 actor (Private Charles Godfrey in Dad's Army)
31 March Jack Howarth actor (Albert Tatlock in Coronation Street)
15 April Tommy Cooper 63 comedian and magician
4 May Diana Dors 52 actress (Queenie's Castle,Just William, The Two Ronnies.)
27 May Reginald Bosanquet 51 journalist and newsreader, presented News at Ten during the 1970s
28 May Eric Morecambe 58 comedian (Morecambe and Wise)
12 August Christine Hargreaves 45 actress (Christine Appleby in Coronation Street)
27 August Bernard Youens 69 actor (Stan Ogden in Coronation Street)
27 September Toke Townley 71 actor (Sam Pearson in Emmerdale)
6 October Leonard Rossiter 57 actor (Rising Damp, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin)
10 October Alan Lake 43 actor
15 December Lennard Pearce 69 actor (Grandad in Only Fools and Horses)

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "BBC Two England – 7 January 1984 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  2. ^ Wilson, Jamie (22 December 1999). "Who will listen to his story now?". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  3. ^ "The Price is Right". UKGameshows. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  4. ^ "La Marée et ses Secrets". BroadcastForSchools.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  5. ^ BBC Programme Index BBC1 7th June 1984
  6. ^ "Man remanded in 1983 death case". BBC News. 9 April 2009. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  7. ^ "Man sentenced to life for 1983 murder of Colette Aramref". BBC News. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  8. ^ "BBC Two England – 28 July 1984 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  9. ^ BBC Genome Project - BBC1 listings 3 August 1984
  10. ^ "BBC Two England – 25 August 1984 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Thames strike caption (27 August 1984)". Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  12. ^ Cherry, Simon (2005). ITV: The People's Channel. London: Reynolds and Hearn. p. 196. ISBN 9781903111987.
  13. ^ "Threads – BBC Two England – 23 September 1984 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  14. ^ BBC Programme Index https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_two_england/1984-10-08. Retrieved 12 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ a b Ricketts, Ben (March 2022). "Anarchy over the airwaves". Best of British: 58–60.
  16. ^ Docherty, Gavin (8 October 1984). "Kelly gets his eye in". Evening Times.
  17. ^ a b c "1984 : Off The Telly". Retrieved 23 January 2019.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "The Bill". tv.com. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  19. ^ "The Box of Delights – BBC One London – 21 November 1984 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  20. ^ "The Box of Delights – BBC One London – 24 December 1984 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Miss Marple: The Body in the Library: Part 1 – BBC One London – 26 December 1984 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Miss Marple: The Body in the Library: Part 2 – BBC One London – 27 December 1984 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Miss Marple: The Body in the Library: Part 3 – BBC One London – 28 December 1984 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Kramer vs Kramer – BBC One London – 30 December 1984 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  25. ^ Minto, Veronica (19 February 1984). "Britain's First Pirate TV Station". West Indian World. No. 650. Freespace.virgin.net. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
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