10 iconic Radio Times Christmas issue covers over 100 years
Step back in time as we pick a Radio Times Christmas issue cover for every decade of our 100 years.
Explore the enchanting evolution of Christmas through the lens of iconic Radio Times covers spanning a century. From vintage charm to modern marvels, join us on a visual journey through time, as we unveil 10 Radio Times Christmas issue covers that capture the essence of each era, blending nostalgia with the magic of the season. 1923 The first ever Christmas cover of Radio Times with a Christmas message from John Reith, General Manager of the BBC. The family clustered around their wireless became a theme often repeated on the cover of RT in the years which followed. ‘Just a song at twilight’ is the first line from the Victorian parlour song Love’s Old Sweet Song. Its performance on early radio station 2LO on 20th December 1923 as part of a concert by The Band of His Majesty’s Grenadier Guards was surely not a coincidence. Christmas Day radio programmes included Children's Hour with Uncle Caractacus (Cecil Lewis) and a concert featuring the London Wireless Orchestra. Illustrator: Keith McKay Edmunds. 1933 Broadcasting House, which opened just one year before, featured regularly on the cover of RT. Its form was already so recognisable that it was sufficient to just show it in outline. On Christmas Day 1933 at 2pm, Absent Friends reunited families and friends and concluded with a broadcast from Sandringham by King George V. Later in the evening there was a radio pantomime called Sindbad and an appeal for Wireless for the Blind by David Lloyd George. The artist, S.C. Johnson, went on to become an actor appearing in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Little Dorrit and an episode of Doctor Who. Illustrator: SC Johnson. 1940 An injection of seasonal humour for the wartime readers of RT, printed in just two colours to save on ink. On the radio on Christmas Day 1940, Stars in the Shelter, described as ENSA Christmas entertainment, was on the British Forces Network, and Christmas Star Variety with Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch and Jack Warner on the bill, went out on the Home Service. Illustrator: John Gilroy. 1957 RT Christmas covers remained two-colour throughout the 1950s, but artists found effective ways of using this. On television on Christmas Day, the schedule included opera from Germany (Don Juan Act 1), Gene Kelly and ‘Television’s Annual Frolic’ Babes in the Wood with a host of BBC stars including Tony Hancock and Benny Hill. On radio there was a full football programme on Christmas Day so Sports Report appeared as usual at 5pm. This was followed by Educating Archie, Semprini’s Christmas Serenade and Arthur Askey’s Hello Christmas Playmates on the Light Programme. Illustrator: James Hart. 1965 This cubist-influenced cover reflected the changing times. On television, Disney Time was presented by Maurice Chevalier, Doctor Who appeared in a seasonal story called The Feast of Steven, Max Bygraves and Ken Dodd appeared in specials, and Top of the Pops 65 came on at 10:35pm and featured 75 minutes of hits including The Beatles, The Byrds, Tom Jones and The Rolling Stones. On radio, there were specials from Spike Milligan, Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne, Cliff Richard on Saturday Club and Gracie Fields singing seasonal songs and hits. Illustrator: Gaynor Chapman. Read more: Test your knowledge with our Radio Times centenary quiz Melvyn Bragg, Angela Rippon and more celebrate 100 years of history through Radio Times covers 1979 As RT bid farewell to the 1970s, Christmas Day BBC1 had no Morecambe and Wise (who had gone to ITV), but the channel still fielded a strong line-up including Blankety Blank, All Creatures Great and Small, Mike Yarwood, To the Manor Born and Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting. BBC2 offered Babushka, Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti in Recital, Face the Music and the TV premiere of the film Cabaret. Radio 2 had Abba in Concert and Jimmy Young Sings for Christmas. On Radio 4 Kenneth Williams discovered the wonders of rural life in Fresh Air on 4. Illustrator: Peter Brookes. 1982 The cover is loosely based on the Carol 'I saw three ships come sailing in' and the flags on the stern read ‘Merry 25’. Christmas Day 1982 featured Peter Ustinov in Death on the Nile and seasonal editions of Paul Daniels, Last of the Summer Wine and The Two Ronnies. BBC2 had Richard Baker presenting carols and music whilst Radio 2 was in the Falklands with Ed Stewart and Radio 4 had highlights from The Ambridge Christmas Revue. Mark Reddy designed this cover when he was just 24. The figurehead is his sister Amanda. The cat in the prow went by the name of 'Bodger and on the horizon, you will spy 'Snowman's Land'. Illustrator: Mark Reddy. 1992 Since March 1991, Radio Times had included ITV and Channel 4 listings. On Christmas Day, the ill-fated soap Eldorado was shunted to an 11:30am showing whilst Bruce Forsyth, Del Boy and Victoria Wood headlined the BBC1 evening. ITV had a Christmas Blind Date whilst later, after Brookside, Channel 4 had a tribute to the music of Bob Dylan. Jason Donovan was in concert on Radio 1 and Emma Freud began a series on Radio 4 that talked to “partnerships that achieved great things but ended in divorce” – called The X-Factor. Illustrator: Mick Brownfield. 2007 Father Christmas turns into a snow angel! Christmas Day offered fans of Kylie Minogue a double treat: a Radio 1 special in the morning and a rare TV acting role later on, guest-starring with David Tenant in a spectacular, Titanic-set Doctor Who. Christmas-night comedy on television included a return to the Grantleigh estate in a special To the Manor Born and a festive visit to Nan in The Catherine Tate Christmas Show. On radio, Humph in Wonderland let loose Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue team on Lewis Carroll's famous work, David Beckham had his own Radio 2 special and Classic FM found Simon Bates hosting Christmas music and readings in Buckingham Palace. Illustrator: Nigel Buchanan. 2011 This Christmas number was produced with two covers. Readers could either choose between a green tree on a red border or red tree on a green border. On Christmas Eve on Radio 2, Dermot O'Leary told the story of the Pogues' evergreen Christmas hit featuring Kirsty MacColl, Fairytale of New York. On Christmas Day television, children enjoyed the endearing animation The Gruffalo's Child, a sequel to the original Gruffalo. For the grown-ups, Absolutely Fabulous returned with the first of three specials, while in Downton Abbey, lovers were separated and reunited as the snow fell at Christmas 1919. Illustrator: Kate Forrester. Archive research by Ralph Montagu, David Hodges and Glenn Reuben The 2023 Radio Times Christmas special is on sale now. Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
TV can make you happier, Radio Times study finds
The results of the Radio Times Screen Test are in.
If you're reading this, there's a very high likelihood that watching TV is something you not only think of, but mildly obsess over. Now, it seems as though there's more than enough reason to enjoy the wonders of the small screen - as it's said to actually make many of us happier. To mark its centenary, Radio Times has revealed its preliminary results of the Screen Test, in association with the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton. The groundbreaking research project was carried out with the aim of exploring the power of television and radio in people’s lives. With over 21,000 people taking part in the survey - which ran from May to July this year - it has now been revealed that watching television can actually make many of us feel good. The results of the survey revealed that participants aged 18-54 years reported experiencing a higher increase in happiness (+13%) than those above 55 years old (+3%). Respondents to the survey also said that TV provided a positive emotional connection, with levels of excitement increasing by 10% (vs boredom) and happiness by 5% (vs sadness). But that's not all: watching TV is said to decrease anxiety by 6% (vs relaxed), based on consuming the last programme watched on television. Speaking about the results of the Screen Test, Robin Banerjee, professor of developmental psychology and pro-vice-chancellor for global and civic engagement at the University of Sussex, said: "The Screen Test offers an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about the role of TV in people’s lives, at a time when the media landscape is changing rapidly. "Hearing from over 21,000 people aged from 18 to over 90 gives us a window into not just what people prefer to watch, but also how and why. We found that the experience is not the same for everyone, but the increasing choice available to people gives them the option to find programmes that meet their needs. "We were particularly struck by the social connections that were facilitated by TV for many people. The Screen Test sets an agenda for more research to understand how engaging positively with TV has the potential to play a role in wellbeing and community life." Read more: Gary Lineker responds to "very sensible" new BBC social media rules Harry Potter stars pay tribute to late Dumbledore star Michael Gambon Of course, what you watch and who you are also has an impact on your viewing habits. In terms of what to watch for that increased dopamine hit, viewers said that their happiness levels increased after watching comedy (+22%), music (+17%), arts (+13%) and entertainment (+12%) programmes. So, if you're yet to add shows like Brassic, The Great British Bake Off or Strictly Come Dancing to your watchlist, we'd implore you to do so now! Rather surprisingly, the study found that while soaps continue to be a popular form of TV viewing for many, they often lead to a decline in people’s happiness (-4%), while anxiety is driven up by 20% by watching the news and weather. As well as conventional TV habits, the study also sought to interrogate our growing relationship with streaming and on-demand TV. The results found that the majority of people (81%) admit to binge watching shows, at least on occasion, with over half (56%) stating they regularly do so. But it could be a good thing to binge watch a show, actually, as the study found that doing so is associated with higher levels of empathy, valuing adventure, and pleasure. On the announcement of the preliminary results of the Screen Test, Tom Loxley - co-editor of Radio Times - said: "We know plenty about what people think of TV – good, bad or indifferent – but nothing about how it makes them feel. Until now. In some ways, you could say this insight is not only overdue, but we need it more than ever. "A century on from the birth of Radio Times, having helped guide people through the radio revolution, and a near century of TV, today we are steering them through a blizzard of content produced not just by the traditional broadcasters but also a host of streaming services in the digital universe. "Now, thanks to this research, we can begin to understand what motivates people to choose to watch what they do." View Green Video on the source website If you’re looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Radio Times 100: Test your knowledge with our centenary quiz
It's the ultimate Radio Times-themed quiz!
To celebrate Radio Times Magazine turning 100, we've got a very challenging quiz from across the decades. Each week, we'll bring you new questions spanning the lifetime of the magazine, starting at the 1920s and 1930s. Be careful as you scroll though, because the answers can be found at the bottom of this page! Let us know how you get on by sending us a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RadioTimes. 1920s 1. Priced at tuppence, the first issue of The Radio Times contained a week’s listings for six regional radio stations and a message to “listeners” from BBC Chairman Lord Gainford: “This periodical will each week produce in advance the company’s programmes in a compact and attractive form for the convenience of the public. There will therefore be no chance that particularly interesting or unusual programmes will escape notice.” Which word is missing from RT’s strap line in the image above? a. Arm b. Journal c. Organ 2. In an attempt to boost sales, RT editor Leonard Crocombe commissioned artist Kay to create the first colour cover. It led to a regular Christmas colour cover and established RT as a place to showcase new British graphic art. In which year was the first Christmas and New Year double issue of Radio Times published? a. 1959 b. 1963 c. 1969 3. This second illustrated RT cover became one of the most famous in the magazine’s history. American artist Edwin Austin Abbey’s cheery, colourful Christmas family image was reworked 70 years later by artist Bob Venables and appeared on the cover of the Christmas and New Year double issue in 1994. Artist Vince McIndoe paid tribute to this issue for the 2011 Christmas cover with a pastiche based on which BBC TV series? a. Doctor Who b. Gardeners’ World c. Top Gear 4. The cover was designed by American-born artist Edward McKnight Kauffer. Known as “The Poster King”, he is mainly remembered for the work he produced for both the London Underground and London Transport. The issue included an article from author and humourist Jerome K Jerome, who reminisced on his younger days in The Art of Merrymaking. Jerome K Jerome is best known for a comic travelogue novel, published in 1889, which has been adapted multiple times for film, TV, stage and radio. What is its title? a. Three Men in a Boat b. Three Men in an Omnibus c. Three Men on the Bummel 1930s 5. The issue included an article on the Football League’s concern over the possibility of diminished gate money for matches that were broadcast. RT stated: “Commentaries are not, and can never be, anything but ‘next best’ to attending an event in person.” In the final, Birmingham City lost 2—1 to which team, whose nicknames include The Baggies? a. Derby County b. West Bromwich Albion c. Huddersfield Town 6. On 15 May, the BBC took up residence at Broadcasting House, Portland Place, leaving behind their old studios of nine years at Savoy Hill, London. When construction began of Broadcasting House on 21 November 1928, which publication was placed under the foundation stone? a. The Bible b. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare c. The first edition of Radio Times 7. The laughing cat became one of the most memorable RT covers of the 1930s. Inside, ten consecutive pages of humour from 24 radio comedians were presented in the forms of monologues, duologues, poems and cartoons. In November 2020, RT announced the results of a poll to find the top 40 best British radio comedy shows ever made. Which of these three shows topped the poll? a. I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue b. Just a Minute c. The News Quiz 8. The coronation of King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth was held at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday 12 May 1937. It was the first time that the coronation of a British sovereign was broadcast on radio and also the first outside broadcast for BBC Television Services. RT celebrated the event with a striking full-colour cover by the war artist Christopher Nevinson. How long was the reign of King George VI? a. 15 years b. 20 years c. 25 years 9. RT dedicated this issue to women, with articles offering tips on how to adjust to life in wartime Britain. Women on the home front were advised on food economy, on how to keep their fingertips in good condition and on wearing clothes that would defy the blackout but wouldn’t make them look dowdy. During the Second World War, what was the function of the Women’s Land Army? a. To manufacture munitions b. To provide medical services c. To support agricultural production 1940s 10. In this seasonal issue RT brought the country uplifting the theme of 'We Are Advancing Towards Victory,' which was also the title of the main Christmas Day programme on the Home Service in which listeners were taken on a seventy-five minute journey around the world. Released in October 1943, which American singer sang I'll Be Home for Christmas? a. Elvis Presley b. Bing Crosby c. Frank Sinatra 11. As RT marked the end of the Second World War, the Archbishop of Canterbury, answered the question that had been put to him by the British people - how do we celebrate? He proffered three hints: first celebrate together, second, do not celebrate to excess as it can spoil it for everyone and third, have great humility in all our rejoicings, as 'at the heart is the humble recognition that this it is the Lord's doing'. With celebrations in mind, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was assured by the Ministry of Foods on the morning on VE Day that there were enough supplies in London of what? a. Beer b. Scones c. Tea 12. On Saturday 8 June, Britain celebrated victory in the Second World War. As well as radio coverage, BBC television made a timely return, allowing Richard Dimbleby, from his commentary post in the Mall, to, as RT put it, add his 'word-pictures to the televised impression of the march-past'. On Friday, 7 June at 3pm, BBC Television Service reopened by showing a cartoon that had been the last item transmitted before the TV service was closed by the war. Who was the star? a. Betty Boop b. Mickey Mouse c. Felix the Cat 13. Back with a tenth series on the Home Service. The music hall star and comedian, Tommy Handley was joined by a cast of familiar characters in the tenth series of the comedy show. It began in July 1939, and played a major role in keeping up the nation's morale during the war. The show was catchphrase driven, with many becoming common with the general public. They include three that are in The Oxford English Dictionary: 'I don't mind if I do' (Colonel Chinstrap) 'TTFN' (Ta Ta For Now, Mrs Mopp) and 'Doh!' (Miss Hotchkiss) which sits near Homer Simpson's familiar cry. What does the acronym ITMA stand for? a. It's Those Merrymakers Again b. It's That Music Again c. It's That Man Again 14. The Games of the XIV Olympiad were held at the Empire Stadium in London from 29 July to 14 August A record 61 nations participated in 19 sport disciplines in the first Games to be televised. RT calculated that by the end of the Games more than fifty hours of TV coverage would have been broadcast. The BBC's only transmitter was located in North London, but one viewer said they had received pictures where? a. Channel Islands b. Isles of Scilly c. Orkney Islands 1950s 15. Opened on 3 May by King George VI & Queen Elizabeth, the Festival of Britain served to celebrate the anniversary of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and give a boost to postwar Britain. Exhibitions on British culture and industry attracted millions to various UK venues, while the event's centre piece was constructed on a 27-acre site on London's South Bank. Who was the Prime Minister who in October 1951 ordered that the South Bank site be dismantled and cleared? a. Clement Attlee b. Harold Wilson c. Winston Churchill 16. The coronation of Elizabeth II as Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms was held at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday 2 June 1953. Following the death of her father, George VI on 6 February 1952, Elizabeth was proclaimed queen and ascended the throne age 25. It was her and her husband's wish that the whole coronation be televised, so for the first time camera's were allowed inside Westminster Abbey to capture the historic occasion, making it a television event like none before, and one that would place the medium in the nation's consciousness. Many of the 27 million (from a population of 36 million) who watched it live on BBC had rented or bought a TV set for the event. But as there were only 2.7 million TV sets in the country, it became not only figuratively, but literally a shared experience. Around 11 million listened on radio. The issue sold 9,012,358 copies, a new RT record but one that would soon be broken. Who suggested televising the ceremony, with the primary purpose of modernising the monarchy? a. The Queen Mother b. Prince Philip c. The Archbishop of Canterbury 17. On Christmas night listeners to the Home Service tuned into a showbiz party at the London Colosseum to celebrate the theatre's fiftieth anniversary. While television viewers joined a celebration with stars including Tommy Copper, Petula Clarke, Bob Monkhouse, Harry Secombe, and glove puppet Sooty along with his right hand man Harry Corbett for Television's Christmas Party. The issue sold 9,253,025 copies, breaking new sales records. In C Walter Hodges' cover illustration, who is Father Christmas shaking hands with? a. Ghost of Christmas Future b. Ghost of Christmas Past c. Father Time 18. Presenter David Attenborough graced the cover told RT about the fourth series of his pioneering TV show Zoo Quest, in which he and cameraman Charles Lagus travelled for three months through Indonesia-Borneo, Java, Bali and Sumbawa. Filming as they went, they ultimately managed on the Pacific island of Komodo to take footage, that had never been seen on TV before of the colossal lizard known as the Komodo dragon. Zoo Quest was the most popular wildlife programme of its time in Britain and ran for seven series from 1954-'63. What was the primary aim of Zoo Quest? a. To capture live animals for London Zoo b. To document conservation work c. Showcase the world's national parks 19. In an early example of reality television, viewers were granted the opportunity of watching live a life-boat rescue from the English Channel. The brave volunteers who man the boats were recognised in a RT article which reported that 1956 was the busiest year the Lifeboat Service has ever known in peacetime. At Dover, during a twenty-four hour period in July, they were called out 52 times, rescuing 107 lives. One of those reporting from Dover was Raymond Baxter. Which BBC series did he go on to present? a. Bang Goes the Theory b. Click c. Tomorrow's World 1960s 20. Tony Hancock was back for a sixth TV series of Hancock's Half-Hour. Amongst the new batch of ten episodes, written as usual by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson were the classics The Missing Page and The Reunion Party. By the end of this run, Hancock would end his seven year comic partnership with Sid James and go solo for what became the final series the following year. In which episode of Hancock, did Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock exclaim the famous line: 'a pint - why, that's very nearly an armful.' ? a. The Lift b. The Blood Donor c. The Radio Ham 21. The BBC's first purpose built TV studios opened on 29 June 1960 in White City, West London. To mark the event, cover stars magician David Nixon, comedians Richard Hearne (in character as Mr Pastry) and Arthur Askey topped the bill in a variety show called First Night. It was preceded by This is the BBC, an award winning film that took the viewers behind the scenes of both BBC radio and television. RT provided readers with a detailed aerial diagram, drawn by Cecil W Bacon of the circular complex with it's seven studios. A RT reporter compared a tour of the building to being taken around a 'large ocean liner'. In the complex's central garden representing the radiation of television light around the world sits T B Huxley-Jones sculpture of Helios, the Greek god of what? a. Mars b. The Moon c. The Sun 22. If writer Troy Kennedy Martin had not been confined to bed with mumps and passed the time tuned into a police radio wavelength, then Z Cars would not have screeched into existence. Troy recognised that what he heard was not reflected in contemporary police TV drama series, such as Dixon of Dock Green. He wanted to mirror the real relationship between the communities and the police and the types of crime that the new era brought. Set in Newtown (fictional location near Liverpool), each episode attracted up to 15 million viewers, ran for sixteen years and spawned six spin-off series. Which one of these three series has no association with Z Cars? a. Barlow at Large b. Juliet Bravo c. Sofly, Softly: Taskforce 23. When That Was The Week That Was - or TW3 hit the screens in November 1963 it made quite a bang and contributed greatly to Britain's satire boom. Airing at 10.30pm on a Saturday, David Frost hosted the live topical show that was hard-hitting, revolutionary and ground breaking. Ridiculing the news of the week and exposing the ironies, through a mixture of sharp witted sketches, satirical songs, commentary and a fearless approach to tackling controversial subjects, it attracted up to 13 million viewers each week. Appointed by BBC Director General Hugh Carleton Greene to pull together a team for the show, producer Ned Sherrin rounded up the multi-talented company seen on the RT cover, all of whom went on to have amazing careers. The list of writers who contributed to the show was also impressive, they included Dennis Potter, Jack Rosenthal & Malcolm Bradbury. Each week, the show's opening theme song used the same melody but different lyrics to reflect topical events, which regular team member sang it? a. Millicent Martin b. Aimi MacDonald c. Lulu 24. When The Beatles appeared on the RT cover to promote two shows starring them that Saturday night on BBC TV, they already had four hits with two albums and two singles and Beatlemania was rife. That evening's TV listings page contained a light hearted warning on the two thirty minute shows: 'Parents with teenagers are advised to sit well back from the TV set: they may get trampled in the rush'. The shows, both staged at Liverpool's Empire Theatre, were Juke Box Jury hosted by David Jacobs and It's the Beatles, a concert played to a full house of 2,500 from the national fan club. In 1964, The Beatles first major movie was released, what is the title of this black and white musical comedy? a. A Hard Day's Night b. Let It Be c. Yellow Submarine 25. Dr Who first materialised onto the nation's small black and white TV screens on Saturday 23 November 1963 (the day after President JFK's assignation). Created by Sydney Newman, the series concerned a centuries old grandfather with two hearts from the distant planet Gallifrey who travels through time and space in what masquerades as a British police phone box (aka TARDIS – Time and Relative Dimensions in Space). Like the Doctor, the series would go onto regenerate through the decades capturing the imagination of children and adults alike. The Doctor made his RT cover debut with his fourth adventure, this time set in thirteenth century China where he encountered explorer Marco Polo. Inside, RT set the scene for this four-parter. In 1966 (earth years) the first Doctor played by William Hartnell vacated the role with his character regenerating into the guise of which actor? a. Jon Pertwee b. Patrick Troughton c. Peter Cushing 26. On the evening of Monday 20 April 1964, the BBC's new channel was to be introduced to viewers in London and the south-east before being rolled out across the country. But due to a fire at Battersea Power Station causing a blackout across much of West London, home of BBC Television Centre, the planned launch night of light entertainment was put in the shade. Instead, viewers were presented with an emergency broadcast from BBC Television News head quarters at Alexander Palace and a caption card which read: ‘BBC2 Will Start Shortly.’ Normal service was resumed the following morning when the channel opened with Play School. The BBC2 publicity campaign included the animated mascots Hullabaloo and Custard, what were they? a. Elephants b. Kangaroos c. Hippopotamuses 27. The popularity of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's sitcom Steptoe and Son was phenomenal. The combination of their outstanding scripts and the excellent performances of Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett as father and son scrap dealers Albert and Harold, set a new benchmark for all that followed in the genre to aspire to. After a twenty-month absence, this fourth series hailed much attention from the press and was heralded by the BBC as the jewel in their new autumn line-up of shows, an honour indeed especially now that the corporation had two channels. RT observed ‘Surely the most astonishing fact in the success-story of the world’s most celebrated comic father and son partnership is that even after three years the complete library of Steptoe scripts can be carried under one arm. Even when this new and welcome series ends in six weeks’ time there will still be only twenty-seven episodes in the entire Steptoe saga - and each one, by any standards, a television collector’s piece.' Although intended to be the final series, the Steptoe saga returned to BBC1 in 1970 in colour running for a further four series and two Christmas specials until 1974. What was the name of the Steptoe's first carthorse? a. Hercules b. Mr Ed c. Trigger 28. The RT World Cup cover sported the flags of the sixteen countries participating in the football tournament. Hosts England kicked off the matches on 11 July at Wembley Stadium with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay, shown that evening on BBC1. RT introduced the teams with expert comment and analysis from Kenneth Wolstenholme and Brian Moore, along with a fixture list and score card to be filled in. On 30 July, a crowd of over 96,000 converged at Wembley to watch England play West Germany in the final. After extra time, England claimed the Jules Rimet Trophy with a 4-2 win. The event became the most watched TV broadcast in UK history, with around 32.30 million tuning in. Leaving many to hear those now famous words from BBC TV commentator Kenneth Wolsternholme when England scored their fourth goal: 'Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over.. it is now!' In the final, Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick, but who scored England's fourth goal? a. Martin Peters b. Alan Ball c. Bobby Charlton 29. Adapted from John Galsworthy's novels, The Forsyte Saga spanned the years 1879 to 1926 and charted the tumultuous lives of the Forsytes, an upper-middle class London merchant family. Starring Kenneth More, Nyree Dawn Porter and Eric Porter the BBC2 serial ran for 26 weeks and was a phenomenal success, attracting 6 million out of the 8.5 million people who could receive the channel. When repeated the following year on BBC1, it drew Sunday evening audiences of 18 million, causing disruptions to church service times and emptying pubs. It was one of the last prestigious BBC drama series produced in black and white and in 1971 was the first series that the BBC ever sold to the Soviet Union, who like the rest of the world loved it. ITV revived the series with Damian Lewis and Gina McKee - in which year? a. 2000 b. 2002 c. 2004 30. If you were a BBC2 viewer in England who lived in the North, South, Midlands and London areas and had the correct TV set, then you were all set to receive colour transmission on 1 July. But this wasn't the whole picture, a full colour service would not begin until 2 December. In the meantime while work continued on the channel's transmitters, viewers could enjoy about five hours of colour programmes a week, beginning with tennis at Wimbledon. But BBC2 Controller David Attenborough was aware that even though this was a great advancement in television it was no black and white certainty that all would welcome it. On the 15 November 1969, BBC1 launched their full colour service. The first programme was a midnight transmission of the second half of a Royal Albert Hall concert starring which singer, whose popular play list aptly included Colour My World? a. Dusty Springfield b. Petula Clark c. Sandie Shaw 31. A new wave was sweeping across the British dials, as BBC radio made radical changes to its network. On 30 September, the BBC Light Programme, which had commenced in 1945, broadcasting easy listening music and entertainment was renamed Radio 2. The BBC Third Programme was changed to Radio 3 and the BBC Home Service, which began at the start of World War II became Radio 4. The changes would be gradual, as Frank Gillard, director of BBC radio explained in the RT. But the big news was the all new swinging Radio 1, RT introduced the faces behind the voices while, a model in a paper dress displayed the station's wavelength on what was the magazine's first regular colour cover. Which disc jockey with his own cheery mixture of pop and corn launched Radio 1 with the song Flowers in the Rain by The Move? a. Ed Stewart b. Michael Aspel c. Tony Blackburn 32. Producer Richard Cawston's BBC1 fly on the wall documentary about Queen Elizabeth ll and her family was a watershed in royal coverage and as the RT cover states both a television 'first' and 'historic'. Filmed at a time when their popularity in 'swinging sixties' Britain was waning, it captures the family off duty and relaxed. The 1 hour 50 minute insight was edited from 43 hours of material shot over a year and debut on 21 June, with a second showing on ITV the following week, collectively attracting a UK audience of 30.6 million and an estimated 350 million worldwide. BBC2 controller David Attenborough was seriously concerned that the film was in danger of 'killing the monarchy', by revealing too much about them. Fearing over exposure, the Queen later banned it and for that year only didn't deliver a televised Christmas day message. Instead, both BBC TV channels simultaneously broadcast the documentary from 12.30pm. It was last aired in 1977 on BBC2 as part of the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations. What was the main aim of the candid documentary? a. To showcase the family's lifestyle b. To make the royals more popular c. To showcase their official duties 33. Prince Charles' recent and first TV interview was repeated on BBC2 the evening prior and on the morning of the ceremonial day. In it, the 20 year old spoke about the investiture, his education and his views on Welsh Nationalism. On Tuesday, 1 July at 3pm the Ceremony of Investiture was held followed by the loyal address. The event was covered by all three TV channels (BBC2 colour) and Radios 3 & 4 Wales. It attracted a UK TV audience of 19 million and 500 million worldwide. Head of production Antony Craxton told RT: 'The most difficult and massive outside broadcast operation since the Coronation and the biggest colour operation ever.' It involved 28 colour cameras with nearly five miles of cables, 180 engineering technicians and a fleet of 50 vehicles. RT devoted the majority of its 68 pages to the occasion, which included a history of the investiture and colour photos of Charles at various stages in his life. At which castle in Wales did the Ceremony take place? a. Caernarfon b. Cardiff c. Swansea 34. On 20 July 1969, a global audience of 650 million witnessed an event that was literally out of this world. The landing of Apollo 11 lunar module 'Eagle' onto the moon and humanity's first steps onto another celestial body. In the UK, an estimated 22 million were watching, both the BBC (including radio) and ITV covered the historic event, with the former giving 27 hours of televised coverage and the latter 16. In the BBC studio, Cliff Michelmore anchored with analyst from astronomer Patrick Moore and science broadcaster James Burke. RT's cover space featured a similar rocket blasting off and inside dedicated seven pages that included information on the men, the mooncraft, the mission and the race with the Soviet Union. In 1999 RT reprinted the entire issue as a historic souvenir and in 2019 celebrated 50 years with a reprint of the 1969 pages. Who was the second astronaut to step on the Moon? a. Edwin Aldrin b. Neil Armstrong c. Michael Collins 35. In 1968, after six successful series on ITV, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise brought their sunshine to Britain's only colour channel – BBC2. Back for a second series, the duo were now joined by leading comedy writer Eddie Braben who had been Ken Dodd's joke writer for 15 years. He skilfully reinvented their comedy persona and turned them into the much loved double act that the nation took to their hearts. Asked by RT if their new writer would make any discernible difference to their comedy, Eric said 'That's for the public to decide.' In 1971, the duo performed in what became one of their most classic and best loved sketches – the piano concerto with guest Andre Preview, sorry Previn. Which Norwegian composer's concerto was it that Eric claimed he was playing all the right notes to, but not necessarily in the right order? a. Brahms b. Liszt c. Grieg 1970s 36. Lance Corporal Jones (Clive Dunn) took cover as he proudly lead the Walmington-on-Sea platoon into their fourth BBC1 series. RT asked those stars of the show, who had served what they really did in the war. Clive had been captured in Greece and spent four years in various Austrian POW camps 'I don't have any happy memories from the war'. Arnold Ridley (Pvt Godfrey) had seen action in both wars, invalided out in 1940 he joined the Home Guard. John Laurie (Pvt Frazer) fought in the first and like Arnold ended his second world war years in the Home Guard, where he recalled: 'We did our exercises with broom sticks instead of rifles and we felt like complete idiots.' What was Jones' familiar cry at the threat of danger? a. “Don't panic! Don't panic!” b. “Permission to speak, sir?” c. “They don't like it up 'em!” 37. A jewel in the BBC's drama crown, Glenda Jackson's performance as Queen Elizabeth I of England was applauded, lauded and awarded. Such was the success of the series, that after BBC2 had shown the six ninety minute episodes, BBC1 repeated them. Jackson's portrayal of the 16th century monarch took her from age 15 to a pallid, grotesque 70 year old over the course of seven months filming. For the role, Jackson shaved her head back to the crown and wore a false straight nose that became bonier as the character aged. The actress told RT what attracted her to the role 'Developing a character over this enormous width of canvas was a challenge I couldn't resist. She was like a chameleon, altering to suit the circumstances and the people she was with, keeping her central self very much to herself.' With a large budget of £237,000, the cast was like a who's who of British thespian royalty. Jackson later reprised her role of the Virgin Queen for the 1971 movie Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth R was a sequel to BBC2's multi-award winning The Six Wives of Henry VIII, which originally aired in 1970 and starred Australian Shakespearean actor Keith Michell. For the episode where Elizabeth is imprisoned by her half-sister Queen Mary I, it was arranged for the scenes to be filmed on location and for Traitors' Gate to be raised for the first time in a century. At which key London building was Elizabeth locked up? a. Houses of Parliament b. Tower of London; c. Royal Observatory 38. Take cover 'Alf Garnett's back', warned the RT as East End's biggest bigot returned after four years for a fourth series in colour of the controversial sitcom starring Warren Mitchell, Dandy Nichols, Una Stubbs and Anthony Booth. Now a grizzling grandad, Alf still had plenty to say about the nation and the nation was still laughing, as the series instantly became the most watched in Britain, with typical audiences of 16 million. RT turned the attention on Johnny Speight, the show's creator and writer, and spoke to his wife, children and 81 year old parents 'I didn't expect him to be a writer, we don't know where he gets the brains from, to be quite honest,' said his dad. Not something that Alf could claim as RT commented at the end of series two in 1967 'If you laugh with Alf Garnett you have merely been entertained. If you laugh at him you have been entertained and informed – and that's a victory for Johnny Speight.' What was the title of the BBC1 sequel to Till Death Us Do Part that began in 1985? a. For Better, For Worse b. For Richer, For Poorer c. In Sickness & In Health 39. On Sunday 30 April, 1972 at the Camden Theatre, London the Goons - Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe returned after twelve years to record a special show for Radio 4 as part of the BBC's 50th Anniversary in October. Also making a comeback were their musical foils – singer Ray Ellington and harmonica player Max Geldray, who was now living in America and was flown over especially. In the audience were royal fans the Duke of Edinburgh and Princesses Anne and Margaret, but absent, much to his disappointment was Prince Charles who was on active naval service. Originally titled Crazy People with Michael Bentine, The Goon Show with its wildly named characters, hilarious sound effects and unique surreal humour ran riot for 250 episodes on the BBC Home Service from 1951 to '60. Harry shared with RT his fond memories of their weekly recordings 'We'd come alive on Sundays. It was like being let out of school. We'd be hysterical reading the scripts'. But for Spike, the pressure of writing this oral cartoon every week took its toll on his mental health 'you can say that I gave my sanity to that show.' The special raised hopes at the BBC for more reunions, but those Goon old days were no more and it proved to be The Last Goon Show of All. Throughout The Goon Shows, Harry Secombe played the central idiot around which all the craziness revolved, 'What what what what what' (as he would say) was his character's name? a. Bluebottle b. Neddie Seagoon c. Eccles 40. A powerful three part BBC1 documentary series turned the light on the world's energy crisis by looking at the likely effects of man's swift consumption of the earth's fuel resources. RT reported that world supplies of oil and gas were running out, it had already started in America and would effect Britain by 1980, despite the North Sea discoveries. Experts suggested that by 1995 oil would be exhausted. As for nuclear power, already around ten percent of Britain's grid was powered by stations, with the prediction that by the year 2000 Britain may receive 60% or more of it's electricity from reactors. But some scientists were questioning it safeness. But it wasn't all doom and gloom, on the brighter side the sun could be harnessed to provide heat and electricity on a large scale. Experiments were being carried out to ascertain the best and cheapest way of converting it, including the possibility of solar panels on homes. Geothermal energy was another option, but its possibilities were not being unearthed by many governments and big corporations, instead research was being done by small groups of amateurs. As one scientist said: 'the energy problem will solve itself – either we approach the subject rationally or the lights will go out.' During the UK energy crisis of 1974, what term was used to describe when businesses reduced their working hours? a. Three-day Week b. Energy Freeze c. Power Break 41. Watch the birdie! Smiling but feeling genuinely terrified, entertainer Cilla Black posed with two tame Brazilian macaws while their owner Brighton Pier photographer Jim Critchlow snapped away. The nervousness was due to her last encounter with a parrot 'Bit me neck, took a chunk out of it' she told RT. The cover was promoting an August Bank Holiday edition of her BBC1 variety show Cilla, which had been running since 1968 and attracting TV audiences of between 18 to 22 million. The series changed her professional life and allowed the Liverpudlian singer to do more, such as act in comedy sketches and, in a weekly filmed segment, share banter with the public. “I like talking to people on the streets, not the bloomin' jet-set.” said Cilla. The original opening theme song to Cilla was composed by Black's friend Paul McCartney - what was it called? a. Alfie b. Step Inside Love c. Surprise Surprise 42. At only 26 years old, the NHS was under the microscope as Radio 4 ran a series of programmes examining it's health. RT provided statistics and reports on both GP group practices and mental health care. Launched in 1948 by Health Minister Aneurin Bevan, Park Hospital became Britain's first NHS hospital. Now known as Trafford General Hospital, which city is it in? a. Birmingham b. Manchester c. Southampton 43. Python animator Terry Gilliam brought his unique artistic and comedic talents to the cover of RT to promote the fourth series of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Now in it's fifth year, BBC2's ground breaking, zany and subversive sketch show had become a national institution attracting 10 million viewers. But changes were afoot, and this series would be the last, with only six episodes instead of the usual thirteen and minus a Python. Believing that success was threatening their enthusiasm, Terry confided to RT 'It's not quite as much fun as it used to be and that really worries me. What was nice at the beginning – and I think it really communicated – was that we were all really enjoying it. Now it is getting a bit like work. I'm sure everyone feels this, although they may not admit it.' Which member of the Pythons didn't appear in the final series? a. John Cleese b. Eric Idle c. Michael Palin 44. Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher was back to stir up the laughs in another helping of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais award winning BBC1 prison sitcom Porridge. To herald in the second, penultimate series, RT, inspired by Ronnie's passion for collecting comic postcards, drew on the talents of cartoonist Peter Brookes to emulate the style of Donald McGill's famous saucy postcards for the cover's artwork. The new series opened with the fruitless task of Fletcher trying to find amongst the thieves who nicked his stolen tin of pineapple chunks. How many years was Fletcher sentenced to serve at HMP Slade? a. 3 years b. 4 years c. 5 years 45. As the USA celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, BBC television and radio broadcast throughout the week a collection of programmes reflecting the country's past, present and pastimes. RT cast an eagle eye on how the country viewed itself through its TV screens, with a trio of articles, one by America's most famous artist Andy Warhol, who as a watcher of game shows wrote on the link between them and gambling. The models crafted for the cover were by British caricaturists Roger Law and Peter Fluck, whose most notable TV work featured in the ITV satirical series Spitting Image (1984-1996). In 1977, they created the RT cover for the David Frost and ex-President Richard Nixon interview. Which President was in the driving seat during America's bicentennial year? a. Gerald Ford b. Jimmy Carter c. Ronald Reagan 46. If you were a child in the seventies the idea of having your artwork on the cover of the RT and for it to be in honour of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, was something that you just couldn't picture. But for five year old Nicola Griffin from Surrey it became a reality when she won the Radio Times and Blue Peter competition to design a cover for the special occasion. Her Smiling Guardsman design was chosen out of more than 65,000 entries and was one of nine top prize winners in three age groups, the runners-up's artwork featured inside. The following week, for the Silver Jubilee souvenir issue, RT marked the occasion by commissioning artist Candice Bahouth to create a tapestry of the Queen in profile. Which British children's TV programme all about art began in 1977? a. Vision On b. Take Hart c. Art Attack 47. Spanning the years 1860 to 1886, Cyril Abraham's seafaring drama starring Peter Gilmore as Captain James Onedin made a big splash with viewers when it first set sail in 1971. The sepia tinted RT cover heralded the start of series five of BBC1's long-running (91 episodes) Sunday night saga. Up to 12 million viewers followed the tumultuous love life and risky business deals of quick tempered Liverpool shipping magnate Onedin and the voyages on his schooner the Charlotte Rhodes. Speaking of his character to RT in 1973, Peter said 'Reading through the early scripts, I can't say I much liked James. On paper, he seemed a narrow, unsympathetic sort of man. I've tried to show that, deep down, he's not half as bad as he may seem; somewhere there's more than a trace of humour.' The series rich orchestral theme tune was composed by Aram Khachaturian, and is an excerpt from his 1956 ballet about a slave who leads a rebellion against the Roman Empire. What is the title of the theme music, that shares its name with the lead character? a. Spartacus b. Markus c. Spencius 48. Pauline Ellison's cover illustration works on two levels - from a distance it looks like a Christmas tree, but on closer inspection it depicts a small busy village enjoying the festive season. This Christmas-tree-village was also used for the annual RT Christmas card. But it wasn't just the RT cover that made a great impression that festive season - BBC1's Christmas night line-up offered a trio of light entertainment shows that topped the ratings. They included Bruce Forsyths' final Generation Game (until 1990) and the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show, their last one for the BBC, watched by an audience of more than 21 million. Sandwiched between them was one show, that with a slightly higher audience share made an even bigger impression. It starred an impressive impressionist, who was he...when he was himself? a. Alistair McGowen b. Jon Culshaw c. Mike Yarwood 49. To this day The Good Life is one of Britain's most cherished home grown shows. The self-sufficiency sitcom starring Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall as Tom and Barbara Good and Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington as neighbours Margo and Jerry Leadbetter, ran for four series, ending with a 1977 Christmas special that was watched by 17 million. When the BBC gifted the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh the opportunity of watching a comedy show being recorded, they were offered The Two Ronnies or The Good Life. The royal couple chose the latter, it had been reported to be their favourite. And so, with one final special episode The Good Life became the first sitcom to have a Royal Command Performance, leaving all those involved honoured to be chosen. Bob Larbey, co-writer with John Esmonde told RT that the episode would be like any other 'there will be no references to corgis, horses or the possibility of allotments at the Palace.' Briers gave his thoughts on the special 'a bit thrilling. I love the royal family. It's all rather frightening, but it could be enormous fun. And I'm glad we're giving them an ordinary programme'. Not that, as RT added there has been anything ordinary about The Good Life. Before the Goods started their new life of self-sufficiency, what was Tom's occupation? a. Estate Agent b. Draughtsman c. Sales Executive 50. 'It's much less about medicine than about the whole business of being alive' said Dr Jonathan Miller to RT about his new groundbreaking medical documentary series. Over 13 episodes, Miller explored all aspects of the human body and mind, including how and why it functions, ancient medical practices, diseases and healing. The final episode made TV history as it was the first programme to depict the dissection of a human cadaver, understandably causing some controversy. The series was nominated for two British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards in 1979 – Most Original Programme/Series and Best Factual Television Series. Jonathan Miller came to prominence in 1960 when he, Alan Bennett, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore performed their revue show at the Edinburgh Festival. What was it called? a. Beyond the Fringe b. The Goon Show c. Not Only...But Also 51. Audiences had no reservations when it came to viewing this long awaited second series on BBC2 of John Cleese and Connie Booth's five star sitcom Fawlty Towers. In the interim, the first series from 1975 had been shown three times in Britain and countless times worldwide. Although John and Connie had started writing this series in 1976, there had been a number of reasons for the slow return, one being their divorce. Another was in the writing, as John told RT 'Most thirty minute shows have about sixty-five pages of script. Ours are nearer 120 pages. We play it much faster than most people, so there's more to write.' The series two episode Waldorf Salad opens with which anagram of the Fawlty Towers sign? a. Fatty Owls b. Flay Otters c. Watery Fowls 52. Created and written by Guyana-born British writer Michael Abbensetts, Empire Road was the first British TV series to be written, directed and acted predominantly by Black artists. The BBC2 serial depicted the lives of the African Caribbean, South Asian and East Indian residents of a Birmingham street. It began in 1978 with five half hour episodes, but was soon recommissioned for a further ten. The serial's central characters, featured on the RT cover were the Bennett family, Corinne Skinner-Carter who played Hortense told RT 'The series itself was long overdue. It's always been a white version of Black people before. People who know how things are, watched it and said, “Ah! At last!”, People who didn't know said, “Oh!...It's like that?!” I always thought it would show people a little bit how we feel, as opposed to how they think we feel.' Unfortunately, only two series were produced and after 15 episodes the sun went down on Empire Road. Featuring in the soap as rogue housing landlord Sebastian Moses was Rudolph Walker. Since 2001, he has become best known as which character in EastEnders? a. Patrick Trueman b. Jim Branning c. Vincent Hubbard 1980s 53. Radio Times didn't just pull any old rabbit out of the hat for the 1980 Easter cover - relaxing with a good read was none other than Bugs Bunny, star of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon series. Exclusively drawn for RT by Chuck Jones, Bugs was promoting a BBC1 profile on his famous animator for the art based documentary series Omnibus. The cover also included some hopping - channel hopping that is as the line 'I never knew there was so much in it' is a riff on the slogan from ITV's telly guide TV Times. Which one of Chuck Jones' other animated characters would often appear at the end of a Looney Tunes cartoon by bursting through a bass drum head and declaring 'That's all Folks!'? a. Elmer Fudd b. Daffy Duck c. Porky Pig 54. The Hague, Netherlands played host to the 25th annual Eurovision Song Contest, and RT celebrated with some singing tulips on the cover (aka The Hi-Brids). Simultaneously broadcast on BBC1 and Radio 2, Terry Wogan again gave his witty commentary. RT reported on the Song for Europe competition which brought sextet Prima Donna to the contest with Love Enough for Two. It wasn't enough to win and the UK came third out of nineteen entries with 106 points. Second was Germany with 128, but the night belonged to Ireland as Johnny Logan won with 143 points singing What's Another Year. The following year the UK were popping corks when Bucks Fizz won. Which country has had the most consecutive wins and won the most contests? a. Ireland b. Netherlands c. United Kingdom 55. Messrs Barker and Corbett were back for an eighth series of eight packed programmes with their customary line up of news items, sketches, Barker's word-play speeches, music, songs, Corbett's rambling monologues and of course the weekly cliff-hanger serial which in this run was - The Worm that Turned. In it the duo played Janet and Betty two subjugated dress wearing males who rebel in a dystopian 2012 England where women rule with an iron glove. Guest starring Diana Dors as Commander of the State Police, the tale was penned by Barker under his Two Ronnies' pseudonym Gerald Wiley. Included in the opening show is without question one of the duo's classic sketches. Initially, it didn't pass writer David Renwick's standards; thankfully he changed his opinion, which sketch is it? a. Dead Parrot Sketch b. Mastermind Sketch c. Antony & Cleopatra Sketch 56. On 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, London the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was held. A guest list of 2,600 and a worldwide TV audience of 750 million watched what was hailed as the wedding of the century. Adorning the RT cover was an embroidered design exclusively produced by the Royal School of Needlework. RT's 84 page souvenir issue included a detailed order of service, features on the dress, rings, cake and Diana's family tree which traced her all the way back to King Charles II. In an exclusive RT interview, Charles spoke about being in the public eye: 'I think it would be quite worrying if people weren't interested, because then there would be no point in going on.' It was the first royal wedding held at St Paul's Cathedral in 480 years. Why did the couple break from the traditional venue of Westminster Abbey? a. Westminster Abbey's maximum seating is 2,000 b. Westminster Abbey was pre-booked c. Westminster Abbey was under renovation 57. Not since Monty Python's Flying Circus had an irreverent sketch series made headlines in British comedy like Not the Nine O'Clock News. Reporting back for the fourth and final run were Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, and those six episodes would be their most watched and controversial. What was the show's memorable parody Nice Video, Shame About the Song, making a humourous comment on? a. The excessive use of special effects in music videos b. The high cost of music videos c. The mismatch between visually appealing music videos & poor songs 58. Children all around the UK stood to benefit as BBC television and radio, both national and local linked up to launch the third annual marathon appeal. RT looked at where some of the money raised the previous year had been spent and heard from disadvantaged children and young people who had greatly benefited from it. Terry Wogan again hosted, supported by many stars including Lulu, Cliff Richard, Petula Clark and astronomer Patrick Moore who played When the Saints Go Marching In on the xylophone. In 1985 Pudsey Bear joined as the charity's mascot. In 2009 a shy rosy-cheeked female bear became his companion. What is her name? a. Mrs Bear b. Blush c. Soo 59. It was the dawn of a new broadcasting era: the UK's first TV breakfast show. The BBC dished theirs up just 15 days before ITV rival TV-am stepped up to the plate. Hosted by Frank Bough, Selina Scott and Nick Ross, the show not only brought the news, sport, weather and travel, but included celebrity interviews, the day's newspapers, human interest stories and astrology. But to ensure that Breakfast Time was to everyone's tastes, editor Ron Neil offered choice 'For the first six months, frankly, we will be experimenting, until we find out from the response exactly what viewers do want' he told RT. In the exercise segment and on her mission to Get Britain Fit was Diana Moran, who in the first show was at Waterloo Station, London putting commuters through their paces. Due to the colour of her leotard, fitness expert Diana Moran was known as what? a. Blue Streak b. Green Goddess; c. Pink Panther 60. Serving up more beautiful Yorkshire scenery to drink in, the seventh series of Roy Clarke's Last of the Summer Wine was back and in its new regular home of Sunday evenings. Giving us more laughs to savour were the familiar trio of Compo (Bill Owen), Foggy (Brian Wilde) and Clegg (Peter Sallis). RT visited Holmfirth, the old West Yorkshire Pennine town where the exterior scenes are filmed, and learned that when the sitcom began in 1973, the locals disliked it, as the RT reporter explained: 'The people of Holmfirth used to switch down the sound and just watch it for the local views. They thought the southerners were at their age-old game of taking the mickey out of the north. Now, if you stop people in the streets of Holmfirth, it's rare to find a person who doesn't watch the series avidly. “Everyone is really excited about it,” I was told. “We think it's getting better all the time.” 'There was one aspect of Nora Batty's (Kathy Staff) appearance that Compo didn't find attractive. What was it? a. Her Wrinkled Stockings b. Her Cardigan c. Her Curlers 61. After 19 years, television's longest running pop show, Top of the Pops was on song to celebrate its 1,000 edition. The regular Thursday evening show was extended from thirty to fifty minutes and simultaneously broadcast on both BBC1 and Radio 1, where listeners could enjoy the show for the first time in stereo. DJ and regular presenter John Peel revealed to RT how his attitude towards the programme had improved through the years. At the top of the UK charts on the day the show was aired – 5 May - was True sung by which group? a. Duran Duran b. The Police c. Spandau Ballet 62. It had been quite a year in sport, giving hosts Des Lynam, Harry Carpenter and David Coleman much to comment upon in this 30th anniversary award gala live from BBC Television Centre, London. More than 400 leading sport personalities gathered to relive memorable moments, including the gold medal wins for British athletes Tessa Sanderson, Sebastian Coe and Daley Thompson at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. In tennis, John McEnroe broke a record (not his racquet...yet) with his highest single season win rate of 82-3. The top three BBC sports personalities of the year were, in reverse order: snooker's Steve Davis, Sebastian Coe and gliding into the top spot, figure skaters Torvill & Dean. Torvill & Dean won gold in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo for their routine to which piece of music by composer Maurice Ravel? a. Boléro b. Gelato c. Sorbet 63. Such was the effect of the shocking images seen in BBC journalist Michael Buerk's report from famine-stricken Ethiopia in 1984, that musicians Bob Geldorf and Midge Ure created Band Aid and the charity single Do They Know It's Christmas? They followed the success of that with the unique benefit concert Live Aid on 13 July 1985. Billed as the Global Jukebox, it was simultaneously held at Wembley Stadium, London, (to a crowd of 72,000) and John F Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia (with 100,000 people). In the UK, BBC2 broadcast the first ten hours, with BBC1 covering the remaining six, both in mono, while Radio 1 played the whole concert in stereo. Worldwide it was watched by 1.9 billion and raised £100,247,450 for African famine relief. Which British band were first to perform at the Live Aid concert on 13 July 1985 with their aptly titled number Rockin' All Over the World? a. The Boomtown Rats b. Status Quo c. U2 64. Famously billed as 'an every day story of country folk' The Archers began nationally on the BBC Light Programme on New Year's Day 1951, moving to BBC Radio 4 in 1967. Now billed as 'a contemporary drama in a rural setting', the weekday serial reached its 20,000th episode in June 2023. One of the many peaks along that long country path was the much anticipated wedding of Ambridge's Shula Archer (Judy Bennett) to solicitor Mark Hebden (Richard Derrington). After having backed out of their wedding at the eleventh hour in 1981, country girl Shula finally took the bull by the horns. Fortunately, invited to the event through a family friend was royal photographer Lord Patrick Lichfield, whose cover shot graced the RT in 1985. In which fictional English county is The Archers set? a. Borsetshire b. Midsomer c. Trumptonshire 65. Instead of the traditional illustrated cover, RT Christmas and New Year double issue featured those diamond geezers, the Trotters – Del (David Jason), Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield) and Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) raising a glass of sparkly. Their hit sitcom Only Fools and Horses was BBC1's Christmas-night highlight – a feature-length special that took them to Holland and attracted 16.9 million viewers. Cushty! What was the title of this adventurous episode? a. Diamonds are for Heather b. Christmas Crackers c. To Hull and Back 66. A smile from landlady Angie (Anita Dobson) and a look of 'I'm not amused' from Queen Vic's landlord Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) graced the cover of RT to celebrate the first anniversary of BBC1's soap EastEnders. Inside, a 12 page pull-out souvenir included a review of the current plotlines such as the mystery of who fathered Michelle Fowler's baby. Also featured were celebrity fans, among them Paul McCartney, Samantha Fox and David Jason who joked: 'I can just see Del Boy in Albert Square, knowing the people. Even though it's the wrong side of the river, he'd knock out a few watches. Del Boy would turn over anybody.' That year's Christmas and New Year double issue of the RT featured more EastEnders on the cover with the Fowler family. The two Christmas night episodes included the legendary scene where Den served an astounded Angie their divorce papers, witnessed by a record TV audience of more than 31 million.When EastEnders began, the two main families, connected by matriarch Lou, were the Fowlers and which other? a. The Beales b. The Mitchells c. The Slaters 67. Dennis Potter's original six-part multi-layered drama serial starred Michael Gambon as Philip Marlow, a writer of detective pulp fiction. Hospitalised by psoriasis, a debilitating skin disease he delves through a series of hallucinations and flashbacks and into a complex world where he becomes the protagonist in his own detective story. Potter, who also suffered from psoriasis based portions of the story on his own life as well as taking extracts from his 1973 debut novel Hide and Seek. Initially, the series did not attract big viewing figures, dividing opinion, from brilliant to outrageous, but to most – confusing, until the conclusion. 'One of the things I want to do in The Singing Detective is break up the narrative tyranny,' Potter told RT. In doing so it became influential in its genre. Since 2000, it has ranked 20th in British Film Institute's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. In 1992, Michael Gambon began playing which pipe smoking detective on ITV? a. Hercule Poirot b. Commissioner Jules Maigret c. Inspector Jacques Clouseau 68. It's panto time! Oh yes, it is! Adorned by Lynda Gray's beautifully illustrated pantomime themed cover this edition of RT gained a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest selling edition of any magazine in British history with an astonishing 11,220,666 copies sold. Inside, RT presented its own elaborate paper pantomime with photo shoots featuring some of the big comedy stars of the day as the Radio Times Players in three scenes: Babes in the Woods meets Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Dobbin the Blunder Horse. RT's resident poet Roger Woodis supplied the accompanied humourous verse. Les Dennis introduced RT's 1988 Christmas pantomime shoot dressed as Simple Simon, who is a character in which panto? a. Jack and the Beanstalk b. Aladdin c. Mother Goose 69. Revered film critic for the BBC and RT, Barry Norman mounted his hobby horse to lament the demise of the western as a cinema genre. Spurred on by the new series of Paradise which began on BBC1 that week, he found it encouraging that America were making TV westerns again. Brought up on cowboy movies, he found there was a beautiful simplicity to them: 'At its best it was a modern morality tale, the clash of good versus evil, and good always triumphant. Never mind that life is not like that: life should be like that,' he wrote. He claimed not to have one favourite movie, but many...'and why not?' One of Barry's favourite westerns is a fifties classic, which one? a. High Noon b. The Searchers c. Shane 70. Every journey begins with a single step and Michael Palin began his world travelogues for the BBC, by following in the fictional footsteps of Phileas Fogg from Jules Verne's novel, and circumnavigating by land, sea and hot air balloon the world in eighty days. In 2002, Michael recalled some of his journey's highlights 'the passage through the Corinth canal, the week on the dhow, my first visit to China and a stunningly beautiful rail crossing of America.' In the seventh and final episode, watched by over 12 million, Michael made it back to London within the time, to be precise in 79 days and seven hours. Michael Palin was not the BBC's first choice for this adventure. Which presenter, who had made the world his own, was originally chosen? a. Alan Whicker b. Noel Edmonds c. Clive James 1990s 71. The Radio Times they are a-changin'. Arnold Schwarzenegger was there to promote BBC2's new six part documentary Naked Hollywood on nineties Tinsel town. But, it wasn't what was on the cover, but what was between them that was significant about this RT. On Friday, 1 March, 1991 the duopoly that had always existed between RT and TV Times was lifted. This deregulation meant that both magazines could publish details of the other side's schedules plus the satellite and cable channels. Now available all under one cover, RT had returned to it's roots and was again the complete guide to broadcasting. But unlike before, it's oldest companion was now one of its new competitors. Tough Times - 'Hasta la vista, baby'. In which year was TV Times first published? a. 1951 b. 1953 c. 1955 72. Esther Rantzen was back to present a new series of Hearts of Gold, the show she devised to commend unsung heroes and heroines with extraordinary tales of courage and kindness. Esther told RT 'None of these people know they have been nominated, and to get them to the studio we've had to play a trick, join a conspiracy with those who love them – and often owe them their lives.' Esther's disguises in this series included being a duchess and a punk 'Playing a duchess wasn't half as much fun as being a punk.' Also in the series the RadioTimes/Hearts of Gold Wonderful Mums Awards were announced, RT met three out of the thousands nominated. What was the title of Esther Rantzen's long-running BBC1 consumer affairs show? a. Rip-Off Britain b. Watchdog c. That's Life 73. BBC2's six-part documentary Funny Business, took a serious look at what made us laugh. In the opening episode comedian Rowan Atkinson spoke about silent comedy, while his alter ego in the guise of gormless mime-artist Kevin Bartholomew approached the subject from various angles. Other areas of comedy covered in the series included episodes on stand-up and double acts. Rowan Atkinson said that his influences in developing the character of Mr Bean included legendary comedians Charlie Chaplin & Jacques Tati. Which style of comedy were they renowned for? a. Physical & Visual b. Wit & Wordplay c. Satirical 74. The Pine Marten keen to get its claws on your sarnies was just one of the many animal stars in this six-part BBC1 innovative public access series about people and the wildlife that interests them. Presented by Chris Packham and featuring wildlife cameraman Simon King, the programme invited the public to send in their camcorder tapes of any unusual wildlife events. Using the latest filming techniques, the BBC Natural History Unit would investigate. What is the collective noun for an abundance of Pine Martens? a. A Richness b. A Scarcity c. A Sparsity 75. When the BBC approached Joanna Lumley about making the desert island survival documentary Girl Friday, they suggested she did it as her Absolutely Fabulous character Patsy Stone, she rejected the idea. 'Patsy was Jennifer Saunder's creation, not mine. I thought it would be much more interesting to have a real crack at it.' she told RT. And so she did, armed with only the bare necessities and a crash course in survival techniques, Joanna was left to fend for herself for nine days on the tiny island of Tsarabajina, off the north-west coast of Madagascar. There, she single-handedly build a driftwood shelter, foraged for food, lived on a daily ration of boiled rice and became covered in septic sores from sand flies bites. At night, the film crew departed to a luxury yacht, she stayed and talked candidly to her camcorder. 'The solitude was the most extraordinary thing. I've never been anywhere where there was no sign of humanity, no books, no music, no buildings, no signs of man's achievements. After a while, you find yourself thinking, “Well, do we really need these things anyway?” Even your sense of self vanishes, and you actually become personality-free.' On the island, Joanna famously recycled a bra into a pair of what? a. Ear Muffs b. Knee Protectors c. Cave Slippers 76. A RT tradition – the woman's special issue had vanished since the outbreak of World War II, but under the editorship of Sue Robinson it was revived and back in the pink once more. Cover star Helen Mirren and 36 other notable baby boomers from the world of showbusiness, sport, politics and journalism celebrated reaching fifty and how suddenly it was the fashionable age to be. On BBC Radio 4, the weekday magazine programme Woman's Hour acknowledged its half century with a week of celebratory broadcasts. British radio broadcaster Janet Quigley MBE played a key role in creating Woman's Hour and was co-founder of which other long running BBC Radio 4 programme? a. The Archers b. Today c. Your and Yours 77. Have I Got News for You – it's the BBC's 75th anniversary! And as RT celebrated with a 16 page pull out souvenir, the topical news quiz regulars - team captains Ian Hislop, Paul Merton and host Angus Deayton were dressed for the occasion, complete with a BBC-Marconi Type A microphone. RT met the team as they prepared for series 14 of the show, that in its seven years had already become a national comic institution. Asked if he does much mugging up on the week's news, Paul said: 'When the show started, I used to spend a lot of time reading the papers. These days, I can't be bothered. I just think of all the other things I could do in the time it takes to read the tabloids – like making a cup of tea.' When Angus Deayton left the show in 2002, Paul Merton hosted the next edition. But then the countdown was on to find guest hosts, who was the first? a. Richard Ayoade b. Diane Morgan c. Anne Robinson 78. In her week as guest Editor of RT's special Comic Relief issue, comedian Victoria Wood made some fittingly funny changes. For one week only regular contributors John Peel and Polly Toynbee were replaced by Dawn French, Richard Curtis and Emma Freud. In the Andrea Duncan Interview Victoria chatted with her pal and comedy partner Julie Walters, while on the serious side questioned the Chancellor Gordon Brown about Third World debt. Commenting on the cover portrait, Victoria wrote in the RT 'I don't really know how editors act. I settle on an expression of paranoid smugness, which I think will cover most jobs in the media.' First dished up in 1998, what is the title of Victoria Wood's sitcom? a. Acorn Antiques b. Dinnerladies c. Pat & Margaret 2000s 79. RT had secured the veterinary services of Trude Mostue for their new three week creature feature – Trude's Pet Surgery, first out of the postbag were letters on ticks, fleas and pet passports. The Norwegian vet had come to prominence in 1996 when BBC documentary cameras followed the training of seven final year students at Bristol University's Vet School for the six-part series Vets' School. The sequel docusoap in 1997, Vets in Practice followed Trude and her fellow veterinary surgeons through their first five months as qualified vets. It attracted up to 10 million viewers and in 1999 won the Most Popular Documentary Series at the National Television Awards. Which actor, known for playing a TV vet narrated the series? a. Christopher Timothy b. Amanda Burton c. Tom Baker 80. In 1992, President George H W Bush stated that he wanted American families to be more like The Waltons and a lot less like The Simpsons. So no doubt his son President George Bush, who went on to win a second term in the 2004 US Presidential elections, would not be best pleased to see Homer in his seat. But that wasn't the opinion in an RT online poll that asked which US TV character should be President. Over the 2,000 who voted, 24 per cent put the bumbling, beer guzzler in the top job. In second place Josiah Bartlet (West Wing) 12 per cent, third, Dr Frasier Crane (Frasier) 11 per cent and fourth, Sgt Bilko (Phil Silvers Show) 10 per cent. But although The Simpsons didn't move into the White House, they did that week find their new home on Channel Four. Woo-hoo! Featuring as his animated character on the cover of RT with Marge and Homer in 2006, which English comedian, actor and writer brought something extra to an episode of The Simpsons by co writing in addition to guest starring in it? a. Jack Whitehall b. Peter Kay c. Ricky Gervais 81. It was general election time and those tinpot dictators were back. Make of that what you will, but these two separate events - an election and the return of the Daleks to TV after 17 years were brought together with great effect. The sight of the new, chunkier, bronze 21st Century Daleks crossing Westminster Bridge with parliament in the background, was a homage to a black and white image from a 1964 Doctor Who story, The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Created in 2005, by RT art editor Paul Smith, the photo required the cooperation of Westminster Council and the photographic and digital skills of Ian McKinnell. In RT, it was offered as a double-sided A1 poster, with a trio of Daleks on the reverse and all for two RT tokens and a few stamps. But such was the impact of the Vote Dalek! cover that in 2008, it was voted by the public as the most iconic British cover of all time and in 2013 voted magazine Cover of the Century by the Professional Publishers Association. Con-grat-u-late! In this, the relaunched Dr Who, which dame played The Right Honourable Harriet Jones MP (later Prime Minister), a reoccurring character between 2005 and 2008? a. Dame Edna Everage b. Dame Maggie Smith c. Dame Penelope Wilton 82. On Sunday 25 June at 6pm, TV audiences were invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party in honour of the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. Attended by 1,000 adults and 2,000 children (aged from 4 to 14), all chosen through a national ballot, the event was themed in British Children Literature. The gardens were transformed into scenes from children's books with over 80 great literary characters appearing, including Harry Potter, Mary Poppins and seated at a giant piano the BFG (Big Friendly Giant). One of the highlights was an all-star cast pantomime style play where baddies steal the Queen's reading glasses so she can't make a speech at the party. Written by children's author and playwright David Wood with input from Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes. The Downton Abbey creator was delighted to be involved as he passionately believes in the idea of stimulating literacy in children, he told RT 'Literacy is a gateway to another world. Teach a child to read – and to enjoy reading! - and that child has the chance to go anywhere and do anything.' What was the title of David Wood and Julian Fellowes pantomime style play? a. The Crown Jewels b. The Queen's Handbag c. The Royal Mint 83. Godfather for the day at the RT photo shoot, legendary broadcaster Terry Wogan was known by his loyal family of fans as the Don Corleone of radio. He was in his 15th year of Wake Up to Wogan, his Radio 2 weekday show, the most listened to in the UK. He insisted that his success was built on doing no more than what is required of him and his rapport with any audience he dismissed as no more than a 'slight gift.' One show that he would never give up was the annual Children in Need marathon. 'Over the years, we've raised £480 million for children's charities, and that makes me very proud indeed. So you see – I did turn out good for something in the end!' Terry affectionately referred to his Radio 2 show fans as TOGs and to himself as The Togmeister. What did the acronym stand for? a. Terry's Old Gang b. Terry's Old Geezers/Gals c. Terry's Old Goldies 85. To celebrate 21 years of Comic Relief, RT gave readers the choice to pick their own red nose - cover that is from a choice of 21 multiple images. The amount raised that year was £82.3 million, a figure not to be sneezed at. Comic Relief was actually co-founded by Lenny Henry and which leading comedy writer and director? a. Richard Curtis b. Ben Elton c. Rowan Atkinson 2010s 85. Taken from a list of 100 family films compiled by RT movie experts Barry Norman, Andrew Collins and Mark Kermode, readers were asked to rate and perhaps debate their preferred order. Over 2,500 voted for films on the list and some off it. The poll's top ten in reverse order were: The Sound of Music (1965); The Jungle Book (1967); Back to the Future (1985); Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971); Shrek (2001); Toy Story (1995); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968); Mary Poppins (1964); The Wizard of Oz (1939) and at number one ET the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). The tale of the friendly, stranded and pursued alien was reviewed by Barry, who in his closing comment brought to light the moral of the movie: 'We should never judge others by their appearance or origin but by their nature and behaviour and that's something nobody can learn too early.' Who directed ET the Extra-Terrestrial? a. George Lucas b. Ridley Scott c. Steven Spielberg 86. To commemorate the golden anniversary of the British institution that is Coronation Street, RT issued twelve covers, each featuring a formidable woman of Weatherfield from the soap's fifty years. In an exclusive RT interview, Coronation Street creator Tony Warren, spoke about the pressure of having been so successful when aged just 23: 'It became inescapable. Once I went to Amsterdam to get away from it, put on the television and there was Ena Sharples with Dutch subtitles. I put my foot through the screen. After Coronation Street, what do you do for an encore?' What did Tony Warren originally name his serial, until it was said that it sounded too much like a lavatory cleaner? a. Florizel Street b. Rosamund Street c. Viaduct Street 87. BBC1's new 1950's drama series Call the Midwife was already four weeks old and in good health, with average UK viewing figures of over ten million, when RT celebrated the happy event. Fittingly, Mark Thomas' cover illustration was produced old style at a drawing board on paper with pencils, brushes and paints. Jessica Raine, who played leading character Jenny Lee recounted to RT in 2013 what lead to the cover: 'Radio Times tried to get Miranda (Hart) and me together to do a shoot, but we were flat out. So they said, “We'll sort something out.” Then I got a text from Miranda saying, “Oh my God, have you seen the cover?” It's really unbelievably flattering.' Which area of London's East End is the series set in? a. Stepney b. Whitechapel c. Poplar 88. Naturalist Chris Packham met his natural history hero Sir David Attenborough for a talk on the wild side as RT celebrated sixty years of Sir David's life on TV. Asked if he had one natural history highlight, what would it be: 'Watching the Vogelkop Bowerbird, that provides an undeniable truth that birds have an aesthetic sense. They use inanimate objects to attract a mate. Just seeing the lovely little male coming out, as pleased as Punch, and putting a flower in one particular place on this lawn in front of us and then cocking his head and thinking, “I don't think so...I think it needs to be another six inches to the left...” That's an extraordinary sight. A lot of the anthropomorphic things you can explain away, but you can't explain that away. It's incontrovertible.' What was the title of Attenborough's 1979 ground breaking series that was the first in his natural history life documentaries? a. Life on Earth b. The Living Planet c. The Trials of Life 89. In this souvenir issue, available in two Strictly Come Dancing gatefold covers, the dancers and celebrities of the 11th series posed in and around a big ninety representing the magazine's big anniversary. RT celebrated it with a gallery of some of their finest covers from the nine decades, along with a history of the magazine by a social historian. Also, readers were given the unique opportunity of becoming a RT cover star by downloading the Blippar app, taking their photo and following the instructions to appear on the cover of their choice. Enter it in the competition and you had a chance of appearing in a future edition and possibly winning an exclusive invitation to that year's RT Covers Party. On the Strictly front, it was Bruce Forsyth's final series as regular co-host, he and Tess Daly had been presenting the show since it began in 2004. In a RT tribute to the entertainer, television executive Michael Grade wrote 'Bruce defies television gravity. I can't think of anyone else who appeals to three generations. When we see him we really do think – nice to see you, Bruce.' Which celebrity won Strictly in 2013 with dancer Aljaz Skorjanec? a. Sophie Ellis-Bextor b. Abbey Clancy c. Susanna Reid 91. In a 2014 RT poll, readers voted Shaun the Sheep the most popular BBC children's character of the past seven decades. So when news that the silent CBBC woolly star was making his début movie, RT visited the Bristol studio Aardman Features where it was all taking sheep. While most movies are shot out of sequence, Nick Park, who created Wallace & Gromit explained why Shaun is filmed chronologically: 'It's part of the economy of it, because it's very costly and time-consuming to re-rig. This film takes place all in one day. It's like 24. With sheep.' Aardman also worked their magic on the RT cover, where Shaun and his friends have flocked to see, presumably a 'ewe' rated movie. By downloading the free Blippar app, and pointing your device over the cover, readers could watch the characters come to life in an exclusive, short original animation. In which Wallace & Gromit movie did Shaun the Sheep first appear, albeit in a cameo role? a. A Close Shave b. A Grand Day Out c. The Wrong Trousers 91. Opening on 7 September in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil the 11 day event was broadcast on Channel 4, More 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live. Sprinter Jonnie Peacock was RT's cover star and on track for his second Summer Paralympic gold. While Para-equestrian Anne Dunham was at 67 GB's oldest competitor and the first British rider to win a team gold at four consecutive Paralympic Games. She went onto win two silvers and one gold at this event, adding to her previous seven Paralympic medals. In which T44 sprint race did Jonnie Peacock win gold in Rio? a. 100m b. 200m c. 400m 92. Emulating former Desert Island Discs host Sue Lawley's RT cover from 1992, when the show had reached it's half century, host Kirsty Young was on track to celebrate seventy-five years of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. The show's premise where a guest (aka a castaway) chooses eight audio recordings, a book and a luxury item that they would take to a dessert island, whist discussing their choices and life was the brainchild of Roy Plomley. Beginning in 1942 on the BBC Forces Programme, Roy presented if for 43 years. Since then, nine prime ministers had been cast away, with John Major as the only serving premier when he was guest on the 50th anniversary edition. In a 2019 RT poll, a panel of 46 broadcasting industry experts voted it the greatest radio programme of all time. Which celebrity was booked as the castaway for the 75th birthday edition of Desert Island Discs? a. David Beckham b. Sir Cliff Richard c. Tracey Ullman 93. He entertained the nations for generations and it was always nice to see him. Sadly in 2017 Sir Bruce Forsyth exited the world stage aged 89. RT paid tribute to the all round entertainer and looked back on his five previous RT cover appearances from over the decades. In 1976, he told RT the secret of his staying power. 'When people see me perform they think I look like a person who can never relax. But if I sit down I can turn off the Bruce Forsyth who is the vitamin pill on legs. I know that some people in our business can't do it.' Didn't he do well? In 2012, he gained a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, for having achieved what? a. Hosting the most game & quiz show episodes b. Performing the most tap dance taps in one minute c. Having the longest TV career for a male entertainer 94. The Queen and renowned naturist Sir David Attenborough had a remarkable friendship that spanned many decades. In this documentary they discussed the importance of preserving and planting trees to combat climate change. Filmed in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, the programme highlighted her majesty's personal connection with nature and her dedication to environmental conservation. In particular, the ambitious Commonwealth Canopy project in which the aim is to eventually link all 52 Commonwealth countries to protect areas of indigenous forest, promoting sustainability and biodiversity. The documentary captured the Queen's genuine enthusiasm in safeguarding the environment. Watched by 5.2 million viewers, it brought in the third biggest factual audience for ITV in 2018. In his role as producer, Sir David worked with Her Majesty in which one of these projects? a. The 1969 TV documentary film – Royal Family b. The Queen's Christmas TV Messages c. TV coverage of HM the Queen's 1953 Coronation 95. RT produced a set of three covers to herald the third season of The Crown, one of streaming service Netflix's most popular drama serials. Created and principally written by Peter Morgan, the series charts the lives and events of Britain's royal family from 1947 to the present. Spanning the events from Harold Wilson's premiership to the Queen's Silver Jubilee, this season also brought the début, among others of Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II. She told RT the effect playing the role had on her: 'I've fallen in love with the Queen. We're used to people being a little unclassy and she's the opposite of that. She's extraordinary. I hadn't spent much time thinking about it before, but now I love her. She's changed my views on everything.'Which period is covered in the third season of The Crown? a. 1956-1964 b. 1964-1977 c. 1979-1990 2020s 96. As the NHS massively struggled to cope under the extreme pressure of a pre-COVID-19 vaccinated nation, former junior doctor Adam Kay, author of the BBC 1 series This is Going to Hurt brought us this sixty-minute TV thank-you letter to our health worker heroes. 'This show is a heartfelt celebration of over 1.8 million people who make up the NHS today,' he told RT. Many well-known faces from entertainment and sport told deeply personal stories of the occasions when they relied on the NHS and the remarkable people who helped them. RT offered a tetrad of covers, showing some of the stars who had written candidly about their experiences with the NHS for Adam's book Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You. Edited extracts of letters from seven very grateful celebrities featured across five RT pages. All profits from book sales went to NHS Charities Together and the Lullaby Trust. During the pandemic, which day and time did the nation applaud the NHS from their homes? a. Tuesdays at 6pm b. Wednesdays at 7pm c. Thursdays at 8pm 97. In a BBC1 retrospective, Sir Michael Parkinson, aged 86 reminisced on his remarkable career and his legendary talk show. It began on 19 June, 1971 and ran until 1982 on BBC1 returning to the channel in 1998 until 2004 when it switched to ITV for it's remaining three years. By his own estimate, he had chatted to over 2,000 guests which included many of his Hollywood screen idols such as Lauren Bacall from whom he fulfilled a lifetime dream when he stole a kiss in a 2004 show. RT asked what he thought the secret to longevity was in having a television career: 'I think people have to like you, it's as simple as that. It's about what they make of you, warts and all. That's crucial – and if you knew the answer to it, you'd be a rich man indeed.' Which folk singer turned comedian made his début on Parkinson in 1975, and was a guest a record fifteen times, including the final show in 2007? a. Billy Connolly b. Mike Harding c. Jasper Carrott 98. Set in the backstreets of Birmingham during the period just after the First World War, Peaky Blinders revolved around the notorious Shelby family. It followed their rise to power as leaders of the Peaky Blinders gang as they navigated the criminal underworld and out manoeuvre the law. As the BBC1 drama returned for it's sixth and final series, RT met with the show creator Steven Knight and lead actor Cillian Murphy. His portrayal of Tommy Shelby, the complex, stoic, ruthless and terrifying protagonist has earned him acclaim and awards. However, as the softly spoken Irish actor pointed out to RT: 'I do not share one thing with him. There's no iota of commonality between the two of us.' The death in April 2021 of Helen McCrory who played matriarch Aunt Polly devastated all who knew her, Cillian recalled 'She was a remarkable human being and a remarkable actor. And I feel very privileged to have got to know her so well and to work so closely with her. She really was on a different level and our scenes were my favourites.' The popularity of the series contributed greatly towards the revival of which hairstyle? a. Comb over b. Mohawk c. Undercut 99. If you like a tall tale on a large scale then Amazon Prime's Lord of the Rings prequel certainly delivered that. In 2017, the over-the-top media service paid around US$250 million for the television rights to JRR Tolkien's novel and its appendices, with a five season production commitment totalling US$1 billion, it became the most expensive television series ever made. Set thousands of years prior to The Lords of the Rings and The Hobbit, the series featured a diverse cast that included Lenny Henry. Complete with woolly white wig, prosthetic pointed ears and large furry feet, the six foot three actor, comedian and writer played Sadoc Burrows, leader of the nomadic, pre-hobbit Harfoot community. RT asked him if he would return for season two 'I don't want to spoil it, but five years is what its going to take to tell the complete story, and I'm proud to have been asked to take part. It was hard work – particularly the hobbit feet – but I really did enjoy it.' Author JRR Tolkien coined the name Harfoot from an Old English construction that translates as which one of the following? a. One with hairy feet b. One with hard feet c. One with hammertoes 100. The coronation of Charles III and his wife Camilla as king and queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms was held at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May 2023. Following the death of his mother Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022, Charles was acceded to the throne age 74. The event attracted 15.5 million viewers for the BBC. Worldwide, the ceremony was watched in more than 125 countries with a cumulative viewership of over 36 million. In the RT's Coronation Issue, 25 pages were dedicated to the royal event, those contributing included historians Sir Simon Schama, Kate Williams and Lucy Worsley. As with previous RT Coronation issues, a royal procession map was drawn, on this occasion by illustrator Katherine Baxter. As suggested by the RT editors, the cover by Peter Horridge echoed that of Eric Fraser's 1953 Queen Elizabeth II coronation cover. Which year was the last time that a king and queen consort were crowned together? a. 1911 b. 1937 c. 1953 Answers 1920s & 1930s c) Organ c) 1969 a) Doctor Who a) Three Men in a Boat b) West Bromwich Albion c) First edition of Radio Times a) I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue a) 15 c) To support agricultural production b) Bing Crosby a) Beeb b) Mickey Mouse c) It's That Man Again a) Channel Islands c) Winston Churchill b) Prince Philip c) Father Time a) To capture live animals for London Zoo c) Tomorrow's World b) The Blood Donor c) The Sun b) Juliet Bravo a) Millicent Martin a) A Hard Day's Night b) Patrick Troughton b) Kangaroos a) Hercules a) Martin Peters b) 2002 b) Petula Clark c) Tony Blackburn b) To make the royals more popular a) Caernarfon Castle a) Edwin Aldrin c) Grieg a) “Don't panic! Don't panic!” b) Tower of London c) In Sickness & In Health b) Neddie Seagoon a) Three-day Week b) Step Inside Love b) Manchester a) John Cleese c) 5 years a) Gerald Ford b) Take Hart a) Spartacus c) Mike Yarwood b) Draughtsman a) Beyond the Fringe b) Flay Otters a) Patrick Trueman c) Porky Pig a) Ireland b) Mastermind Sketch a) Westminister Abbey's Maximum Seating is 2,000 c) The mismatch between visually appealing music videos & poor songs b) Blush b) Green Goddess a) Her Wrinkled Stockings c) Spandau Ballet a) Boléro b) Status Quo a) Borsetshire c) To Hull and Back a) The Beales b) Commissioner Jules Maigret a) Jack and the Beanstalk b) The Searchers a) Alan Whicker c) 1955 c) That's Life a) Physical & Visual a) A Richness c) Cave Slippers b) Today c) Anne Robinson b) Dinnerladies a) Christopher Timothy c) Ricky Gervais c) Dame Penelope Wilton b) The Queen's Handbag b) Terry's Old Geezers/Gals a) Richard Curtis c) Steven Spielberg a) Florizel Street c) Poplar a) Life on Earth b) Abbey Clancy a) A Close Shave a) 100m a) David Beckham c) Having the longest TV career for a male entertainer b) The Queen's Christmas TV Messages b) 1964-1977 c) Thursdays at 8pm a) Billy Connolly c) Undercut a) One with hairy feet b) 1937 If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
RT 100 TV & Radio picture quiz - how many shows can you find?
Radio Times magazine has turned 100, and what better way to celebrate than with a head-scratching tricky quiz?! Below, you'll see a vibrant image of the BBC's Broadcasting House, but it might look a little bit different to usual... See, look closely at the jam-packed picture and you'll find visual clues to 100 - yes, 100 - different TV and radio shows from over the past century. Look very carefully at the image as some of the visual aids are pretty well-hidden... how many can you find? If you need a closer look, download the image to your computer and zoom in - the clues are everywhere! Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for the answers! Read more: Justin Webb on how his grandfather became the first Radio Times editor Simon Schama explains the important part Radio Times has played in TV and radio over 100 years Radio Times' Top 100 shows: Russell T Davies and more count down the best Radio Times celebrates 100 years with special anniversary issue If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in entertainment, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Melvyn Bragg, Angela Rippon and more celebrate 100 years of history through Radio Times covers
To mark Radio Times magazine's anniversary, a host of famous faces look back on the last century as told through iconic RT covers.
Radio Times, the world's first and longest running radio and television listings magazine, is celebrating turning 100 with a special centenary edition on sale now. From the birth of TV, the outbreak of war and the Beatles, to Eric and Ernie, the Olympics and Covid – Melvyn Bragg, Professor Brian Cox, Angela Rippon, David Dimbleby and many more celebrate 100 years of history as told through the unique prism of Radio Times front covers. 100 years of history through Radio Times covers Melvyn Bragg 1936: Birth of television The Radio Times cover of 23rd October 1936 by British illustrator Eric Fraser was brilliant and beautiful, but it was also momentous, marking the first ever television programming by the BBC. It is impossible to overestimate the impact that television has had on the lives of most people on the planet. In 1936, it must have seemed to have come out of the blue, to be a sort of unattainable fantasy dreamed up by Aldous Huxley or George Orwell. But it was, in fact – to use a valid cliché – a window to the world for the world. Never had so many seen so much, so often. That striking cover heralded a new age, not only in communication and understanding of world events but also in the richness of exchanges of culture. Television equals the invention of the stage as a cultural phenomenon and, in terms of audiences, it way exceeds it. Young people who could not make their way into the more established arts found an open door in television, an industry whose reach had a profound influence on our lives. The beauty of television is its democracy, as well as its power to communicate. All you need to do is press a switch and you can be in a war zone, at a great cultural gathering, at a football match, on a march – you can be in the smallest place or the biggest place in the world. It has been a massive educator, both consciously and unconsciously. It has entertained people whose lives were bereft of quality entertainment. It has provided conversations in pubs, arguments in public and great political statements. What an experience it is to have seen it develop in such a way. Television has given us access to lives and experiences we would never have known about, and brought the world into the corner of our rooms. My hunch is that there will never again be anything as profoundly moving and influential in the area of communication. Dan Snow 1939: Second World War When the Second World War broke out, there was real fear of imminent bombing raids by the Germans. This Radio Times cover showing Broadcasting House in the centre of London, flying the Union flag and with the slogan “Broadcasting carries on”, directly addressed those fears. It offered an image of permanence, that idea of a national broadcaster and institution standing firm. By 1939, broadcasting had become central in social life in Britain, so the message of this cover was vital: the BBC will still have that central place in public discourse. The programming will change, the point of it perhaps will change, but you’ll be able to listen to trusted news, foreign and domestic. You may learn tips on building bomb shelters, or how to behave during a raid – advice that will actually keep you alive. It was clear that the government would use broadcasting as a tool of social control, propaganda, with information about air raids and about the threat of invasion. If the Germans were to invade Britain, the public service radio would be vital in giving people instructions. The BBC played its part in the great moments of the Second World War. We think about the D-Day landings and about broadcasting certain words, certain codes, that would trigger action to resistance networks across Europe. The French Resistance was told that D-Day was coming by a broadcaster, the BBC. But for most Britons it was a place to be informed, a place to escape a little bit. Citizens were sharing a common experience, worried about planes and bombs and shrapnel dropping from the sky and the BBC was a place that reflected that. The BBC came of age in the war. Jonathan Dimbleby 1953: Coronation There had never been a day like it. It was a first: millions upon millions of people sitting around small screens to watch their sovereign being crowned in Westminster Abbey on live television. But it very nearly didn’t happen – the television coverage, that is – because a few months before the great day, Buckingham Palace announced that cameras would be banned from the Abbey. This would have been a relief to me personally. I was nine years old and what little of the five-hour ceremony I watched at home on our black-and-white TV set was incomprehensible and boring. But for my father, Richard Dimbleby, who was to be the BBC commentator in the Abbey, this “No” was devastating. For months he had been part of a huge BBC team planning the most complex broadcast ever attempted. The prime minister, Winston Churchill, was dead set against this most solemn State occasion being subjected to the vulgar gaze of the masses via a medium he regarded with contempt. The decision seemed final, but the BBC refused to take no for an answer. Supported by the powerful voices in the press, the corporation’s bosses lobbied with all their might and, eventually, the decision was reversed. Of course, this piled even greater pressure on the BBC and its top commentator to deliver. The coronation had become a make-or-break occasion that would either put television indelibly on the map as a major means of serious communication or leave the corporation’s reputation in tatters. My father’s role would be pivotal. More than 20 million people in the UK watched the ceremony, many huddled around friends’ TV sets or in cinemas, halls and pubs. And their verdict was unanimous: the broadcast was unforgettable, a total triumph. The critics were bowled over by the overwhelming power of the medium. And, to his great relief, they singled out for lavish praise Richard Dimbleby’s gift for conveying the meaning of the complex pageant. Afterwards the sale of TV sets rocketed. Before long, the number of viewers sitting in front of the small screen would greatly exceed the number of those tuning into their radios. Television had suddenly come of age. For the monarchy, this was to prove a mixed blessing. The popular hunger to know and see more, combined with the broadcasters’ urge to pierce the carapace of power and privilege, would expose the nation’s institutions to ever intensifying scrutiny. In our age of transparency and accountability, this hunger is greater than ever: the legacy of that televised coronation, 70 years ago, that almost never was. Read more: Radio Times' Top 100 shows: Russell T Davies and more count down the best 20 Radio Times top factoids as the magazine turns 100 years old David Hepworth 1963: Beatlemania You didn’t hear many Beatles tunes on the radio in 1963. “Needletime” agreements with the Musicians’ Union meant actual records were strictly rationed. You were more likely to hear them playing live on Saturday Club with Brian Matthew or running through their old club act on their own radio series, Pop Go the Beatles. When She Loves You or I Want to Hold Your Hand came on, it was frustrating as well as exciting because you were never quite emotionally prepared. Television loved the Beatles because they were adaptable, wearing straw boaters to sing Moonlight Bay with Morecambe and Wise. They’d just played the Royal Variety Performance, when John Lennon said, “The rest of you, just rattle your jewellery,” the gag that went round the world. This RT cover, with its disembodied heads, a standard way of depicting any group in 1963, marks their time on Juke Box Jury, a perfect vehicle for their four-way banter and opinions they weren’t afraid to share. Paul McCartney said Elvis Presley’s Kiss Me Quick reminded him of Blackpool – a line considered quite provocative at the time. A week earlier, the funeral of John F Kennedy had been broadcast live all over the world. They said there’d never again be a TV event galvanising such numbers of people. In February 1964, when the Beatles went to America for the first time, the ratings for their spot on The Ed Sullivan Show put that occasion in the shade. The impact they made in New York was so great that Granada commissioned a documentary to be made about the visit and screened it twice in a week. When the Beatles returned, they immediately started filming A Hard Day’s Night, which was a movie pretending to be a television doc. That Christmas my sister and I were given With the Beatles. It had to be shared; nobody could afford an entire LP. Uncle Stan predicted I would have forgotten about them by next Christmas. Dear old Uncle Stan, remembered forever for the most unfortunate prediction in history. Prof Brian Cox 1969: Moon landing This cover means a lot to me. Aged one year and four months I watched, so my dad always told me, as Apollo 11 lifted off at 9.32 am Eastern Standard Time on 16th July 1969, and headed for a landing four days later on the Sea of Tranquillity. Maybe that’s why I’ve always felt a powerful, emotional attachment to Apollo; maybe that’s why I’m a physicist. The Apollo program ranks alongside the greatest of human achievements. A commonly quoted figure is that for every $1 spent on Apollo, $7 came back into the US economy over the space of a decade. It was also inspirational, propelling thousands of kids into science and engineering. The average age in Mission Control, Houston in 1969 was 26. What happened to all those brilliant engineers? They went out into the economy, took the technology and expertise developed for the Moon landings and invented the modern world. The kids they inspired became known as Apollo’s Children; the generation of optimists steeped in possibility. Some of us are still around. Apollo was about many things. It was about winning a race against the Soviet Union. It was about national pride. It was born out of fear as well as optimism. It was about laying the foundations of American dominance in the late 20th century. It was about economic stimulus. It was about dreams. I once spent an afternoon interviewing Charlie Duke, the youngest astronaut to walk on the Moon. I asked him why they did it. “It’s the wonder of it all,” he replied. “The beauty of the universe, the orderliness of the universe, you see it with your own eyes and it captures your imagination. Let’s see it, let’s do it and let’s discover it – that’s been the human spirit all along.” As I look back on this Radio Times cover, it speaks to me not of the past but of the future – a vivid depiction of what we can achieve if we invest in knowledge and people and dreams, and underlines our responsibility to nurture the next generation of Apollo’s Children. Angela Rippon 1976: Morecambe & Wise I love this Morecambe and Wise cover – I suspect it’s the only Radio Times cover where you don’t actually see the faces of the people who’ve been photographed. And the thing is, you don’t need to because that is such a famous pose. You’ve just got to look at it and you know immediately who they are. Dancing with Eric and Ern in the 1976 Christmas special was one of the most fun days I ever had in television. I adored them, they were lovely people. We had just three hours’ rehearsal in total before we went into the studio and performed it. I was given permission to do it by the BBC, but I don’t think any of us at the time had any idea of the effect it would have. I did know that dancing as a newsreader would cause a few ripples, but I think we were all taken aback by how many it did. We got one of the biggest audiences ever on television, with more than 20 million people tuning in, which, of course, nowadays you just don’t get. It was phenomenal. And, all these years later, people are still saying how brilliant Eric and Ern were. I was just a newsreader and to be performing in the show of the year with those two celebrated comedians was pretty special and remains so. And what’s lovely is that they both remained my good friends for the rest of their lives. Tony Jordan 1988: Biggest selling magazine TV in the 1980s seemed to bring everyone together. We were all watching the same thing and they were often reflections of what our own lives looked like. In shows like Only Fools and Horses, Bread and EastEnders, we saw normal, slightly heightened families trying to earn a crust. There were no huge stories, no aliens or stolen babies. These were worlds we understood. These days, we all watch TV at different times and places. But then, everyone watched a show on the same night, sitting on the sofa. And if you went to work the next day and you hadn’t seen it, you weren’t in the game. It was what everyone was talking about. Earlier soaps were quite domestic – I remember Ken Barlow’s distaste at the ketchup bottle being left on the dining table was a big story – but EastEnders wanted to be a bit tougher and sharper, taking something from grittier drama. I wrote my first EastEnders cliffhanger in 1989. Michelle and Pauline Fowler were in their kitchen discussing the father of Michelle’s baby: “What’s going to happen when your father finds out?” And Arthur was listening. Duf duf duf! It was great fun writing to the duf duf dufs. The most famous one I ever wrote was, “You’re not my mother”… “Yes, I am.” Pure pantomime. What gets me excited is the shared experience of television, and the 1980s was when that was at its strongest. We believed characters in soaps were our friends. Light entertainment figures, too – Bruce Forsyth was the naughty uncle we all had. Des O’Connor was so familiar I felt I was related to him. Now we know celebrities aren’t real stars. I know the soaps aren’t real. I can see the workings, so I no longer feel the magic. But then I did. David Dimbleby 1997: General Election This Election was going to mark a sea change in politics. The end of 18 years of Conservative government was in sight and voters of whatever party knew that Election Night would be a moment not to be missed. 1997 was the fifth general election of ten I anchored for the BBC, and the programme had evolved. I remember back in the 1979 election being passed handwritten notes from a producer hidden behind my desk when the results system failed. Nothing like that in 1997. For each election I anchored, we ran three full rehearsals. The job is to keep the show on the road, describing events as they unfold, recognising candidates, having something to say about each constituency, noticing the different voter patterns across the country, speculating on the complexion of a new government, all the while receiving a stream of instructions, often contradictory, from the control gallery about where to go next. It’s made much easier by the viewers themselves. On Election Night you know they are on your side, enjoying the spectacle, and forgiving the occasional glitch. Election Night is fun. It is also deadly serious. Mike Gunton 2001: The Blue Planet There’s a very famous scene of David Attenborough in Life on Earth, where he comes out of the water, and it’s rather like James Bond, with his snorkel and mask, talking about coral reefs. He’s always been interested in the marine world. But The Blue Planet marked something different. Up until then everything we had shot at the Natural History Unit had been on film. The trouble with using film under water is that cameras have to go into a housing with only a ten-minute run, so it was very limited in what you could do. When video came, you could stick a one-hour tape in and stay down there, take more risks, have more adventures and do a whole series about just one habitat. To go to the bottom of the ocean or be there when killer whales are coming up the beach grabbing seals… that’s something very few of us will ever [otherwise] do or see. It’s a magical portal. The series went global. Suddenly everybody wanted a piece of David. It was huge in America, although they replaced his voice with Sigourney Weaver’s – something we’ve always been rather upset about. It’s funny, isn’t it? Unimaginable today. He’s almost a quasi-god now. To think, I met him when I was in my 20s and he was talking about retiring. Now I’m getting close to retirement age and he’s still going! More than 12 million in the UK watched. It transmitted the weekend of 9/11 when there was nothing on the television except bad news. It was a magical shot in the arm for everyone; you could revel in the wonders of the natural world. It established natural history shows as doing more than just being reports of nature; they did something to people’s psyche, their wellbeing, their sense of the planet. Read more: 10 Radio Times covers from key moments in history Justin Webb on how his grandfather became the first Radio Times editor Sebastian Coe 2012: London Olympics Nothing, no matter how well packaged, can beat live sport. But the quality of TV and radio coverage was critical to the success of the London 2012 Olympics. The greatest sporting moments are watched on television or listened to on radio; they bring people together to experience and share the action. There is no better feeling than being in the stadium. The advancement of television sometimes makes it the best option for the casual fan while, with radio, it’s all about the presenters. Being trusted to bring all the action from an event to a listener is a supreme honour and we have exceptionally talented commentators who I still listen to, even if I can watch sport live. The biggest challenge of covering the Games was the huge amount of sport on offer. Time zones are always difficult for overseas fans wanting to see their teams compete. For many in 2012, they were tuning in throughout the night in their country or in the very early hours of the morning. When I look back at London 2012, what comes to my mind’s eye are the volunteers. They were from all walks of life, many taking unpaid leave to take part, which was humbling. And I think of all the people who stopped me in the Olympic Park, on the street and on the Tube to say thank you. They still do. It reminds me of the positive impact the Games had on so many people. Even if you sell all the tickets, there’s a nagging feeling that people may not turn up. Our athletics venue had the largest volume of tickets to sell across multiple days and sessions. I was in Weymouth with Jacques Rogge, the then-IOC president, waiting for the sailing to start. I turned on the BBC to see what crowd we had at the Olympic Stadium for the first morning of athletics and watched the BBC pan across a completely full stadium. That was a great moment. Simon Schama 2020: Covid pandemic I was in the US during the pandemic and watched from afar on BBC World. I was very moved by the empty streets and the rallying of applause for the NHS. The BBC still has a huge amount of credibility, and that’s the kind of authority one needs in a health crisis like Covid. In the US, mainstream TV is declining. Ours in Britain is much more centralised and less fractured in terms of cultures and attentiveness. We are much less instinctively hostile to being told what might be good for us, providing we trust the authorities. Yes, there were occasional unintended comic elements of those Government press performances, but the two scientific advisors Chris Whitty and Jonathan Van-Tam seemed to us trustworthy, wise and reliable. Americans had television conferences where Trump himself undermined the authority of science, saying bleach will take care of it. The web can be an echo chamber for whatever madness you happen to subscribe to. If you really believe that Bill Gates invented vaccines to insert a chip into your body, you can find many people out there who agree with you. The diverse arms of the chartered BBC are an essential bastion against that. It’s attacked on a weekly basis, but it still stands and is worth defending. The pandemic was proof of this. The BBC’s transmitted culture of our shared challenge was very strong. When the BBC champions the NHS – and Radio Times puts it on the cover – it brings people together. The special anniversary issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
20 Radio Times top factoids as the magazine turns 100 years old
Did you know the phrase "back to square one" originates from Radio Times?
Radio Times, the world's first and longest running radio and television listings magazine, is celebrating turning 100 with a special centenary edition on sale from Tuesday 19th September. To celebrate this landmark moment, Radio Times have asked some of the biggest names in the broadcasting industry - including Libby Purves, Michael Grade, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Russell T Davies, Justin Webb, Sally Wainwright, Samira Ahmed, Jeff Pope, Alan Yentob, Ann Cleeves, Angela Rippon and Peter Kosminsky - to nominate the most memorable radio and TV programmes of the past 100 years. Radio Times was first published on 28th September 1923. To mark the occasion, this week's commemorative issue (with listings covering Radio Times's birthday) continues Radio Times's long tradition of illustrated covers with a cover designed by Peter Horridge. The issue has a choice of one of four Radio Times logos from the last 100 years: the original design from 1923; Radio Times's post-war logo which ran between 1946 and 1960; Radio Times' longest running logo, which graced the front page from 1972 to 1994; and the current logo, introduced in 2004. The commemorative issue also features Simon Schama on how the programmes featured in Radio Times over the last 100 years have shaped Britain’s cultural and social history. From the birth of TV, the outbreak of war, the Beatles, to Eric and Ernie, the Olympics and Covid, Melvyn Bragg, Professor Brian Cox, Angela Rippon, David Dimbleby and many more, celebrate 100 years of history as told through the unique prism of Radio Times front covers, plus Gyles Brandreth on his personal history of Radio Times. As Radio Times reaches its 100th birthday, here are 20 facts about the history of Radio Times. 20 Radio Times Facts: Radio Times was the first, and remains the longest running, television and radio listings magazine in the world. Radio Times was first published on Thursday 28th September carrying listings for six radio stations, it now carries listings for 149 channels (86 TV channels & 63 radio stations). The phrase "back to square one" originates from Radio Times. To help listeners with early football commentaries, Radio Times published an image of the pitch divided into squares for the FA Cup fourth-round tie between Corinthians and Newcastle United, played on Saturday 29th January 1927. The commentators on the radio would refer to the diagram, the listener kept the magazine handy as the ball went from square to square – and when it went out for a goal kick, it was "back to square one". Radio Times first published television listings on 5th January 1934. 2nd November 1936 marked the start of a regular 405-line high-definition television service and Radio Times became the world's first television listings magazine. Radio Times helped create the term "viewer". In the earliest days of television, nobody knew what to call people who watched it. Some tried "glancers", others "observers" or "lookers in". It was Radio Times that first pushed the abbreviation of "televiewer". The late Queen has featured on the cover more than anyone else (47 times), followed by Sir David Attenborough (38) and David Tennant (29 – 12 as Doctor Who). In 1955, it was suggested that the BBC should register the name 'TV Times' but the general manager of BBC publications rejected the idea on the grounds that television wouldn't catch on. In 1960, the 'programme week', which for 37 years had started on a Sunday, changed to the now familiar Saturday-to-Friday. In July 1967, BBC Two became Britain's first colour television channel, and 'colour' annotations started to appear alongside programme listings and the magazine's cover, for which colour was usually reserved for Christmas and other special occasions, was printed in colour on a regular basis. The 1988 Christmas edition was in the Guinness Book of Records for being the biggest-selling magazine in British history: 11,220,666 copies: a record which remains unbroken to this day. On 16 February 1991, the deregulation of television listings began, and Radio Times started to cover all services, including ITV, Channel 4 and satellite networks. Full complete listings of the four main channels and satellite began on Friday 1 March. RadioTimes.com was launched in June 1997, the site now has 20 million visitors a month. Radio Times has been published by Immediate Media since November 2011. In November 2013, Radio Times Vote Dalek cover was voted Cover of the Century by a public vote by the Professional Publishers Association (PPA), after a nine-month online vote. 'Vote Dalek' was released to mark the return of the return of the extra-terrestrial villains to the BBC show after two decades, and coincided with the 2005 general election. Radio Times has more weekly subscribers (253,000) than any other magazine in the UK. The 100th anniversary issue is the 5173rd edition of Radio Times. The Radio Times centenary issue cover was designed by Peter Horridge, who also designed the emblem for the Coronation of King Charles II. Other artists to design covers for Radio Times include: Peter Blake, Eric Frazer, Edward Ardizzone, Nick Park, Judith Kerr, Raymond Briggs and Grayson Perry. Writers who have contributed to Radio Times include: Kingsley Amis, Tom Stoppard, Fay Weldon, Sheridan Morley, Paul Theroux, Tom Stoppard, Ian McEwan, Fay Weldon, Joan Bakewell, James Burke, Ann Cleeves, Kenneth Williams and Jack Lundin. Leonard Crocombe was Radio Times first editor – he was also a stand-up comedian and BBC Today Programme presenter Justin Webb's grandfather. Radio Times has had 20 editors in its history, including the current editors, Tom Loxley and Shem Law, the first time the magazine has had joint-editorship. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Justin Webb on how his grandfather became the first Radio Times editor
"When Reith asked Leonard Crocombe to set up The Radio Times he was making quite a statement."
This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine. He is one of the forgotten characters of British journalism. In his day he was a power in the nation, a fan of new media and a manipulator of the old. A friend of the BBC general manager John Reith (until the boss fired him) but a friend mostly of the reader, the listener, the folks at home. He was a popular journalist in the days when most journalism was still stuffy. In that respect, he set us all free. When Reith asked Leonard Crocombe to set up The Radio Times, he was making quite a statement. Crocombe was already a hugely successful editor of an outlet he was turning into one of the most recognisable brands on any pre-war news stand. Tit-Bits dealt in titbits; competitions, slices of life and contributions from readers for which they could be paid. There were adverts for life insurance, biscuits in those tins we now regard as collectors’ items and tonics with various supposed but unproven benefits. Crocombe brought this zest for real life and real people's concerns to the new magazine for radio listeners – from the outset, Radio Times was about you, the listener. He would have loved the magazine's adaptation to TV, just as he would have welcomed digital TV, podcasts and whatever comes next. In the photograph he might look a tad fusty for modern tastes, but that's how cutting-edge chaps dressed then. And he really was at the forefront of any innovation going. In October 1922, he became the first Fleet Street editor to make a gramophone record – as a stand-up comedian. To Make You Smile cost three shillings and sixpence. In March of the following year, he was the first editor to make a radio broadcast, from the London station of the Marconi Company. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/09/GettyImages-870101930-431a549-e1695219731219.jpg" width="4903" height="3272" alt="British politician, doctor and television executive Charles Hill, Baron Hill of Luton (1904 - 1989, left) with Herbert Bowden (1905 - 1994, next to him) after opening the 1st International Broadcasting Convention at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, 20th September 1967. On the right is the new Marconi Mark VII colour television camera." title="British politician, doctor and television executive Charles Hill, Baron Hill of Luton (1904 - 1989, left) with Herbert Bowden (1905 - 1994, next to him) after opening the 1st International Broadcasting Convention at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, 20th September 1967. On the right is the new Marconi Mark VII colour television camera." /> Why is he not more famous or, indeed, famous at all? I wonder if the English class system played a part. Crocombe wasn’t exactly working class himself – he lived in comfortable Home Counties suburbia and employed cooks and maids – but the path he trod was of mass appeal, and in those days, mass appeal was not exactly the done thing. He was no Orwell. He leaves behind no essays on politics, no work of literature worthy of the name. Only a book of jokes and two jolly travelogues whose titles tell you all you need to know: An Editor Goes West: a Holiday Notebook, and Slow Ship to Hong Kong, the last after he took the eponymous vessel, postwar, to observe the east. He wrote those books after Lord Reith got rid of him following just three years at the helm of RT because the pace of change – what we would now call a move downmarket – was too much for the austere Scottish director-general to bear. But Crocombe had made his mark and secured the future of Radio Times. View Green Video on the source website Did I mention that Leonard Crocombe was my grandfather? My mother took me to see him when he was dying in a Bournemouth nursing home in 1968 when I was just seven years old. I remember little of him beyond the elderly hand that reached out and ruffled my hair before I was ushered out of the room. But did that hand, metaphorically, reach out during the rest of my life? It did, I reckon: something of his literary lightness has been passed to me, for sure. And if we are to wonder about genes for a moment: how about this for a more upscale family literary bent? My cousin Gregory Woods was the lucky inheritor of Crocombe’s typewriter, a Remington portable. Greg is emeritus professor of gay and lesbian studies at Nottingham Trent University and a brilliant poet. And my own son, Sam, is a graduate of the creative writing course at the University of East Anglia and intending to make a living as a writer. We are the heirs of Leonard Crocombe, just as readers of today’s Radio Times still benefit from his early stewardship of the title. He was described by the broadcasting historian Asa Briggs as "a figure of some importance in the whole story of the development of 'mass communication'". True: not exactly a legend in his own lifetime or in ours, but a man worth remembering and celebrating, who brought into the world a magazine that has stood the test of time. He would be proud and pleased to be mentioned in the centenary edition. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Simon Schama explains the important part Radio Times has played in TV and radio over 100 years
The historian talks That Was The Week That Was, Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and A History of Britain.
This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine. "The Radio Times was the grand publication of my youth," says historian and broadcaster Simon Schama. "It was also our gentle instructor on how to prioritise our viewing, what we'd want to watch. It would be unthinkable not to have it." Schama is looking back across seven decades to a time when one weekly magazine was at the heart of his life. "It was our family diary and the absolute bible for our entertainment." The 78-year-old has just returned to the New York home he shares with his wife, genetics professor Virginia Papaioannou, for the start of the academic year (Schama is a professor of art history and history at Columbia University), but gladly found time to mark what for him is a significant moment, personally and historically: 100 years of Radio Times. It has been a remarkable century. For the first time in history, all Britons, of every social class and religious or ethnic background, have been able to directly witness the great events and social upheavals that set the course of their lives. From our armchairs and sofas, we have experienced, variously, Moon landings, the coming of The Beatles and a world war – all of which have made the cover of RT. "It's very difficult to bend one's mind around what these events would have been without television and radio," Schama says. "But it's a tribute to broadcasting that thinking about these events without those images coming to mind is impossible." You might say Schama's has been a Radio Times life. His 2000 series A History of Britain, one of the few that deserves the "landmark" epithet, announced him as British television’s leading cultural historian, and its second season made the front cover of our 5th May 2001 edition. Up until then, Schama had been a well-regarded academic who had made the occasional foray into broadcasting, but he had resisted the siren call of a major BBC series. "I had small children, I was an academic, but then I remembered my dad, who loved the BBC, and who said, 'You always regret what you don't do.'" Making the series changed his life mid-course. "When I'm in Britain, almost not a day goes past when, undeservedly, someone comes up and thanks me – cabbies, people in the queue at the supermarket. That is extremely moving, it's an honour knowing your time on the planet isn't entirely wasted." Schama was only three months old when an RT cover marked the end of the Second World War in Europe with a week of Victory Programmes. When he was eight, in 1953, it was the Coronation issue on the coffee table of the family home, marking perhaps the defining British television event of the 20th century, and one he still recalls: "In our house we had a little nine-inch Ekco television, which came with a plastic magnifier to strap on with rubber bands to the front of the set, and all the neighbours were in the room." From then on, almost everything that mattered was filtered through television. The stirrings of adolescence began, as it did for so many of Schama’s generation, with rock 'n' roll. The first episode of Six-Five Special, precursor of all rock and pop television shows that would follow, went out on the evening of Saturday 16th February 1957. It was billed in Radio Times as offering "plenty of music, in the modern manner, with rock 'n' roll, skiffle groups, traditional jazz". Uptight when it should have been swinging, Six-Five Special bore all the marks of BBC mandarins attempting to understand matters beyond their ken, but it was a start. And 12 million people were watching. "It had a direct effect on popular culture," Schama says. "There were kids like me dancing, it was fantastic." In a rather sniffy submission to the new times, Six-Five Special received the following, brief, RT cover mention, described as "the first of the new television programmes bridging the gap between six and seven o'clock". Which was technically correct, if hardly illuminating. "There was," says Schama, "an air of starchiness about the Radio Times." And like the BBC, RT could be very solemn. "I was born in 1945, so I'm not quite 100 years old, but it feels like it sometimes. So, I grew up with Richard Dimbleby and what was a very, very Reithian BBC. And it was very solidly ceremonious, with Uncle and Auntie figures both on radio and television. I remember those voices well. "But when I was in my teens and the 1960s got under way, something happened to all of us. There was kind of the opposite effect, a fantastic poking of the institutional eye. That happened on BBC television with That Was The Week That Was, which was revolutionary, an amazing breakthrough. Just talking about TWTWTW, it comes back to me so immediately and powerfully." Created by Ned Sherrin and starring David Frost and Millicent Martin, comedy revue TWTWTW was part of a swirl of social change christened the Satire Boom, including the Beyond the Fringe stage show and the launching of Private Eye magazine. Previously untouchable pillars of the establishment, including politicians and the BBC itself, were openly and shockingly mocked. "Whoever said yes to Ned Sherrin was very, very important. That was a real gateway moment in the history of broadcasting." It taught the young Schama, then setting off on his own academic career, a life-changing lesson: hierarchy was not immutable. The point was emphasised by an iconic 1963 RT cover that marked the second series of TWTWTW. A cocky young Frost, with pencil-thin tie and close-cut suit, pokes a finger out of the picture, as if to say: wake up Britain, all is changed. In the same year, The Beatles were RT cover stars. Schama and the country were witnessing, he says, "a fantastic break-up of ceremonious strength". From now on, if the BBC was going to be serious, it was because the subject matter was serious rather than the corporation’s tone, and there were epochal television moments ahead. "The Moon landing is a very good example, millions upon millions upon millions of people watched that," says Schama of an event that made a memorable RT cover. Far fewer people watched Civilisation, a history of Western art presented by Kenneth Clark and commissioned by BBC2 controller David Attenborough, but Schama argues that series such as Civilisation and Attenborough’s own Life on Earth had, and still have, a huge effect on our culture. "Those things are instrumental to forming a generation, to expanding knowledge. Television has the responsibility of making education not frightening – watching something and not having to take an exam at the end of it – yet it's something that, nonetheless, will enrich you and just reshape you. "The great boom in the past 20, 30, 40 years in the numbers of people visiting art galleries, buying history books and thinking about history, the great success of podcasts – that has all naturally grown out of a kind of enabling power, the enchantment, almost, of really strong broadcasting." In that sense, the BBC, and broadcasting more widely, has – for all the fluff that makes its way into the schedules – emerged as the defender of a particularly democratic idea of learning. It’s a position that has made enemies, reckons Schama. "If you work in television or the media, if you're in the BBC, God knows you are facing, you know, next Tuesday's remarks from the Daily Mail. There is this inner snark built into the culture. Sometimes it's good, creative snark, but it's built-in. "Then, when it comes to big genuine national crises [like the Covid pandemic], I think that falls away. If you had an opinion poll tomorrow, asking, 'Do you believe in abolishing the licence fee? Do you believe in letting the BBC just be another commercial channel?' the overwhelming majority of people would still say no." The British, he says, will always be ready to hear a good story. "I think what's very strongly rooted in Britain through things like David Attenborough's amazing series – his whole life, really – is the ability to fuse seamlessly, marry seamlessly, opinion with storytelling. And David is an incredible storyteller." The example wasn't wasted on Schama when he made A History of Britain. "I'm no medieval historian and I had this strong sense that I would have a lot of learning on the job to do. But I thought, honestly, at a time when everything was fly-on-the-wall television, there was a real hunger out there for exactly the sort of thing that David was doing as well, for television that educates us by telling stories." Perhaps feeding that hunger is television's great triumph, and Schama's. Yes, we have had coronations, great sporting occasions, starry moments and epic drama series, but to have kept culture and science, learning and wonder on our screens as everyone’s rightful inheritance is the real mark of the Radio Times century. Will there be another 100 years like this? "I think we have to fight for it," says Schama. "Broadcasters themselves, and probably Radio Times. What I don't like to see at the BBC is the kind of penitential defensiveness. When something has gone terrifyingly wrong, then you have to 'fess up and do what you can, but I'm a determined champion of everything that's really unique about the BBC and I feel lucky to still be making new series. "I'm a very, very lucky boy, and I have been for a long time. Though, as the great Alex Ferguson said, 'You earn your luck.'" If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Radio Times' Top 100 shows: Russell T Davies and more count down the best
Russell T Davies, Sarah Phelps, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Ann Cleeves and more count down the best of TV and radio over the past 100 years.
Later this month, Radio Times celebrates 100 years of being the home of entertainment for its many readers - giving the best picks for television and radio. Whether it's the sci-fi delights of Doctor Who, sporting events, history-making news moments, soapy drama, or just the sheer awe of what the arts can do, Radio Times has been there to provide the information viewers and listeners need to get the content they love. So, to mark the centenary, the magazine has assembled some much-loved faces from screen, radio and the written word to deliver the 100 best shows from television and radio in chronological order. Radio Times' Top 100 shows: Russell T Davies and more count down the best 1. Desert Island Discs - BBC Forces Programme (1942) The definitive interview programme that has passed the test of time. My mother listened religiously, and my youngest daughter recently told me about a great podcast she’d just discovered that I might like… Shem Law, co-editor of Radio Times. 2. Come Dancing - BBC Television (1949) In among all the dreary, dull programmes that leave you feeling depressed, this series and its present-day counterpart are programmes that have brought glamour, fun, excitement and live competition – sunlight in people’s lives when so much is not. Angela Rippon, broadcaster. 3. The Archers - BBC Home Service (1950) I’m not sure how I got into this, but I must have been very young because I remember hearing it in my room in Fair Isle Bird Observatory. My colleagues mocked me for it, but I know that one of them is now even more of an addict than I am. Ann Cleeves, crime author. 4. Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School - BBC Television (1952) I never missed an episode. Because Bunter was round and loved cakes, and because the boys at Greyfriars were regularly beaten, they wouldn’t make the series today, but Gerald Campion (in his 30s when he started playing the part of the schoolboy) was hilarious in the title role. We lapped it up. Gyles Brandreth, writer and broadcaster. 5. Panorama - BBC Television (1953) The one constant source of essential truth that’s been running all my life. It still makes me shout and applaud now. Chris Packham, presenter and campaigner 6. Hancock’s Half Hour - BBC Light Programme (1954) More on radio than on TV, a sort of surrealist existential despair, which makes life’s disappointments feel more hilarious than miserable. Libby Purves, broadcaster. 7. Zoo Quest - BBC Television (1954) David Attenborough is a man who has contributed more to our understanding of our planet than any other person in my lifetime. Chris Tarrant, broadcaster. 8. My Word! - BBC Home Service (1956) Denis Norden and Frank Muir being funny, clever and inventive. It was amiable and a good deal sharper than modern comedy. Justin Webb, broadcaster. 9. Today - BBC Home Service (1957) Specifically on 10 November 2012, when John Humphrys eviscerated his own boss, BBC director general George Entwistle, about the mishandling of a Newsnight film. A masterclass in interrogation, and proof that BBC journalism really can be fearless. Mr Entwistle resigned that evening. Ed Stourton, broadcaster. 10. Blue Peter - BBC Television (1958) The birth of interactive TV. A new biography of Biddy Baxter by Richard Marson (both former BP editors) shows a programme being made with love, passion and sheer, bloody hard work. Russell T Davies, writer and producer. 11. Danger Man - ITV (1960) For my money, the greatest spy drama/adventure series ever made. For energy, excitement and style, nothing has ever equalled it. Gyles Brandreth. 12. Coronation Street - ITV (1960) For many years, this was the show for which everything stopped on a Monday and a Wednesday night. These people were family. At its best this show made us care about characters we had never met, and dilemmas we had never faced, with empathy and humour. Peter Bowker, screenwriter. 13. Z Cars - BBC TV (1962) Every British police show to this day contains a trace of its DNA. It managed to reflect the realism of Play for Today in the guise of a returning series. When “Inky” the police dog was shot in a botched raid, the dog had to appear live on Blue Peter to reassure the audience that he was alive and well. Peter Bowker. 14. The Saint - ITV (1962) This was the first show I recall my parents loving and us watching as a family. Roger Moore was charismatic and charming, and watching him, I think, formed part of my own Britishness. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to become friends with him. Sanjeev Bhaskar, actor and comedian. 15. Doctor Who - BBC TV (1963) I remember the first episode with William Hartnell and it became the highlight of my week. On my wedding day, between the lunch and the party in Woolacombe Village Hall in the evening, we all trooped back to my parents’ house to drink my dad’s home-brew and watch it. Ann Cleeves. 16. Top of the Pops - BBC TV (1964) It was like getting a visit in my sitting room from the most important people in my world. I would feel so special as I gazed at the telly and thought David Essex was singing just for me. Andi Oliver, chef and broadcaster. 17. I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again - BBC Home Service (1964) This is the radio comedy show that my maths teacher played to us every Wednesday night. I still remember some of the terrible jokes and it sometimes seems to me that every comedian I’ve ever loved began their careers here. Anthony Horowitz, novelist and screenwriter. 18. Play School - BBC2 (1964) All of Play School was essential viewing, but Floella Benjamin was everything to me! Seeing a dark-skinned, clever, artistic Black girl on my TV was like the holy grail. Her voice reading the stories was like a balm to my secretly anxiety-filled, little-girl heart and I am forever grateful to her for that gift. Andi Oliver. 19. Seven Up! - ITV (1964) The idea of taking 14 seven-year-olds and seeing their take on the world was an interesting concept. To have then followed them through their lives, catching up with them every seven years up to the age of 63, is breathtaking. The honesty and unpredictability of following the joys, the challenges and the tragedies that can befall a random group of people across a lifetime has been profoundly moving. Sanjeev Bhaskar. 20. Match of the Day - BBC2 (1964) A perfect format: highlights of the day’s matches followed by three pundits’ discussion, while you sit at home shouting at them. Part of the show’s genius is to understand that the main pleasure to be had from discussing football is to disagree. The show is also a telling piece of social history, the manners and styles of the presenters and the game itself a great indicator of shifting social mores. Peter Bowker. 21. The Singing, Ringing Tree - BBC1 (1964) This dark and disturbing eastern European fairy tale still gives me nightmares today – scarier than any horror film I’ve ever seen. Chris Packham. 22. The Magic Roundabout - BBC1 (1965) Magical indeed from Eric Thompson. Only slightly more bizarre than the teatime news that followed. Eddie Mair, broadcaster. 23. The World Cup Final - BBC1/ITV (1966) There’s not been a day like it since. I watched it with my father, who insisted on wearing all his medals from World War Two. I said, “Dad, it’s a game of football”, and he said, “No, this is a war.” Chris Tarrant. 24. Talking to a Stranger - BBC2 (1966) Four-part drama by John Hopkins, marking a high point in BBC drama productions. Joan Bakewell, broadcaster. 25. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons - ITV (1967) The epitome of Gerry Anderson’s “Supermarionation”, an indestructible puppet hero and the best of 1960s science-fiction action. The Captain was also a fashion icon for me. I still like to dress like him. Chris Packham. 26. The Radio 1 Breakfast Show - Radio 1 (1967) In all its iterations, on any station. With a song, a jingle and a joke, it changed the way our days began. Russell T Davies. 27. Just a Minute - Radio 4 (1967) Panellist Peter Jones called it ludicrous, and it always has been. Eddie Mair. 28. The Dave Allen Show - BBC1 (1968) A masterly exponent of comedy who showed that it’s possible to sit, talk and command humour and drama in one take. Joan Bakewell. 29. Dad’s Army - BBC1 (1968) As a child I watched this being filmed in and around Thetford, Norfolk. I’ve seen every episode several times but, such is the brilliance of the writing, I will always watch again. Shem Law. 30. Civilisation - BBC2 (1969) Kenneth Clark’s ambition was simple, if audacious: to stand in front of the finest works of art in the Western canon and explain them to an audience of millions. Clark educated a nation and inspired his channel controller David Attenborough to do the same for the natural world. Tom Loxley, co-editor of Radio Times. 31. Star Trek - BBC1 (1969) It’s not just the great plots and characters. What I really love about rewatching it is the way it looks: the bright, warm colours, the wonderful use of shadow. But it is the friendships and optimism that shine. Spock and Uhura’s intelligence, beauty, wit and warmth mean this will always be the show I watch to cheer me up and inspire me. Samira Ahmed, broadcaster. 32. Monty Python’s Flying Circus - BBC1 (1969) Subversive, creative, bonkers and often very funny, Monty Python’s Flying Circus reinvented sketch-show comedy, spawned a million playground chants and conquered America. Tom Loxley. 33. The Goodies - BBC2 (1970) With its combination of satire, surreal plots, visual effects and Bill Oddie’s pioneering comedy songwriting, no show has given me more joy. Samira Ahmed. 34. The Two Ronnies - BBC1 (1971) Always in the shadow of Morecambe and Wise, but Ronnie Barker’s exceptional writing often elevated it above. Now, where did I put those “‘andles for forks”? Shem Law. 35. Upstairs, Downstairs - ITV (1971) In a form of soap opera, it traced intelligently and accurately the life and social transitions from 1903 up to the 1930s. Libby Purves. 36. The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show - BBC1 (1971) Even decades later, the daft former music-hall duo of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise can still tickle the nation‘s funny bones, as they memorably did with conductor André Previn. Sublime comedy. Michael Grade, TV executive. 37. Weekend World - ITV (1972) Teenage me marvelled at Brian Walden’s searching hour. Eddie Mair. 38. The Ascent of Man - BBC2 (1973) This went a little over my head aged 11. But subsequent viewing has shown me what a thoughtful and enlightening piece of television it was. Sets by Feliks Topolski, incidental music by Pink Floyd and an appearance by Henry Moore. Forget The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, this series did actually explain the meaning of life. Shem Law. 39. M*A*S*H - BBC2 (1973) Still the best combination of comedy and drama in a TV half-hour. The scripts were extraordinarily clever, moving and funny. Alan Alda, who played Hawkeye Pierce, remains the only person ever to have won Emmy Awards for acting, writing and directing. Sanjeev Bhaskar. 40. The Jimmy Young Show - Radio 2 (1973) I listened to this programme from the age of ten and loved its mix of music and chat: the Bee Gees followed by Margaret Thatcher. I borrowed an old broken radio from my great aunt and mended it. It started my love of radio, and I went into the garden to make outside broadcasts. Paddy O’Connell, broadcaster. 41. The World at War - ITV (1973) The opening sequence, the music and, of course, Laurence Oliver’s inimitable voice. It was huge in scope and confident in judgements. It introduced me to the idea that serious broadcasting could be gripping. Justin Webb. 42. Not on Your Nellie - ITV (1974) Every week, Hylda Baker would say, “What are you today, Gilbert?” and beautiful, tall, willowy Gilbert would show off his clothes. He was my first TV gay. There’s a lot of retrospective shame about those early effeminate characters, but I was 11, I adored him, and still do. Russell T Davies. 43. The Sweeney - ITV (1975) This was absolutely the reason we did Life on Mars. I wanted to write for The Sweeney, but it had finished. Tony Jordan, screenwriter. 44. Days of Hope - BBC1 (1975) Created by arguably the greatest programme-making team in the history of UK television – Jim Allen, Tony Garnett and Ken Loach – it covers the end of the Great War and the origins of the General Strike. I recall watching this short BBC series as a child and being moved to my very core. Peter Kosminsky, writer and director. 45. Fawlty Towers - BBC2 (1975) Watching one man teeter on the verge of a breakdown shouldn’t be funny, but it was – dangerously so, as farce and sharp writing collided in a fading Torquay hotel and held up a mirror to '70s Britain. John Cleese and Connie Booth had the good sense to stop after 12 episodes. Each one is a gem. Tom Loxley. 46. The Duchess of Duke Street - BBC1 (1976) This was the first historical drama that thrilled me to bits. The whole drama was a portrait of this difficult, talented, single-minded, hilarious, working-class woman, brought to life by the uniquely talented, very young Gemma Jones. It’s one of my biggest delights that Gemma came on board to play Aunt Anne Lister for us in Gentleman Jack. Sally Wainwright, screenwriter. 47. The Price of Coal - BBC1 (1977) A drama in two very different parts about the mining community in South Yorkshire: the first episode a comedy-drama about a visit to the pit by a very young Prince Charles, and the second a much darker drama about a fatal disaster at the pit. Real kitchen-sink drama at its finest. Sally Wainwright. 48. Rock Follies of ’77 - ITV (1977) When I watched the first episode of this series [a follow-up to Rock Follies in 1976], it felt like I’d gone into the sitting room to watch it as one person and left as another. I suddenly knew what I wanted to do with my life: to create TV drama as exciting as this. Howard Schuman and the Little Ladies were gods. They still are in my head. Sally Wainwright. 49. Pennies from Heaven - BBC1 (1978) The show that taught me the difference between the press and the truth. The papers raged about Gemma Craven’s bedroom scene, like it was porn. And yet I sat and watched a beautiful, tender, tragic portrait of a marriage in collapse. Russell T Davies. 50. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Radio 4 (1978) I’d never heard sci-fi mixed with comedy and satire with such a British sentiment. I listened to it under the covers with an earpiece, as it was past my bedtime. Every week I looked forward to being transported to worlds of infinite possibilities. It led to my homage to creator Douglas Adams – adding the number 42 (“The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”) to The Kumars at No 42. Sanjeev Bhaskar. Read more about Radio Times' centenary: Look back at the first ever issue 10 covers from key moments in history Radio Times x Emma Bridgewater centenary mug 51. Law & Order (British series) - BBC2 (1978) I’d never seen anything like it before. It combined wonderful, tense drama with a searing message. And it was that way round – the drama first, the message second. Jeff Pope, producer and screenwriter. 52. Larry Grayson’s Generation Game - BBC1 (1978) A funny man having the time of his life. And, like RT, he would have been 100 this year. Eddie Mair. 53. Life on Earth - BBC1 (1979) The natural history series that made David Attenborough such an important and enduring figure in broadcasting history. Michael Grade. 54. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - BBC1 (1979) Alec Guinness as George Smiley, master spy. And the glory of the opening scene, with no dialogue for what seems like an age. Justin Webb. 55. Not the Nine o’Clock News - BBC2 (1979) I can still remember most of the scripts. Gerald the Gorilla on the TV talk show. “When I caught Gerald in '68, he was completely wild…” “Wild?! I was absolutely livid!" Paddy O’Connell. 56. Minder - ITV (1979) I grew up watching George Cole as Arthur Daley in Minder – I think this was at the back of my mind when creating shows like Hustle and characters like Alfie Moon in EastEnders… How an audience can love a rogue. Tony Jordan. 57. Cosmos - BBC1 (1981) The greatest science series ever. Carl Sagan was a master storyteller, eclipsed by only one: Sir David. Chris Packham. 58. Hill Street Blues - C4 (1981) Without Hill Street Blues, there would have been no Sopranos. It was the original, brilliant, entertaining cop show that looked behind the scenes. And I loved the theme tune. Chris Tarrant. 59. Only Fools and Horses - BBC1 (1981) As an ex-market trader I knew people like Del Boy. Of course, it was funny and moving and clever, but the extraordinary thing about it was how it brought the whole country together in a shared experience, particularly at Christmas. I was lucky enough to meet John Sullivan and he was one of my writer heroes. Tony Jordan. 60. Brideshead Revisited - ITV (1981) This was a sumptuous weekly banquet in telly’s glory days. It seemed most of the nation was glued, and every episode was reviewed and analysed in offices and pubs the following day. Ed Stourton. 61. Tenko - BBC1 (1981) This groundbreaking, captivating, beautifully written and acted drama had a huge impact on the teenage me. It dealt with racism, colonialism, class, ethics and the complexities of human behaviour under extremes. It’s astounding that executives failed to build on it. It remained an outlier in female-led writing and storytelling for decades. Samira Ahmed. 62. Fame - BBC1 (1982) Never again will a TV theme give me such a thrill. The series transported a generation to the New York City High School for the Performing Arts and made leg warmers a fashion requisite. Caroline Frost, RT columnist. 63. The first episode of Channel 4 News - C4 (1982) It looks hilariously scruffy today, but those of us on the programme team were determined to create a new way of reporting news on television. Ed Stourton. 64. Blackadder - BBC1 (1983) Fun, farce and fantasy. A new generation of comedians, writers and producers was born, not only Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and John Lloyd, but also Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Miriam Margolyes, Rik Mayall. The list goes on… Alan Yentob, broadcaster. 65. Victoria Wood — as Seen on TV - BBC2 (1985) I still have all the episodes on videotape in case there is a nuclear war. Up there with Alan Bennett for dialogue and with Eric and Ernie for comic timing — and up there for Acorn Antiques alone. On a personal note, when my mum was in a care home with severe dementia I would find this on YouTube and she would still laugh in all the appropriate places – the rhythm and cadence of Victoria’s delivery was second to none. Peter Bowker. 66. EastEnders - BBC1 (1985) My beloved show, I watched it from the very start and I loved writing for it so much. Every inch of Albert Square, all those sets, the history of them, those characters, the fabulous blonde matriarchs, their men and their kids. The stories soaps tell matter. You’re in people’s living rooms and you’re sometimes telling really hard stories – people need to trust you as a storyteller and you have to be sure that you’re telling the story right. And when EastEnders or Corrie – when any soap – hits its note, it sings like nothing else. These shows sing. Long live soap! Sarah Phelps, screenwriter and producer. 67. Live Aid - BBC TV, Radio 1 (1985) This was the television event that demonstrated that rock music and broadcasting could be a global power for good. Michael Grade. 68. An Audience with Billy Connolly - ITV (1985) This was live at London Weekend Television. Billy had been told he could only say the “f” word four times – so he came out and shouted it four times in a row, and then just carried on. We spent the whole time aching with laughter. Chris Tarrant. 69. Edge of Darkness - BBC1 (1985) Terrifyingly prescient, exciting and moving in equal measure, this was a breathtakingly original piece of writing. With memorable performances from the late Bob Peck and Joe Don Baker, and a glorious score by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen. Simply the best programme I have ever seen on television. Peter Kosminsky. 70. The Singing Detective - BBC1 (1986) My husband and I loved everything Dennis Potter did, but this was the very best in television. Ann Cleeves. 71. Inspector Morse - ITV (1987) Along with its derivatives, this is proof that good writing and fine characterisation can still conjure monster audiences. Ed Stourton. 72. After Dark - C4 (1987) This was a midnight TV show with no end point. It should be revived. We tried to re-create it on Radio Five Live at the launch in 1994. We had two hours only, from midnight to 2am, and we allowed the guests to drink and smoke. We used the famous Today studio and when their presenters arrived at 6am they complained it smelled like a brewery. Paddy O’Connell. 73. Traffik - C4 (1989) A game changer, this six-part serial looked at the drug trade from multiple perspectives, filming in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UK. Superbly written by Simon Moore and with fantastic performances from Bill Paterson and Lindsay Duncan heading a perfect cast, I remember this because it immersed me so completely and pointed the way to what television could do. Anthony Horowitz. 74. Nelson Mandela’s release - TV news (1990) Mandela walks with Winnie among cheering crowds – a historic moment. Joan Bakewell. 75. The Simpsons - Sky One (1990) The programme-makers tackle head-on all the problems and situations in modern society. Racism, misogyny, mental health, families, education – it’s all there, with gentle but perceptive humour. I can’t think of another programme that is able to do it in quite the same way. Angela Rippon. 76. The Larry Sanders Show - BBC2 (1992) I thought this was just perfect comedy. I loved being in that world for half an hour, over and over. Jeff Pope. 77. Love Lies Bleeding - BBC2 (1993) This single drama, produced by BBC Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles, introduced me to the work of the great Mark Rylance, with whom I would go on to work many times. All the signs of his understated mastery were on display in this all but forgotten gem about an IRA fighter who is allowed out of the Maze prison for 24 hours to investigate the unexplained death of his girlfriend. Peter Kosminsky. 78. Cracker - ITV (1993) This is still, for me, the greatest detective show ever made, largely thanks to Jimmy McGovern’s writing and Robbie Coltrane’s performance as criminal psychiatrist Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald. Without spoilers, it contains one of the most memorable deaths ever filmed for TV. I have it on DVD and occasionally watch it as a masterclass in offbeat, unpredictable crime drama. Anthony Horowitz. 79. Seinfeld - BBC2 (1993) Seinfeld would always be shown at some crazy late hour on BBC2 and my dad would break his hard and fast bedtime rule to stay up and watch it with me. We adored it. The best episodes give you that feeling of being at the top of a rollercoaster, poised for the moment when the gag drops and you plunge into the giddy joy of helpless laughter until it hurts. Sarah Phelps. 80. Homicide: Life on the Street - C4 (1993) Far grubbier and more visceral than the more fêted NYPD Blue, this US crime drama brought a cinematic flair and indie sensibility to TV. Revolutionary at the time, you can see its influence in everything that followed, from The Wire and The Sopranos through to True Detective and The Bear. Peter Bowker. 81. Frasier - C4 (1994) The best situation comedy. Ever. Gyles Brandreth. 82. Panorama: An Interview with HRH the Princess of Wales - BBC1 (1995) Trying to destroy the monarchy… and failing. Joan Bakewell. 83. The Royle Family - BBC2 (1998) The 2006 episode The Queen of Sheba was the high-water mark of Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash’s brilliant, ground-breaking comedy. I laughed, cried, admired. It was perfection. Jeff Pope. 84. In Our Time - Radio 4 (1998) Melvyn Bragg takes apart a concept or subject as diverse as a whole library. It’s simple and straightforward, and a reminder of what works best on the radio. Smart people saying smart things is always better than stupid people shouting stupid things. Paddy O’Connell. 85. dinnerladies - BBC1 (1998) The brilliant punchlines, jokes and expressions stay with us and form a family language. Libby Purves. 86. Queer as Folk - C4 (1999) The show that introduced me to the genius of Russell T Davies! God, it was so thrillingly alive. It was swaggering and subversive and joyous; greedy for love and sex, for everything. I’d watch with a huge delighted grin plastered all over my face. So rambunctious and so very tender, it was just glorious. Sarah Phelps. 87. The Sopranos - C4 (1999) In my opinion, quite simply the finest TV series ever made. To keep up that quality and excellence over 86 episodes was jaw-dropping. They never put a foot wrong. Jeff Pope. 88. The West Wing - Sky 1 (2000) Funnier than most comedies, more romantic than ballet, it was a show that made you feel smarter just by watching it. I wished all the characters were real. Caroline Frost. 89. Popworld - C4 (2001) Watching my daughter Miquita and Simon Amstell changing not only how broadcasters looked but the way that they conducted interviews made me so proud! Hilarious and irreverent but never unkind, all youth music programming has sought to emulate that impact ever since. Andi Oliver. 90. Someone, Somewhere - Radio 4 (2001) An afternoon play on Radio 4 written by Pat Davis and produced by Toby Swift. Empathetic and unbearably moving. I stood in my kitchen, stock still, holding my breath so I didn’t miss the tiniest detail. Such is the quiet power of radio, giving a young woman’s voice back to her through her diaries. Sarah Phelps. 91. Breaking Bad - FX (2008) If Shakespeare had written for TV, he might have come up with this. I binge-watched it again recently and was knocked out by Bryan Cranston’s descent into pure evil, the way he holds our sympathy even as he commits terrible crimes. Writer Vince Gilligan is a man I’d love to meet! Anthony Horowitz. 92. Modern Family - Sky 1 (2009) This American comedy series got little love in the UK, but for my family it was essential viewing for its gentle but unsentimental and sharply observed take on family life. My grown-up kids still watch recordings of it in preference to anything else. In fact, it’s the only TV they watch. Justin Webb. 93. Nurse Jackie - BBC2 (2010) This witty, clever, fast-paced drama was set in the emergency room of a hospital in New York City. The eponymous heroine was Jackie Peyton, a senior nurse who very much had her own way of doing things. She was a richly complex character, played with fabulous vigour by Edie Falco. Sally Wainwright. 94. Endeavour - ITV (2012) Exquisitely delicate performances, a subtle script and elegiac production qualities made for a prequel that became peerless crime drama. Caroline Frost. 95. Killing Eve - BBC3 (2018) This was the most wonderfully innovative piece of television for a very long time. Not only does it have a remarkable if unorthodox love story at its heart, but you find yourself rooting for a heartless assassin. Tony Jordan. 96. Succession - Sky Atlantic (2018) When creator Jesse Armstrong swapped a flatshare in Croydon (Peep Show) for the brutal family dysfunction of a boardroom in Manhattan, the world took notice. Whiplash-inducing dialogue and ambitious direction made this satire the new benchmark for quality longform TV drama. Tom Loxley. 97. After Life - Netflix (2019) Even in a career that boasts The Office and Extras, this inky-black comedy of grief and surprising solace has to be Ricky Gervais’s finest hour. Caroline Frost. 98. PM’s coverage of the Covid crisis - Radio 4 (2020) With presenter Evan Davis always interested and humane, PM felt its way through the pandemic as we all sat trapped, doing jigsaws or stomping around for exercise. Libby Purves. 99. Small Axe - BBC1 (2020) In five revelatory films, Steve McQueen’s astonishing account of the lives of Black Britons in the 1960s, '70s and '80s features a brilliant cast of young Black actors reliving the memories of their own parents’ lives. In the words of McQueen: “These are the untold stories that make up our nation.” Alan Yentob. 100. The Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II - BBC TV, radio, ITV, Sky (2022) An event that marked the century. Her funeral and the television coverage of it signified not just Great Britain and the Commonwealth, but the life of a woman who had seen so many changes during her reign. Angela Rippon. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Radio Times celebrates 100 years with special anniversary issue
It's time to don your party hats and raise your remote controls in a toast to a remarkable 100 years of Radio Times! Find out what's inside the special souvenir issue on sale Tuesday 19th September.
When Radio Times first hit the nation's newsstands on 28th September 1923, most of Britain had barely heard of broadcasting. But now, the magazine carries listings for 86 TV channels and 63 radio stations, hundreds of daily programme recommendations and all the mainstream streaming services. Radio Times also exists as a website, an app, a weekly podcast (or two) and no longer sends the majority of its issues to the nation's newsstands but directly by post to hundreds of thousands of subscribers. To mark this momentous occasion, the special anniversary issue continues Radio Times' long tradition of illustrated covers with a cover designed by Peter Horridge. The issue has a choice of one of four Radio Times logos from the last 100 years: the original design from 1923; Radio Times' post-war logo which ran between 1946 and 1960; Radio Times' longest-running logo, which graced the front page from 1972 to 19994; and the current logo, introduced in 2004. Tom Loxley and Shem Law, Radio Times Joint Editors, say: “Since its launch Radio Times has been at the heart of the national conversation, covering the momentous historical events, from Royal weddings, funerals, Coronations and births, the outbreak of war and declaration of peace, Moon landings, Olympics - and the best TV and radio from the last 100 years. "We’ve overseen the development of the radio age, the birth of television and colour television, through to the current broadcasting revolution and an ever-increasing choice of content, service providers and ways to consume. "And as Radio Times turns 100, it remains even more relevant than ever, with more choice there’s never been a great need for expert guidance for our audience on what’s the best content and how you can get it. Here’s to the next 100 years!” What's inside the 100th-anniversary issue: The historian Simon Schama explains how culturally important TV and radio are to us as a nation and what an important part Radio Times has played in that over 100 years Melvyn Bragg, Professor Brian Cox, Angela Rippon and many more celebrate 100 years of history as told through the unique prism of Radio Times covers A panel of industry experts pick the 100 best television and radio programmes that define the past century of broadcasting Simon Barnes takes us through the biggest sporting moments. Including when Radio Times sponsored the scoreboard at Wembley! Justin Webb (from Radio 4’s Today Programme) tells us about how his grandfather was the first RT editor Test your knowledge with our two centenary quizzes! Readers share their memories of enjoying Radio Times through the decades Friend of the magazine Gyles Brandreth tells us about how much he loves Radio Times Watch the cover come to life in our video below! HOW TO BUY - ON SALE TUESDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2023 IN STORES & ONLINE: As well as in-store at supermarkets and newsagents, you can pick up these special issues online with your favourite retailers: Asda, Sainsbury's and Waitrose. DIGITAL EDITION: You can download our digital edition and get instant access on your chosen device, click here to buy yours.
The Radio Times x Emma Bridgewater centenary mug is available now
We've been hard at work collaborating with Emma Bridgewater to create a commemorative mug for our 100th birthday.
After a century of publishing all the latest information about your radio, television, film, streaming and podcasting broadcasts, we at Radio Times thought it was about time we took a minute to sit back and relax with a cup of tea – and who better to collaborate with than acclaimed British ceramicist Emma Bridgewater, as we mark our 100th birthday on 28th September? After running a number of hugely popular competitions with Emma Bridgewater to celebrate some key moments, including the recent King's Coronation, we knew this would be the perfect partnership to celebrate our momentous anniversary. We've teamed up to create an exclusive, limited edition Radio Times centenary mug, illustrated by Matthew Rice (a frequent collaborator on Emma Bridgewater pottery) to tell the story of Radio Times throughout the years. With elements from throughout Radio Times' history showing how listening and viewing habits have changed throughout our 100 years of publishing, the beautiful design reflects on the cosy moments that crowding round a television can bring, whether it be awe-inspiring feats of humankind, tear-jerking dramas, or sickly-sweet romances – all are washed down with a cup of something hot from the Radio Times x Emma Bridgewater mug. With a half-pint volume, it’s the perfect size to sip from as you peruse your weekly copy of Radio Times. Get yours now from the Radio Times Shop here - limited stock available! View Green Video on the source website As you can see in the video above, Emma's team have been hard at work this summer creating the mugs in the Stoke-on-Trent workshops, painstakingly applying the artwork to each item prior to the firing process setting it in place, then every piece is checked by a member of the team before being sent out to ensure only the highest quality products are delivered! As Emma says: "How can the Radio Times have been a key part of home life for a whole CENTURY?! Surprising because it just always feels – and is! – so very much at the heart of the matter, setting us up, every week. So I couldn't be happier: Radio Times in hand – plus of course, cups of tea all round... We are all so proud of this mug." Get the Radio Times x Emma Bridgewater centenary mug by clicking here Radio Times magazine subscribers get 10% off all purchases – simply enter your subscriber number when prompted at checkout. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Radio Times turns 100 – look back on the first ever issue
In celebration of our centenary in September, we've delved into the archives to see where it all began.
The BBC was only months old when in January 1923, John Reith, the BBC's first director-general, received an ultimatum from the Newspaper Publishers' Association warning him that if the corporation didn't pay a hefty fee, none of the NPA's publications would carry radio listings. The embargo was short-lived, but long enough to give Reith the idea of publishing a dedicated listings magazine. The first edition of The Radio Times, "the official organ of the BBC", duly appeared on newsstands on 28th September 1923. The publication emerged onto the British media landscape, forever changing the way the nation engaged with entertainment. The inaugural issue of the Radio Times marked the dawn of a new era in broadcasting history. A century later, we fondly look back on that momentous debut that set the stage for a publication that would become an integral part of British culture. On the first ever Radio Times cover, the BBC's Director of Programmes Arthur Burrows welcomed readers and set out plans for the corporation and its exciting new publication. "Hullo, everyone," he wrote. "We will now give you The Radio Times. The good new times. The Bradshaw of Broadcasting. "May you never be late for your favourite wave-train. Speed 186,000 miles per second; five-hour non-stops. Family season ticket: First Class, 10s. per year." Some of the "special contents" inside the first ever issue included "gossip about artistes", "wireless humour" and, of course, "letters from listeners". Fast forward to the present, and Radio Times has evolved into more than just a guide to radio schedules. Over the decades, it has expanded its coverage to include television, cinema, podcasts and the ever-growing landscape of digital streaming. From royal weddings to moon landings, from the iconic Doctor Who to the gripping Happy Valley, Radio Times has stood witness to the changing tides of entertainment, chronicling the moments that have shaped our cultural zeitgeist. Radio Times has grown beyond its modest beginnings, but its essence – the joy of discovering, the thrill of anticipation, and the power of shared experiences – remains as potent as ever. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in entertainment, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
10 Radio Times covers from key moments in history
Take a journey through history and explore 10 pivotal moments immortalised on Radio Times covers, from coronations to the moon landing!
Since its inception in 1923, Radio Times magazine has stood as an unwavering companion to households across the nation, guiding us through the ever-evolving world of broadcast entertainment. As we delve into the magazine's rich history to celebrate our 100th birthday, here's our pick of 10 pivotal moments in time, immortalised on a Radio Times cover. 1936 - Start of television Blue and black ink on yellow paper! This was the prelude to what became the television edition of Radio Times which was only available in London as other parts of the country were outside the range of the Alexandra Palace transmitter. 1937 - Coronation of George VI As the BBC covered all significant national events, so did Radio Times. The first of these was the Coronation of George VI in 1937. A colour cover and an 8-page supplement set a standard for future special editions and 3,540,547 copies were sold. 1939 - Start of WWII The normal issue for 3rd-9th September was already out when the Prime Minister broadcast to the nation, and declared that a state of war existed between Britain and Germany. The next day, this emergency issue, numbered 831A, hit the newsstands. 1945 - VE Day After six years of war, this was a very significant occasion for RT to mark, but wartime shortages meant there was no possibility of a colour cover and the austerity page count of 20 could only go up to 24. 1953 - Coronation of Elizabeth II Of the many special issues that marked royal occasions, this one for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 was the best-selling of all: 9,012,358 copies. 1966 - Football World Cup Jack Dunkley’s bold illustration for the 1966 Football World Cup might have seemed like a good omen but, at the time of issue, no one knew how well it would end for England. 1967 - Start of Radio 1 The fab image of the BBC’s new pop station perhaps, but not a DJ from the newly launched network. In fact, we are still trying to identify this lady. Does anyone recognise her? She’ll be a little older now! 1969 - Moon landing Apollo 11 takes off for the first moon landing in July 1969. Radio Times marked this historic landmark with a special colour section to explain the mission and the science behind it. 1999/2000 - Millennium This was an enlargement of part of the Christmas cover which featured the same child-angel, only this version allows us to see the crystal ball in close-up. 2022 - Queen's death A moment to pause and reflect on the Queen’s service to the nation. Radio Times recalled the late monarch at the start of her reign. Shop our heritage Radio Times cover prints today. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.