1982 in British television

Overview of the events of 1982 in British television

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This is a list of British television related events from 1982.

Contents

• 
  1 Events
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 January
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 February
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 March
    
  
  
  • 
    1.4 April
    
  
  
  • 
    1.5 May
    
  
  
  • 
    1.6 June
    
  
  
  • 
    1.7 July
    
  
  
  • 
    1.8 August
    
  
  
  • 
    1.9 September
    
  
  
  • 
    1.10 October
    
  
  
  • 
    1.11 November
    
  
  
  • 
    1.12 December
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Debuts
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 BBC1
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 BBC2
    
  
  
  • 
    2.3 ITV
    
  
  
  • 
    2.4 Channel 4
    
  
  
  • 
    2.5 S4C
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 New Channels
  


• 
  4 Television shows
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 Changes of network affiliation
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 1920s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.3 1930s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.4 1940s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.5 1950s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.6 1960s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.7 1970s
    
  
  
  • 
    4.8 1980s
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 Ending this year
  


• 
  6 Births
  


• 
  7 Deaths
  


• 
  8 See also
  


• 
  9 References
  

Events

January

• 1 January –
  
  
  
  • 
    Central Independent Television starts broadcasting in the English Midlands, replacing ATV, TVS starts broadcasting to the South and South East of England, replacing Southern, and TSW starts broadcasting to the South West, replacing Westward.
  
  
  • The Bluebell Hill transmitter in Kent is transferred from Thames/LWT to TVS, to increase the size of TVS's new South East sub-region and the Kendal transmitter, covering much of southern Cumbria, is transferred from Granada to Border.^[1]
    
  
  
  • 
    Yorkshire extends its coverage on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border when transmitters covering Todmorden and Walsden are transferred from the Granada region.^[2][3]
    
  
  
  • In London, the Friday handover from Thames to LWT is moved from 7.00pm to 5.15pm.
  
  
  • The first showing on British television of Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is aired as part of BBC1's New Year's Day lineup.^[4]
    
  
  
  
  


• 3 January – Final edition of The Generation Game to be presented by Larry Grayson. It is a compilation of highlights of the previous series.^[5]
  


• 4 January – Peter Davison makes his first full appearance as the Fifth Doctor in the Doctor Who serial "Castrovalva".


• 8 January – Launch of London Weekend Television's Friday evening magazine programme The Six O'Clock Show. Until December 1987 the programme includes a fifteen minute news bulletin produced by Thames Television and titled Thames Weekend News.

February

• February – The first-ever 3D broadcast in the UK is screened by Television South. The programme includes excerpts of test footage shot by Philips in the Netherlands. Red/green 3D glasses were given away free with copies of the TV Times listings magazine, but the 3D sections of the programme were shown in monochrome.

March

• 5 March – The BBC is given permission by the Government to start broadcasting television programmes on two satellite channels from early 1986.^[6] Ultimately, however, the channels were not launched.


• 28 March – The British television premiere of the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me on ITV.^[7]
  

April

• 2 April – The Falklands War begins as Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.^[8] Both the BBC and ITV broadcast additional and extended news bulletins throughout the conflict.


• 24 April – The 27th Eurovision Song Contest is held in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The contest is presented by Jan Leeming and won by Germany's Nicole with Ein bißchen Frieden.


• 26 April – "The Satellite Channel" is launched. In 1984 it is renamed Sky Channel after it is purchased by Rupert Murdoch and in 1989 it becomes known as Sky One. Today it is named Sky1.^[9]
  

May

• 1 May – British television debut of the US soap opera Dynasty.^[10]
  


• 28 May–2 June – The BBC and ITV provide extensive live coverage of Pope John Paul II's visit to the United Kingdom.

June

• 14 June – The Falklands War ends after Argentina surrenders.^[8]
  


• 17 June – American musical high school drama Fame starts airing on UK television on BBC1.


• 20 June – The BBC relaunches its Sunday morning programme for the Asian community. The new programme is called Asian Magazine.^[11]
  


• 26 July – Alasdair Milne succeeds Ian Trethowan as Director-General of the BBC.

July

• 9 July – British television premiere of science-fiction horror film Alien on ITV.

August

• August – Test broadcasts commence for Channel 4 and S4C. These mainly consist of showing the IBA's testcard ETP-1.

September

• 20 September – The first showing of BBC Schools' first computer generated ident takes place.

October

• 3–9 October – As part of its coverage of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, the BBC broadcasts a two-hour breakfast programme Breakfast with Brisbane. The programme includes regular news summaries. This is the first time the BBC has broadcast a scheduled news bulletin at breakfast and comes three months ahead of the launch of Breakfast Time.^[12]
  


• 10 October – Boys from the Blackstuff premieres on BBC2 (last episode was shown on 7 November).


• 17 October – First showing on British television of Lord of the Flies on BBC2.^[13]
  


• 24 October – British television premiere of Star Wars on ITV.

November

• 1 November – S4C, the first Welsh language TV service is launched.^[14]
  


• 2 November – Channel 4 starts broadcasting in the UK at 4:45pm.^[14] The first programme shown is the game show Countdown, which, barring the news, is the only programme from the launch night that is still running today. The first ever episode of Brookside is broadcast. The programme was shown on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00pm.


• 3 November – Television debut of the nostalgic coming-of-age film P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang on Channel 4, a film produced by David Puttnam as part of the First Love series.^[15]
  


• 5 November – Debut of Channel 4's innovative music programme The Tube.


• 7 November – Coverage of American football is first shown on Channel 4 at 5.30pm, beginning the channel's several years of association with the sport. The programme is initially presented by Nicky Horne and Miles Aiken. Due to an NFL players strike over pay negotiation rules the programme is forced to show matches played earlier in the season. In spite of this, and because of the British viewing public's limited knowledge of American football, coverage of the sport proves to be popular. The players have ended their action by January 1983, enabling Channel 4 to air live coverage of that year's Super Bowl.^[16]
  


• 7–28 November – The London Weekend Television epic production The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is aired by Channel 4 over its first four Sunday evenings on air.^[17]
  


• 8 November – Channel 4 begins airing basketball coverage, presented by Simon Reed and Miles Aiken. Each week sees coverage of a match from Division One of the National Basketball League, with highlights of the first half of the game and live coverage of the second half. The first match to be shown is a game between the Birmingham Bullets and Crystal Palace.^[16]
  


• 9 November – The first edition of anarchic sitcom The Young Ones starring Rik Mayall is transmitted on BBC2.


• 14 November – The viewer complaints programme Right to Reply first airs on Channel 4.^[18]
  


• November/December – A dispute over new technology forces Border Television to close for around a month.^[19]
  

December

• 2 December – 10.2 million viewers saw a classic comedy scene from the Only Fools and Horses episode "A Touch of Glass" in which the Trotters accidentally smash a priceless chandelier.


• 23 December – Service Information is broadcast on BBC2 for the final time.


• 26 December – Premiere of The Snowman on Channel 4.^[17]
  


• 27 December –
  
  
  
  • British television premiere of the James Bond film Moonraker on ITV.^[7]
    
  
  
  • Channel 4 airs its first theme night, Fifties to the Fore. The evening includes episodes of ABC and ATV shows such as Armchair Theatre and Oh Boy.^[17]
    
  
  
  
  


• December – ITV conducts a national 3D experiment, with red/blue glasses allowing colour 3D to be shown for the first time. The programme, an episode of the weekly science magazine The Real World (produced by TVS) is shown on a weekday evening, and repeated that weekend on Sunday afternoon, followed by a rare screening of the Western Fort Ti starring George Montgomery and Joan Vohs.

Debuts

BBC1

• 28 January – Goodbye, Mr Kent (1982)


• 16 April – Odd One Out (1982–1985)


• 4 May – Wogan (1982–1992)


• 17 June – Fame (1982–1987)


• 4 September – The Late, Late Breakfast Show (1982–1986)


• 29 September – The Jockey School (1982)


• 2 October – Saturday Superstore (1982–1987)


• 30 December – 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)

BBC2

• 1 September – Timewatch (1982–present)


• 10 October – Boys from the Blackstuff (1982)


• 9 November – The Young Ones (1982–1984)

ITV

• 1 January – Central News (1982–present)


• 2 January –
  
  
  
  • 
    No. 73 (1982–1988)
  
  
  • 
    O.T.T. (1982)
  
  
  
  


• 3 January – Airline (1982)


• 4 January – Let's Pretend (1982–1988)


• 5 January – CBTV (1982–1985)


• 8 January – Shine on Harvey Moon (1982–1985, 1995)


• 16 February – On Safari (1982–1985)


• 1 March – Murphy's Mob (1982–1985)


• 29 March – 3-2-1 Contact (1980–1988)


• 16 April – The Bounder (1982–1983)


• 9 June – Andy Robson (1982–1983)


• 6 July – Pullover (1982)


• 12 July – A.J. Wentworth, B.A. (1982)


• 13 September – Hold Tight! (1982–1987)


• 25 October –
  
  
  
  • 
    Foxy Lady (1982–1984)
  
  
  • 
    Harry's Game (1982)
  
  
  
  


• 30 October – The Saturday Show (1982–1984)

Channel 4

• 2 November –
  
  
  
  • 
    Countdown (1982–present)
  
  
  • 
    Brookside (1982–2003)
  
  
  • 
    Channel 4 News (1982–present)
  
  
  • 
    The Comic Strip Presents (1982–2005)
  
  
  
  


• 5 November – The Tube (1982–1987)


• 14 November – Right to Reply (1982–2001)


• 26 December – The Snowman (1982)


• 28 December – Treasure Hunt (1982–1989)

S4C

• 1 November – Newyddion (1982–present)


• 3 November – Y Byd ar Bedwar (1982–present)

New Channels

Date	Channel
26 April	Satellite Television
1 November	S4C
2 November	Channel 4

Television shows

Changes of network affiliation

Show	Moved from	Moved to
Rising Damp	ITV	Channel 4

1920s

• 
  BBC Wimbledon (1927–present)

1930s

• 
  BBC Cricket (1939–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s

• 
  Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• 
  The Good Old Days (1953–1983)


• 
  Panorama (1953–present)


• 
  Crackerjack (1955–1984)


• 
  What the Papers Say (1956–2008)


• 
  The Sky at Night (1957–present)


• 
  Blue Peter (1958–present)


• 
  Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s

• 
  Coronation Street (1960–present)


• 
  Songs of Praise (1961–present)


• 
  Animal Magic (1962–1983)


• 
  Doctor Who (1963–1989,1993,1996,2005–present)


• 
  World in Action (1963–1998)


• 
  Top of the Pops (1964–2006)


• 
  Match of the Day (1964–present)


• 
  Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)


• 
  Play School (1964–1988)


• 
  Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999, 2008–2010, 2012–present)


• 
  World of Sport (1965–1985)


• 
  Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006)


• 
  Sportsnight (1965–1997)


• 
  Call My Bluff (1965–2005)


• 
  The Money Programme (1966–2010)


• 
  The Big Match (1968–2002)


• 
  Nationwide (1969–1983)


• 
  Screen Test (1969–1984)

1970s

• 
  The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)


• 
  The Two Ronnies (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)


• 
  Crown Court (1972–1984)


• 
  Pebble Mill at One (1972–1986)


• 
  Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)


• 
  Emmerdale (1972–present)


• 
  Newsround (1972–present)


• 
  Weekend World (1972–1988)


• 
  We Are the Champions (1973–1987)


• 
  Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)


• 
  That's Life! (1973–1994)


• 
  Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)


• 
  Arena (1975–present)


• 
  Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)


• 
  Rentaghost (1976–1984)


• 
  One Man and His Dog (1976–present)


• 
  Open All Hours (1976, 1981–1982, 1985)


• 
  The Professionals (1977–1983)


• 
  Butterflies (1978–1983, 2000)


• 
  3-2-1 (1978–1988)


• 
  Grange Hill (1978–2008)


• 
  Terry and June (1979–1987)


• 
  The Book Tower (1979–1989)


• 
  Blankety Blank (1979–1990, 1997–2002)


• 
  The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1979–1994)


• 
  Antiques Roadshow (1979–present)


• 
  Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

• 
  The Gentle Touch (1980–1984)


• 
  Juliet Bravo (1980–1985)


• 
  Cockleshell Bay (1980–1986)


• 
  Children in Need (1980–present)


• 
  The Gaffer (1981–1983)


• 
  A Fine Romance (1981–1984)


• 
  Punchlines (1981–1984)


• 
  Finders Keepers (1981–1985, 1991–1996, 2006)


• 
  Freetime (1981–1985)


• 
  Game for a Laugh (1981–1985)


• 
  Tenko (1981–1985)


• 
  That's My Boy (1981–1986)


• 
  Razzamatazz (1981–1987)


• 
  Bergerac (1981–1991)


• 
  BBC News After Noon (1981–1986)


• 
  Sorry! (1981–1988)

Ending this year

• Unknown –
  
  
  
  • 
    How (1966–1982)
  
  
  • 
    Boys from the Blackstuff (1982)
  
  
  • 
    Harry's Game (1982)
  
  
  • 
    O.T.T. (1982)
  
  
  
  


• 1 January – Clapperboard (1972–1982)


• 13 February – The Goodies (1970–1982)


• 6 March – Dick Turpin (1979–1982)


• 8 March – Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)


• 27 March – Multi-Coloured Swap Shop (1976–1982)


• 2 April – Friday Night, Saturday Morning (1979–1982)


• 3 April – Tiswas (1974–1982)


• 25 April – Open All Hours (1976, 1981–1982, 1985, 2013)


• 30 July – It's a Knockout (1966–1982, 1999–2001)


• 31 August – Sapphire & Steel (1979–1982)


• 8 September – Into the Labyrinth (1980–1982)


• 15 October – Something Else (1978–1982)


• 20 October – Strangers (1978–1982)


• 16 December – Only When I Laugh (1979–1982)


• 27 December – Sorry! (1981–1982, 1985–1988)

Births

• 3 January – Amanda Robbins, model


• 20 January – Joe Swash, actor


• 9 March – Paul 'Des' Ballard, television presenter


• 22 March – Pete Bennett, reality show contestant


• 9 April – Jennifer Maguire, reality show contestant and television presenter


• 24 April – Laura Hamilton, television presenter


• 28 April – Nikki Grahame, model, dancer and television personality


• 7 June – Amy Nuttall, actress and opera singer


• 3 September – Fearne Cotton, television presenter


• 22 September – Billie Piper, singer and actress


• 28 October – Matt Smith, actor


• 29 November – Imogen Thomas, reality show contestant


• 21 December – Tom Payne, soap actor

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Cinematic Credibility
21 March	Harry H. Corbett	57	actor (Steptoe and Son)
15 April	Arthur Lowe	66	actor (Dad's Army, Coronation Street)
12 July	Kenneth More	67	actor
4 November	Talfryn Thomas	60	actor (Dad's Army)
16 November	Arthur Askey	82	comedian
2 December	Marty Feldman	48	comedian and actor (At Last the 1948 Show, Marty)

See also

• 1982 in British music


• 1982 in British radio


• 1982 in the United Kingdom


• List of British films of 1982

References

1. 
   ^ Peter Fiddick "ITV's framework for survival in the eighties", The Guardian; 25 January 1980; p.2
   


2. 
   ^ ITV's framework for survival in the eighties: Expectations of a harsh ... The Guardian (1959–2003); 25 January 1980;
   


3. 
   ^ £5m for staff who seek TV franchise. By Kenneth Gosling. The Times, Monday, 12 May 1980;
   


4. 
   ^ "2001: A Space Odyssey – BBC One London – 1 January 1982 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


5. 
   ^ "Larry Grayson's Generation Game – BBC One London – 3 January 1982". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
   


6. 
   ^ "On This Day – March 5, 1982". London: Times Online. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
   


7. 
   ^ ^ab "James Bond On TV – Movies". MI6 – The Home Of James Bond 007. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
   


8. 
   ^ ^ab Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 978-0-14-102715-9.
   


9. 
   ^ Beaumont, Ian. "Sky One". Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
   


10. 
    ^ "Dynasty – BBC One London – 1 May 1982 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
    


11. 
    ^ "BBC One London – 20 June 1982 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
    


12. 
    ^ "BBC One London – 3 October 1982 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
    


13. 
    ^ "Film of the Week: Lord of the Flies – BBC Two England – 17 October 1982 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
    


14. 
    ^ ^ab "25 facts from Channel 4's 25 years". BBC News. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
    


15. 
    ^ "BFI Screenonline: P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang (1982)". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
    


16. 
    ^ ^ab "Part One (1982–1992): "Suddenly The Refrigerator Was a Bigger Name Than Gary Lineker" : Off The Telly". Retrieved 23 January 2019.
    


17. 
    ^ ^abc "1982 : Off The Telly". Retrieved 23 January 2019.
    


18. 
    ^ BFI.org.uk (episode capsule)
    


19. 
    ^ "News in Brief" The Times (London, England), Thursday, 16 Dec 1982; pg. 3;
    

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