1983 in British television

Overview of the events of 1983 in British television

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This is a list of British television related events from 1983.

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
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Television shows
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 Changes of network affiliation
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 1920s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 1930s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.4 1940s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.5 1950s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.6 1960s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.7 1970s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.8 1980s
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 Ending this year
  


• 
  5 Births
  


• 
  6 Deaths
  


• 
  7 See also
  


• 
  8 References
  

Events

January

• 1 January – Channel 4 airs One in Five, a late-night profile of homosexual lifestyles. This programme and The Eleventh Hour: Veronica 4 Rose, featuring two schoolgirls discussing lesbianism, lead to extreme criticism for the channel, and an attempt by Conservative MP John Carlisle to have the channel banned.^[1]
  


• 3 January – Children's ITV premieres on ITV as a programming block.


• 17 January – At 6.30am, Britain's first-ever breakfast television show, Breakfast Time, launches on BBC1.


• January – BBC1 starts broadcasting a full afternoon service, consisting of regional programmes, repeats and old feature films.

February

• 1 February – TV-am launches on ITV, with Good Morning Britain.


• 6 February – The Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters makes its British television debut when Central becomes the first ITV region to begin screening the programme. All other ITV regions soon follow suit.


• 8 February – Minipops premieres on Channel 4. Though a ratings success, it is axed after only one series due to heavy media criticism.


• 17 February – Woodland Animations introduces a new stop-motion animated series, Gran, to BBC1 following the success of Postman Pat.


• 23 February – After months of "will she or won't she?" drama, Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) makes the choice to break up with Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) and reunite with her estranged husband Ken (William Roache) on Coronation Street. The episode was one of the highest-rated in the soap's history.


• 28 February – TV-am cuts its Daybreak programme to thirty minutes, allowing Good Morning Britain to begin half an hour earlier. Original Daybreak presenters Robert Kee and Angela Rippon are both replaced, with Gavin Scot (Weekdays) and Lynda Barry (weekends).^[2][3]
  

March

• late February/early March – The BBC begins broadcasting a 30-minute Ceefax slot prior to the start of Breakfast Time. It is called Ceefax AM. It is first mentioned in the Radio Times on 21 March.^[4]
  


• 18 March – Amid falling ratings and mounting pressure from investors, Peter Jay steps aside as TV-am's Chief Executive allowing Jonathan Aitken to take on the role.^[5][6][7]
  

April

• 1 April – Roland Rat makes his first appearance on TV-am.^[8] Created by David Claridge and launched by TV-am Children's editor Anne Wood to entertain younger viewers during the Easter holidays,^[9][10] Roland is generally regarded as TV-am's saviour, being described as "the only rat to join a sinking ship".^[11]
  


• 7 April – ITV airs an evening of programmes under the banner of ITV’s Channel Four Showcase. It includes both current and upcoming Channel 4 programmes.^[1]
  


• 12 April – Timothy Aitken succeeds his cousin Jonathan as chief executive of TV-am due to the IBA rules regarding MPs operating a television station.^[12]
  


• 19 April – Angela Rippon and Anna Ford are axed from TV-am.^[13]
  


• 29 April – Michael Parkinson is appointed to TV-am's board of directors.^[14]
  

May

• 2 May – From today Ceefax pages are broadcast during all daytime downtime although BBC2 continues to fully close down for four hours after Play School. Teletext transmissions also begin on Channel 4 at around this time.


• 5 May – Top of the Pops celebrates its 1000th edition. The programme is also broadcast on BBC Radio 1 to allow viewers to listen to the programme in stereo.^[15]
  


• 11 May – Peter Adamson makes his last appearance as Len Fairclough on Coronation Street.


• 17 May – Engineering Announcements is broadcast on ITV for the final time.^[16]
  


• 23 May – TV-am's new look starts.^[17]Daybreak is axed, with Good Morning Britain extending to start at 6:25 am. Commander David Philpott is moved to present the weather at the weekends only, with Wincey Willis becoming the new weekday weather presenter.^[18]
  


• 24 May – Engineering Announcements is shown on Channel 4 for the first time.

June

• 9–10 June – BBC1 and ITV broadcast coverage of the 1983 general election.


• 15 June – The first episode of The Black Adder, the first in the successful Blackadder series of sitcoms, debuts on BBC One.


• 24 June – BBC Schools programmes are broadcast as For Schools, Colleges, and on BBC1, for the final time ahead of their move to BBC2 in the autumn.


• 27 June – The shareholders of Satellite Television agree a £5 million offer to give News International 65% of the company.^[19][20]
  

July

• 29 July – Hit US action-adventure series of the 1980s The A-Team is shown for the first time in the UK on ITV.

August

• 16 August – ITV broadcasts Woodentop as part of its Storyboard series. It would later be turned into a series and re-titled The Bill, commencing in October 1984 and lasting until August 2010.


• 27–28 August – BBC2 Rocks Around the Clock by broadcasting non-stop music programmes all day and also all night.^[21]
  


• 29 August – Blockbusters is launched on ITV, hosted by Bob Holness and features sixth-form students as contestants.

September

• 6 September – ITV broadcasts Killer. It would later be turned into a series and re-titled Taggart.


• 12 September – Animated series for children Henry's Cat created by veteran British animators Stan Hayward and Bob Godfrey begins its screening on BBC1.


• 16 September – BBC2 closes down during the day for the final time – all future daytime downtime is filled by Pages from Ceefax.


• 19 September – Daytime on Two launches on BBC2. Broadcasting during termtime from just after 9am until 3pm, the strand encompasses the BBC Schools programming previously shown on BBC1 and the BBC's adult educational programmes which are shown at lunchtime. A special version of the BBC Two 'Computer Generated 2' ident is launched to introduce the programmes.


• September – Central finally launches its East Midlands service. An industrial dispute had prevented Central from launching its East Midlands service when it first went on air at the start of 1982.

October

• 2 October – ITV shows a live top flight football match for the first time since 1960. This marks the start of English football being shown on a national basis rather than on a regional basis, resulting in The Big Match becoming a fully national programme.


• 4 October – BBC1 broadcasts the Welsh children's animated series SuperTed which was based on a series of stories written by Welsh writer, producer and animator Mike Young to help his son overcome his fear of the dark. The series had been so popular it was spawned into merchandising and was broadcast in many countries worldwide.


• 9 October – Channel 4 broadcasts Tony Harrison’s The Oresteia, an adaptation of classical Greek myths.^[1]
  


• 12 October – Doris Speed makes her last appearance as Annie Walker on Coronation Street.


• 24 October – Sixty Minutes launches on BBC1, replacing Nationwide but it ended less than a year later.

November

• 17 November – Debut of the film Those Glory Glory Days on Channel 4, part of the First Love series.^[22]
  


• 23 November – 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who.


• 25 November – The BBC airs "The Five Doctors", a 90-minute episode of Doctor Who made to celebrate its 20th anniversary.


• ITV's animated series Danger Mouse viewing figures reach 21.59 million,^[23] an all-time high for a British children's programme.

December

• 21 December – First showing on British television of The Fog, John Carpenter's 1980 horror film, which airs on BBC1.^[24]
  


• 27 December – BBC2 shows the British television debut of Oh, God!, Carl Reiner's comedy about an unassuming supermarket manager chosen by God to spread his message, and starring George Burns and John Denver.^[25]
  

Debuts

BBC1

• 5 January – Captain Zep – Space Detective (1983–1984)


• 12 January – Skorpion (1983)


• 17 January – Breakfast Time (1983–1989)


• 17 February – Gran (1983)


• 23 February – The Machine Gunners (1983)


• 8 March – Baker Street Boys (1983)


• 5 June – The Hot Shoe Show (1983–1984)


• 15 June – Blackadder (1983–1989)


• 12 September – Henry's Cat (1983–1995)


• 13 September – The Dark Side of the Sun (1983)


• 22 September – Just Good Friends (1983–1986)


• 3 October – Bananaman (1983–1986)


• 4 October – SuperTed (1983–1986)


• 16 October –
  
  
  
  • 
    By the Sword Divided (1983–1985)
  
  
  • 
    Sweet Sixteen (1983)
  
  
  
  


• 24 October – Sixty Minutes (1983–1984)


• 25 October – Don't Wait Up (1983–1990)


• 7 November – So You Want to be Top? (1983–1985)


• 10 November – Johnny Jarvis (1983)

BBC2

• 10 January – Making the Most of the Micro (1983)


• 10 March – Tucker's Luck (1983–1985)


• 7 July – The Crystal Cube (1983)


• 2 October – Micro Live (1983–1987)

ITV

• 3 January – Children's ITV (Afternoon block 1983–2007, Morning block 1983–present)


• 5 January – Unknown Chaplin (1983)


• 10 January – Alphabet Zoo (1983–1984)


• 24 January – The Moomins (1983–1985)


• 1 February –
  
  
  
  • 
    Daybreak (1983)
  
  
  • 
    Good Morning Britain (1983–1992)
  
  
  • 
    TV-am (1983–1992)
  
  
  
  


• 6 February – Sons and Daughters (1982–1987)


• 5 April – First Tuesday (1983–1993)


• 16 April – Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983–1986)


• 29 April – Hallelujah! (1983–1984)


• 1 May – Alfresco
  


• 20 June – The Happy Apple (1983)


• 5 July – Moschops (1983)


• 29 July – The A-Team (1983–1987)


• 29 August – Blockbusters (1983–93, 1994–95, 1997, 2000–01, 2012)


• 5 September –
  
  
  
  • 
    Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983)
  
  
  • 
    He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983–1985)
  
  
  
  


• 6 September – Taggart (1983–2011)


• 12 September – Dramarama (1983–1989)


• 3 October –
  
  
  
  • 
    Orm and Cheep (1983–1985)
  
  
  • 
    Terrahawks (1983–1986)
  
  
  
  


• 4 October – The Adventures of Portland Bill (1983)


• 16 October – Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime (1983–1984)


• 23 October – Highway (1983–1993)


• 11 November – Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–1986, 2002–2004)


• 14 November – The Witches and the Grinnygog (1983)


• 30 November – Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1983–1985)


• 10 December – The Day After (1983)


• 27 December – The Wind in the Willows (1983–1990)

Channel 4

• 7 January – No Problem! (1983–1985)


• 8 January – The Lady Is a Tramp (1983–1984)


• 8 February – Minipops (1983)

Television shows

Changes of network affiliation

Shows	Moved from	Moved to
Des O'Connor Tonight	BBC1	ITV
BBC Schools and Colleges programmes		BBC2

1920s

• 
  BBC Wimbledon (1927–present)

1930s

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

1940s

• 
  Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• 
  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)


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


• 
  World in Action (1963–1998)


• 
  Top of the Pops (1964–2006)


• 
  Match of the Day (1964–present)


• 
  Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)


• 
  Play School (1964–1988)


• 
  Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999, 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)


• 
  Screen Test (1969–1984)

1970s

• 
  The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)


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


• 
  Crown Court (1972–1984)


• 
  Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)


• 
  Pebble Mill at One (1972–1986)


• 
  Weekend World (1972–1988)


• 
  Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)


• 
  Emmerdale (1972–present)


• 
  Newsround (1972–present)


• 
  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)


• 
  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)


• 
  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)


• 
  The Saturday Show (1982–1984)


• 
  The Young Ones (1982–1984)


• 
  Odd One Out (1982–1985)


• 
  On Safari (1982–1985)


• 
  Only Fools And Horses (1981–2003)


• 
  'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)


• 
  Wogan (1982–1992)


• 
  Saturday Superstore (1982–1987)


• 
  The Tube (1982–1987)


• 
  Brookside (1982–2003)


• 
  Let's Pretend (1982–1988)


• 
  No. 73 (1982–1988)


• 
  Timewatch (1982–present)


• 
  Countdown (1982–present)


• 
  Right to Reply (1982–2001)

Ending this year

• 6 February – The Professionals (1977–1983)


• 8 March – Animal Magic (1962–1983)


• 15 March – Minipops (1983)


• 21 April – ITV Playhouse (1967–1983)


• 12 May – Gran (1983)


• 5 July – The Gaffer (1981–1983)


• 21 July – Andy Robson (1982–1983)


• 5 August – Nationwide (1969–1983)


• 19 October – Butterflies (1978–1983, 2000)


• 28 October – The Bounder (1982–1983)


• 30 December – The Good Old Days (1953–1983)

Births

• 5 February – Gemma McCluskie, actress (d. 2012),


• 14 March – Johnny Flynn, actor


• 15 March – Sean Biggerstaff, actor


• 21 March – Bruno Langley, actor


• 23 March – Ellie Price, television journalist


• 22 April – Elliott Jordan, actor


• 5 May – Lucy-Jo Hudson, actress


• 13 May – Natalie Cassidy, actress


• 30 May – Jennifer Ellison, actress


• 31 May – Reggie Yates, actor and television and radio presenter


• 6 June
  
  
  
  • 
    Gemma Bissix, actress
  
  
  • 
    Ella Smith, actress
  
  
  
  


• 30 June – Cheryl Cole, singer


• 19 July – Brooke Kinsella, actress and writer


• 20 July – Rory Jennings, actor


• 5 August – Kara Tointon, actress


• 7 August – Tina O'Brien, actress


• 21 August – Chantelle Houghton, reality TV star


• 24 August – Christopher Parker, actor


• 28 October – Joe Thomas, actor


• 17 November – Harry Lloyd, actor


• 11 December – Natalie Denning, British model

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Cinematic Credibility
2 January	Dick Emery	67	comedian and actor
20 October	Peter Dudley	48	actor (Coronation Street)
15 November	John Le Mesurier	71	actor (Dad's Army)
26 December	Violet Carson	85	actress (Coronation Street)

See also

• 1983 in British music


• 1983 in British radio


• 1983 in the United Kingdom


• List of British films of 1983

References

1. 
   ^ ^abc "1983 : Off The Telly". Retrieved 23 January 2019..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}
   


2. 
   ^ TV-am to start main show earlier. By Kenneth Gosling. The Times (London, England), 25 February 1983; pg. 2;
   


3. 
   ^ Breakfast TV battle claims first victim.By Kenneth Gosling. The Times (London, England), Thursday, 17 February 1983; pg. 1
   


4. 
   ^ "BBC One London – 21 March 1983 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
   


5. 
   ^ Move to oust Jay at ailing TV-am. The Times (London, England), Friday, 18 March 1983; pg. 1
   


6. 
   ^ Jay ousted as backers move to save TV-amBarker, Dennis;Simpson, DavidThe Guardian (1959-2003); 19 March 1983; P1
   


7. 
   ^ TV-am shake-up expected after Peter Jay quits. The Times (London, England), Saturday, 19 March 1983
   


8. 
   ^ "Roland Rat Superstar". Ratfans.com. 1983-04-01. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
   


9. 
   ^ "Roland Rat". TV-am. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
   


10. 
    ^ 1. "Anne Wood C.B.E. - The Children's Media Foundation". Thechildrensmediafoundation.org. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
    


11. 
    ^ Westcott, Matt (12 January 2015). "Car Torque with TV rodent superstar Roland Rat". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
    


12. 
    ^ Gosling, Kenneth (13 April 1983). "Cousin of Aitken is TV-am chief". The Times. London, England. p. 2.
    


13. 
    ^ Barker, Dennis; Wainwright, Martin (20 April 1983). "TV-am sacks Ford and Rippon". The Guardian (1959-2003). p. 1.
    


14. 
    ^ Gosling, Kenneth (30 April 1983). "Parkinson gets key role in TV-am's future with place on board". The Times. London, England. p. 3.
    


15. 
    ^ "Top of the Pops – BBC One London – 5 May 1983". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
    


16. 
    ^ Transdiffusion Broadcasting System (3 September 2015). "☆ Last IBA Engineering Announcements on ITV – 17 May 1983". Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via YouTube.
    


17. 
    ^ Barker, Dennis (21 May 1983). "TV-am ready with its new look". The Guardian.
    


18. 
    ^ "New radio show for Wincey Willis". BBC News. BBC. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
    


19. 
    ^ News International buys 65% of satellite group. By Bill Johnstone, Electronics Correspondent. The Times, Wednesday, 29 June 1983; pg. 13
    


20. 
    ^ Title The franchise affair: creating fortunes and failures in independent televisionAuthors Asa Briggs, Joanna SpicerEdition illustratedPublisher century, 1986Original from the University of MichiganDigitized 9 Oct 2006
    ISBN 9780712612012
    


21. 
    ^ "BBC Two England - 27 August 1983 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
    


22. 
    ^ "BFI Screenonline: P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang (1982)". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
    


23. 
    ^ "Cosgrove Hall: 30 years". BBC Manchester. June 2006. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
    


24. 
    ^ "The Fog – BBC One London – 21 December 1983 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
    


25. 
    ^ "Oh God! – BBC Two England – 27 December 1983 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
    

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