December anniversaries
The World About Us 3 December 1967
The World About Us first aired on 3 December 1967. The programme set out to combine natural history with an element of adventure. The first episode was Volcano, made by HarounTazieff and Pierre Bichet, which featured exciting footage of active volcanoes. TheWorld about Us was one of several series commissioned by David Attenborough, Controller of BBC Two, which effectively promoted the advantages of colour television.
The World About Us took in all aspects of the natural world, and its exploration. It often featured well-known naturalists such as Jane Goodall and Gerald Durrell, and the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. Cousteau's films were broadcast as The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, and featured life aboard his ship Calypso. The haunting flute tune which introduced each episode was written by John Scott.
The World About Us ended in 1986, but was succeeded by The Natural World. The full potential of nature programmes on the BBC was realised in 1979 when the Natural History Unit made Life on Earth, which attracted a huge audience worldwide. This time David Attenborough was the writer and presenter. The Natural History Unit has continued to innovate with pioneering work in HD and 3D.
For full details of those featured in the slideshow click here.
Edward VIII Abdication speech 11 December 1936
On 11 December 1936 the former King Edward VIII spoke to a stunned nation and announced that he had abdicated the throne in favour of his brother, so as to be free to marry the woman he loved - Mrs Wallis Simpson. The historic broadcast and climax of the constitutional crisis was heard by the whole country, most of whom had been unaware of the royal love affair only a week earlier.
Edward had made the first ever royal broadcast, and so knew the power of radio to reach people in their homes. As the crisis developed he was keen to put his side of the story to the country. However the speech he wrote, in which he argued the case for a morganatic marriage - that he could marry Walllis without her ever becoming Queen - was vetoed by the Cabinet. When Edward did eventually broadcast, George VI was the new king, and Edward was preparing to go into exile.
The Abdication speech survives today as it was recorded by BBC engineers in defiance of orders. For many years archivists denied its existence, but today it is recognised as one of the most important broadcasts of the twentieth century.
bbc.co.uk is launched, 12 December 1997
The innovation of the internet was championed internally by Director-General John Birt, who saw how it could transform BBC's global media role, and mobilised R&D and managerial expertise to make it happen. There were initial problems that publication of web pages did not sit within the BBC Charter, but this obstacle was overcome, and on 15 December 1997, the BBC website was officially launched.
Online milestones quickly followed: that Christmas Day, the Queen's Christmas Speech was shown live online for the first time. Burgeoning sites for sport, weather and children's content quickly followed, the latter transforming a generation's use of media. By 2005, BBC's online service was reaching almost 12m users a month. Then in December 2007, BBC iPlayer launched, now the most popular video on-demand service in the world. Finally, this year BBC Online delivered the first comprehensively digital Olympic Games attracting a record-breaking 55 million browsers around the world.
Jackanory 13 December 1965
"I'll tell you a story about Jackanory". The first episode of the children's storytelling programme went out on 13 December 1965, with Cap of Rushes, told by Lee Montague. It was illustrated with dance sequences from Marion Diamond. Over the week Montague told different traditional tales, sometimes aided by illustrations or costumes, as on the day he dressed as Lord Mayor to tell the story of Dick Whittington. But for most of the time Montague was sitting on a bench, talking directly to the viewer.
Actors loved Jackanory because of the connection with the audience, and it attracted big names including Kenneth Williams, Geraldine McEwan, Alan Bennett, Michael Hordern, Rik Mayall and Tony Robinson. Bernard Cribbins presented 111 episodes, more than anyone else. Authors also appeared. Some were well known, like Prince Charles, who read the Old Man of Lochnagar in 1984. Others became well known by the spirited reading of their own books, like John Grant with his stories of Littlenose the caveboy.
Jackanory succeeded in persuading many reluctant readers to pick up a book. The success of spin-off Jackanory Playhouse encouraged the BBC to develop more children's dramas, such as Jonny Briggs. Jackanory ended in 1996, but returned in 2007 as Jackanory Junior.
Comedy Playhouse 15 December 1961
Comedy Playhouse began on 15 December 1961. The series was initially a vehicle for the talents of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, who - freed from writing for a specific comedian - wrote 10 short comedy plays that could each be developed into a future sitcom. One episode, The Offer, provided the pilot of what became Steptoe and Son. From 1963, with Steptoe taking much of Galton and Simpson's time, other writers were drafted in. Comedy Playhouse ran until 1974 and originated several other notable sitcoms, including Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Not in Front of the Children, Up Pompeii, Happy Ever After, and Last of the Summer Wine.
Not every Comedy Playhouse episode became a full series, including the first episode, Clicquot et Fils. This starred Eric Sykes as an undertaker in a small French town in 1926, with Warren Mitchell as his assistant. The strong supporting cast - including Joan Hickson, Frank Thornton and Charles Lloyd Pack - demonstrated Galton and Simpson's intention to cast the right actors for the part.
The Comedy Playhouse idea as a testing ground for new and experimental comedy continued with Comedy Special, which spawned Citizen Smith. In 2012 the BBC plans to air a fresh season of sitcom pilots, with the aim of nurturing the enduring comedy hits of tomorrow.
The Likely Lads 16 December 1964
The first episode of The Likely Lads was shown on BBC Two on 16 December 1964. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it was one of several programmes made for the new channel, and was intended to offer a fresh approach to the situation comedy by featuring the lives of two best mates from the North East.
The Likely Lads starred James Bolam as Terry Collier and Rodney Bewes as Bob Ferris. Terry was working class and secure in his life, whereas Bob was more aspirational, determined to work his way to a better place. Both friends viewed the others worldview with disdain, but they were united by events, generally revolving around the pursuit of women. In the first episode, Entente Cordiale, the lads return from holiday in Spain determined to continue relationships they made there.
The Likely Lads ended in 1966 after three series. It returned in 1973 as Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, and picked up the story with Terry returning from the army to find Bob settled into a domesticated life with Thelma. This series was even more successful than the original. Its legacy can be traced in sitcoms such as Men Behaving Badly. Clement and La Frenais went on to create Auf Wiedersehen Pet and Porridge.
BBC World Service launches 19 December 1932
The BBC launched its Empire Service (as it was then called) on 19 December 1932, helped by new short-wave radio technology that allowed signals to be broadcast over vast distances. Despite gloomy predictions from the BBC's director-general John Reith - "The programmes will neither be very interesting nor very good", the broadcasts received praise, and were further boosted by the support of a Christmas message from George V (the first ever) to the Empire a few days later.
World War II saw a huge expansion of the international remit of the service, now re-named the Overseas Service, with coverage in over 40 different languages by the end of the war. It also saw the development of the Service as a lifeline news broadcaster, especially in occupied Europe, where the seminal broadcasts of General De Gaulle launched the Resistance. The Cold War years were challenging for the Service which was blocked in many countries, and BBC Service journalists were often targeted personally, memorably the Bulgarian correspondent Georgi Markov who was killed by a poisoned umbrella in London in 1978.
Later political shifts saw the closure of many European language services, and a re-prioritisation of other zones and media, notably the expansion of a television service for Arabic in 2008 and for Persian in 2009. In 2012, World Service (renamed yet again in 1965) left its iconic home Bush House, where it had been since 1941, and joined other BBC journalists in Broadcasting House, where it continues to broadcast to over 180million listeners and viewers around the globe.
Just a Minute 22 December 1967
As the sound of Chopin's Minute Waltz - played at breakneck speed by Artur Rubinstein - faded away on 22 December 1967, the first edition of Just a Minute began. Chairman Nicholas Parsons explained the rules of the comedy game show, in which contestants had to speak for a minute without hesitating, deviating from the subject, or repeating themselves. He introduced regular contestants Clement Freud and Derek Nimmo, and guests Beryl Reid and Wilma Ewart. Subjects in the first programme included Things to do in the bath, The English Nanny, and Keeping Fit.
Just a Minute was devised by Ian Messiter. The basic idea came to him when he was at school. Told off for inattention, he was asked to repeat what his master had been saying for the previous minute, without repetition or hesitation. The programme has thrived for over forty years with the benefit of contributions from Peter Jones, Kenneth Williams, Linda Smith, Paul Merton, Ross Noble, Stephen Fry, and Graham Norton, amongst many others.
Just a Minute has remained essentially unchanged - with Parsons still in charge as host and straight man - and yet has been reinvigorated with each generation of comedians. It remains one of Radio 4's most popular programmes, and tickets for recordings are in such demand they are allocated by ballot.
First Empire Address by King George V, 25 December 1932
The first Christmas Day message by a British monarch was in 1932, when King George V broadcast live from Sandringham. In the speech, which was written by Rudyard Kipling, the King celebrated the power of the wireless to unite all the people of the Empire, and wished them a Happy Christmas. He began; "Through one of the marvels of modern Science, I am enabled, this Christmas Day, to speak to all my peoples throughout the Empire."
The speech came at the end of a special programme, All Over The World, where British citizens from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Gibraltar and The Irish Free State sent Christmas greetings. The time of 3pm was chosen as the best time to ensure the King's broadcast was heard in the most countries across the Empire. The idea for the royal broadcast came from BBC Director General Sir John Reith, who recognised the communicative potential of radio.
The reaction to the broadcast was hugely favourable, and the King was said to be "very pleased and much moved" by the response. The Christmas message from the monarch became a fixture during the war, and continues as a traditional feature of Christmas broadcasting to this day.
Morecambe and Wise Christmas Shows 25 December
From 1969 to 1977 the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show was the highlight of Christmas night viewing for millions of viewers. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were the nation’s most popular double act, a fact confirmed by the calibre of the stars who seemed to be queuing up to appear on their specials. Their popularity peaked with the 1977 Christmas Show, when a phenomenal 28 million viewers sat down to watch, the most watched comedy programme in British television history.
The Morecambe and Wise Show came to the BBC in 1968, following several successful years at ITV. Eric and Ernie entered their golden age with the second BBC series, in 1969, when Eddie Braben became their main writer. Braben developed Eric and Ernie’s comic personas, so Ernie was less of a traditional straight man to Eric, getting his own laughs. The Christmas Shows were longer versions of the main series, with more big name guests, and bigger routines.Eric’s heart condition limited their output in later years, but this only added to the sense of anticipation when the Christmas Show came around.
Eric and Ernie went back to ITV in 1978, but never recaptured the momentum of their BBC years. Although both comedians are now dead - Eric died in 1984 and Ernie in 1999 - their influence can be seen in double acts such as Reeves and Mortimer.
