1982 in British television

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

Events

• 1 January – Central Independent Television starts broadcasting in the English Midlands, replacing ATV. Also, TVS starts broadcasting to the South and South East of England, replacing Southern, and TSW starts broadcasting to the South West, replacing Westward.
• 4 January – Peter Davison makes his first full appearance as the Fifth Doctor in the Doctor Who serial "Castrovalva".
• 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.
• 5 March – The BBC is given permission by the Government to start broadcasting television programmes on two satellite channels from early 1986.^[1] Ultimately, however, the channels were not launched.
• 2 April – The Falklands War begins as Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.^[2]
• 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.^[3]
• 14 June – The Falklands War ends after Argentina surrenders.^[2]
• 26 July – Alasdair Milne succeeds Ian Trethowan as Director-General of the BBC.
• 10 October – Boys from the Blackstuff premieres on BBC2 (last episode was shown on 7 November).
• 24 October – UK Television Premiere of Star Wars on ITV.
• 1 November – S4C, the first Welsh language TV service is launched.^[4]
• 2 November – Channel 4 starts broadcasting in the UK at 4:45pm.^[4] 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 can be seen on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00pm.
• 5 November – Debut of Channel 4's innovative music programme The Tube.
• 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.
• 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.
• The BBC Schools service aired their computer generated ident until 1983.

Debuts

BBC1

• 16 April – Odd One Out (1982–1985)
• 4 May – Wogan (1982–1992)
• 4 September – The Late, Late Breakfast Show (1982–1986)
• 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

• 2 January
  • No. 73 (1982–1988)
  • O.T.T. (1982)
• 4 January – Let's Pretend (1982–1988)
• 8 January – Shine on Harvey Moon (1982–1985, 1995)
• 16 February – On Safari (1982–1985)
• 16 April – The Bounder (1982–1983)
• 9 June – Andy Robson (1982–1983)
• 25 October – 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)

New Channels

• 2 November – Channel 4

Television shows

Changes of network affiliation

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, 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

References