1985 in British television

This is a list of British television related events from 1985.

Events

January

• 1 January – Brookside is moved from Wednesdays to Mondays which means the soap can now be seen on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• 3–6 January – The UK's last VHF 405-line television transmitters close down.
• 4 January – Channel 4 achieves its highest ever audience as 13.8 million viewers tune in for the final part of the mini-series A Woman of Substance.
• 18 January – Debut of The Practice, a twice-weekly medical drama intended to become Granada's second soap produced for the ITV network. But viewing figures are not as healthy as had been hoped, and the series first run ends in May. It returns for a second series in 1986 before being axed.
• 20 January – American television sitcom The Cosby Show is broadcast in the United Kingdom for the first time.
• 20–21 January – Channel 4 airs Super Bowl XIX, the first time the Super Bowl is aired on British television.
• 23 January – A debate in the House of Lords is televised for the first time.

February

• 18 February – BBC1 undergoes a major relaunch. At 5.35 p.m., the legendary mechanical "mirror globe" ident, in use in varying forms since 1969, is seen for the last time in regular rotation on national BBC1. Its replacement, the COW (Computer Originated World, a computer generated globe) debuts at 7pm. On the same day, computer-generated graphics replace magnetic weather maps on all BBC forecasts, and Terry Wogan's eponymous talk show is relaunched as a thrice-weekly live primetime programme. EastEnders launches the following day.
• 19 February – EastEnders, the BBC1 soap opera, goes on air.

March

• 30 March – Doctor Who goes on an unexpected hiatus following the broadcast of part 2 of Revelation of the Daleks due to a dispute between the show's staff and BBC controller Michael Grade, a notorious detractor of the show; Doctor Who would resume airing the following year.

April

• 28 April – The World Snooker Championship Final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis draws BBC2's highest ever rating of 18.5 million viewers.

May

• 11 May – A fire breaks out at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford during a football match between Bradford City and Lincoln City. The match is being recorded by Yorkshire Television for transmission on their Sunday afternoon regional football show The Big Match the following day. Coverage of the fire is transmitted minutes after the event on the live ITV Saturday afternoon sports programme World of Sport. BBC's Grandstand also transmits live coverage of the fire.
• 29 May – Heysel Stadium Disaster televised live by BBC1; at the European Cup final in Brussels, Belgium, between Liverpool and Juventus, 39 Juventus fans are killed when a wall collapses during a riot at the Heysel Stadium.

June

• 5 June – The first episode of Bulman airs.

July

• 4 July – Debut of Tandoori Nights, a sitcom about rival Indian restaurants in London's Brick Lane starring Saeed Jaffrey, and Channel 4's first Asian comedy.
• 13 July – Live Aid pop concerts are held in Philadelphia and London and televised around the world. Over £50 million is raised for famine relief in Ethiopia.^[1]
• 31 July
  • The BBC announces it has pulled At the Edge of the Troubles, a documentary in the Real Lives strand in which filmmaker Vincent Hanna secured an interview with Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness and his wife. The announcement leads to a one-day strike by members of the National Union of Journalists, and the eventual overturning of the ban. A slightly edited version of the programme is shown in October. The controversy damages the Director-Generalship of Alasdair Milne, who eventually resigns from the post in 1987.^[2]
  • The War Game, made for the BBC's The Wednesday Play strand in 1965 but banned from broadcast at the time, is finally shown on television as part of BBC2's After the Bomb season.^[3]

August

• August – After a series of high-profile football hooliganism and a dispute between the Football League and the broadcasters over revenue, televised league football is missing from British screens until the second half of the season. The Charity Shield and international games are the only matches screened.
• 1 August – The nuclear war docudrama Threads is repeated on BBC2 as part of the After the Bomb series.^[4]
• 13 August – ITV airs the US intergalactic whodunit Murder in Space. The film is shown without the ending, and a competition held for viewers to identify the murderer(s). The film's concluding 30 minutes are shown a few weeks later, with a studio of contestants eliminated one by one until the winner correctly solves the mystery. There is a prize of £10,000.
• 30 August – Debut of Granada's ill-fated "continuing drama series", Albion Market. The series – set in a market in Salford and intended as a companion for Coronation Street – is panned by critics and suffers from poor ratings. It is axed a year later.

September

• 3 September – BBC1's EastEnders moves from 7.00pm to 7.30pm to avoid clashing with ITV's Emmerdale Farm, which airs in the 7.00pm timeslot on Tuesdays and Thursdays in many ITV regions.
• 10 September – ITV airs the Wales vs Scotland World Cup qualifier from Cardiff's Ninian Park. The match – played against the backdrop of escalating football hooliganism – is notable for the death of Scotland manager Jock Stein, who collapsed shortly before Scotland secured their place in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
• 15 September – ITV airs Murder in Space: The Solution, in which the puzzle of the sci-fi murder mystery is finally solved.
• 28 September – After 20 years ITV's Saturday afternoon sports programme World of Sport is aired for the last time.

October

• 3 October – Roland Rat, the puppet rodent who saved an ailing TV-am in 1983 transfers to the BBC. Commenting on the move, he says, "I saved TV-am and now I'm here to save the BBC."^[5]
• 28 October – A documentary in ITV's World in Action series casts doubt on evidence used to convict the Birmingham Six of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings.^[6]

November

• November – The 1,000th episode of Emmerdale Farm is celebrated with a special lunch attended by Princess Michael of Kent. Not recognising any of the cast members she later admits that she never watches the show.
• 14 November – A special edition of Tomorrow's World examines how effective the proposed Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) might be at destroying any nuclear weapons launched at the United States.^[7]

December

• 9 December – 25th anniversary of the first episode of Coronation Street.
• 25 December –
  • Christmas Day highlights on BBC1 include a Wogan special, in which Terry Wogan travels to Denver to meet the actors who portray members of the Carrington family from US soap Dynasty.^[8]
  • Minder on the Orient Express, a feature-length episode of the television series Minder, receives its UK television debut as the highlight of ITV's Christmas Day schedule.^[9]
• 31 December – New Year's Eve highlights on BBC1 include Gone with the Wind, The Magnificent Seven, and a version of Terence Ratigan's The Browning Version with Ian Holm, while Terry Wogan welcomes in 1986 from BBC Television Centre.^[10]

Debuts

BBC1

• 19 February – EastEnders (1985–present)
• March – Comic Relief (1985–present)
• 1 April – Bertha the Machine (1985–1986)
• 15 April – Three Up, Two Down (1985–1989)
• September – CBBC on BBC One (1985–2012)
• 1 September – Howards' Way (1985–1990)
• 3 September – Telly Addicts (1985–1998)

BBC2

• 11 January – Victoria Wood As Seen On TV (1985–1987)
• September – CBBC on BBC Two (1985–2013)
• Unknown – No Limits (1985–1987)

ITV

• 11 January – Dempsey and Makepeace (1985–1986)
• 18 January – The Practice (1985–1986)
• 20 January – Supergran (1985–1987)
• 26 February – Busman's Holiday (1985–1993)
• 12 April – C.A.T.S. Eyes (1985–1987)
• 16 April – The Wall Game (1985)
• 19 April – Home to Roost (1985–1990)
• 27 April – Crosswits (1985–1998)
• 13 May – Connections (1985–1990)
• 5 June – Bulman (1985–1987)
• 30 August – Albion Market (1985–1986)
• 30 August – Drummonds (1985–1987)
• 16 September – The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (1985)
• 23 October – Girls on Top (1985–1986)
• 1 November – Your Mother Wouldn't Like It (1985–1988)
• 13 November – Alias the Jester (1985–1986)
• 17 November – Romance on the Orient Express
• 30 November – Blind Date (1985–2003)
• 30 December – All in Good Faith (1985–1988)

Channel 4

• 2 January – A Woman of Substance (1985)
• 6 October – Pob's Programme (1985–1988)

Television shows

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

• The Jetsons (1962–1963, 1985–1987)
• Open All Hours (BBC2 1976, BBC1 1981–1982, 1985, 2013)
• Sorry! (1981–1982, 1985–1988)

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• Panorama (1953–present)
• 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)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006–present)
• Sportsnight (1965–1997)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• The Money Programme (1966–2010)
• The Big Match (1968–2002)

1970s

• The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)
• The Two Ronnies (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)
• 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)
• 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

• Cockleshell Bay (1980–1986)
• Children in Need (1980–present)
• That's My Boy (1981–1986)
• Razzamatazz (1981–1987)
• Bergerac (1981–1991)
• 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
• Wogan (1982–1992)
• Saturday Superstore (1982–1987)
• The Tube (1982–1987)
• Brookside (1982–2003)
• Countdown (1982–present)
• Let's Pretend (1982–1988)
• No. 73 (1982–1988)
• Timewatch (1982–present)
• Right to Reply (1982–2001)
• Inspector Gadget (1983–1986)
• Bananaman (1983–1986)
• Just Good Friends (1983–1986)
• Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983–1986)
• Breakfast Time (1983–1989)
• Dramarama (1983–1989)
• Don't Wait Up (1983–1990)
• Good Morning Britain (1983–1992)
• First Tuesday (1983–1993)
• Highway (1983–1993)
• Blockbusters (1983–93, 1994–95, 1997, 2000–01, 2012)
• Robin of Sherwood (1984–1986)
• The Trap Door (1984–1986)
• We Love TV (1984–1986)
• How Dare You (1984–1987)
• The Snorks (1984–1988)
• Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989)
• Wide Awake Club (1984–1992)
• Bob's Full House (1984–1990)
• Spitting Image (1984–1996)
• The Bill (1984–2010)
• Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (1984–present)

Ending this year

• 26 January – The Saturday Starship (1984–1985)
• 1 March – Finders Keepers (1981–1985)
• 1 April – Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
• 19 April – Odd One Out (1982–1985)
• 13 July – The Comedians (1971–1985)
• 24 August – Bottle Boys (1984–1985)
• 28 August – Freetime (1981–1985)
• 28 September – World of Sport (1965–1985)
• 6 October – Open All Hours (1976, 1981–1982, 1985, 2013)
• 21 October – The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (1985)
• 7 November – Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1983–1985)
• 23 November – Game for a Laugh (1981–1985)
• 26 December – Tenko (1981–1985)
• 31 December – Juliet Bravo (1980–1985)

Births

• 24 January – Josie Gibson, English personal trainer and television host
• 19 March – Gemma Cairney, television and radio presenter and fashion stylist
• 26 March – Keira Knightley, actress
• 2 May – Lily Allen, singer
• 28 May – Carey Mulligan, actress
• 15 July – Sarah-Jane Crawford, radio and television presenter
• 22 July – Blake Harrison, actor
• 8 November – Jack Osbourne, actor
• 10 December – Scarlett Bowman, actress

Deaths

References