1989 in British television explained
This is a list of British television related events from 1989.
Events
January
- 1 January – The network television premiere of Amadeus on BBC1, Miloš Forman's 1984 biographical drama based on the play of the same name that is a fictionalised biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.[1]
- 2 January – The network television premieres of on BBC1 and the 1985 Madonna-starring film Desperately Seeking Susan on BBC2.[2]
- 5 January – Debut of the sitcom Desmond's, set in a London British Guyanese barber shop, on Channel 4.
- 7 January – The Chart Show moves from Channel 4 to ITV.
- 8 January – The original airdate of the Only Fools and Horses episode "Yuppy Love" featuring the classic scene in which Del Boy falls through a bar. A 2006 poll names the scene as the most popular of the entire series while it is also named 7th Greatest Television Moment of all time in a 1999 Channel 4 poll.
- 9 January – Launch of Central News South, a separate local news service for the South Midlands, covering Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and parts of Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Wiltshire. The programme is broadcast from a new computerised news centre in Abingdon.
- 16 January
- 20 January – BBC2 airs live coverage of the inauguration of George H. W. Bush as the 41st President of the United States.[5]
- 22 January – ITV launches an omnibus edition of Coronation Street which airs on Sunday afternoons; however, the repeat is not stranded across the network, with different regions airing it at different times. Some regions, including Central, later move the episode to a Saturday afternoon slot and the omnibus is dropped in some areas from September 1990.
- 24 January – BBC1 airs an episode of EastEnders, featuring a mouth-to-mouth gay kiss between the characters Colin Russell (Michael Cashman) and Guido Smith (Nicholas Donovan), the first time such a scene is shown in a British soap. It causes uproar among viewers and in the press.[6]
- 26 January – Debut of the sitcom Joint Account on BBC1.
- 27 January – The US family sitcom Roseanne makes its UK debut on Channel 4, starring Roseanne Barr and John Goodman.
- 28 January
February
- 5 February – At 6pm, the world's first commercial DBS system, Sky Television, goes on the air. Three new channels, Sky News, Sky Movies and Eurosport all launch, as well as the flagship Sky Channel, later renamed Sky One.
- 6 February
- Launch of the Sky News flagship breakfast programme, Sunrise, which will run until 2019.
- Sky Channel begins a rerun of its popular Australian medical soap opera series The Young Doctors, starting with the first-ever episode.
- 11 February – The Australian soap Home and Away makes its UK debut on ITV. It is the second networked Australian soap on that channel, following the short-lived Richmond Hill which is still airing during the afternoon. Home and Away is crucially scheduled in early evening slots of either 5:10pm, 6pm or 6:30pm across the ITV network and it immediately becomes the counterpart series to BBC1's Neighbours airing at 5:35pm. This scheduling continues thirty years later with both series now in these same slots but together on Channel 5.
- 12 February – ITV launches its Find a Family campaign to help find permanent homes for youngsters in care.
- 13 February – The first ITV national weather bulletin is broadcast.
- 14 February – Debut of Out on Tuesday on Channel 4, the UK's first weekly magazine series for gay and lesbian viewers. Later changing its name to Out, the show airs for four series before being axed in 1992.[7]
- 18 February – Debut of the children's drama series Woof! on ITV, starring Liza Goddard.
- 23 February – Some 23 million viewers tune in to watch the exit of the hugely popular character Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) from EastEnders. Grantham filmed his final scenes in the show in the Autumn of 1988, but his exit has been delayed into 1989 to avoid the show suffering the double blow of losing Den so soon after his former wife, Angie (Anita Dobson), who exited in May 1988. The character falls into a canal after being shot, but the character's exact fate is left unconfirmed. He will make a return to the show in 2003.
- 24 February – Debut of the children's game show Fun House on Children's ITV, presented by Pat Sharp.
- 25 February – The long-awaited WBA Heavyweight title fight between Britain's Frank Bruno and the USA's Mike Tyson is held at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Because of the time difference between Britain and the US, the fight is televised in the UK in the early hours of 26 February. Tyson wins after the referee stops the bout in the fifth round.[8]
- 26 February – BBC2 screen Alan Clarke's acclaimed Football Hooligan drama The Firm, starring Gary Oldman.
- February
- Channel 4 begins broadcasting in NICAM digital stereo, initially from the Crystal Palace transmitting station, prior to a national transmitter-by-transmitter roll-out during 1990.
- Anglia and Central reschedule Emmerdale Farm to 7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
March
- 2 March
- My Brother David, an edition of the BBC2 schools series Scene, is first broadcast in which Simon Scarboro talks about the life of his brother David Scarboro, who originally played the EastEnders character Mark Fowler and who fell to his death from Beachy Head in 1988. The programme is repeated on 19 June for a general audience as part of BBC2's DEF II strand.[9] [10] [11] [12]
- After much publicity, a two-minute advert for Pepsi featuring Madonna's latest single "Like a Prayer" is shown during a commercial break on ITV, 12 minutes into The Bill.
- 6 March – Debut of the three-part ITV drama Winners and Losers, starring Leslie Grantham. The series is his first post-EastEnders role.
- 9 March – On Top of the Pops, comedian Lenny Henry joins regular presenter Nicky Campbell for a special Comic Relief edition of the programme.
- 10 March – On the second Red Nose Day, BBC1 airs the eight-hour telethon, A Night of Comic Relief 2.[13]
- 15 March
- BBC1 airs John's Not Mad, an edition of the QED documentary strand that shadows John Davidson, a 15-year-old from Galashiels in Scotland with severe Tourette syndrome. The film explores John's life in terms of his family and the close-knit community around him and how they all cope with a misunderstood condition.[14]
- Debut of the drama series Children's Ward on Children's ITV.
- 16 March – Debut of the children's sitcom Mike and Angelo on Children's ITV.
- 17 March – Channel 4 launch the Friday night chat show Clive Anderson Talks Back.
- 31 March – The last Oracle on View transmission takes place on Channel 4.
- March
- The Independent Broadcasting Authority recommends that the headquarters of a fifth channel should be situated outside London, preferably at a location north of Birmingham.[15]
- The Children's Channel launches free-to-air on2 Astra 1A,[16] airing from 5am to 10am on weekdays and from 5am to 12pm on weekends, time-sharing with Lifestyle.
April
- 1 April
- Five Star appear on CBBC's Going Live! to promote their latest single With Every Heartbeat. During a live phone-in, a teenage caller verbally abuses them and asks why they are "so fucking crap". Presenter Sarah Greene quickly cuts off the call as the tirade continues.[17] [18] [19] [20] [21] On 23 September 2019, an individual claiming to be Eliot Fletcher, the caller, apologises to the band for the incident via a social media account.[22] However, doubt is then cast on the authenticity of the apology after several other people claim to be the notorious caller.[23]
- Discovery Channel Europe launches. The channel broadcasts via Intelsat and on cable systems.
- The network television premiere of John G. Avildsen's 1984 martial arts drama The Karate Kid on ITV, starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, William Zabka, Martin Kove and Chad McQueen.
- 2–3 April – ITV airs The Heroes, an Australian-British television miniseries based on the World War II Operation Jaywick, starring John Bach and Jason Donovan.
- 3 April
- Channel 4 launches its breakfast television show The Channel Four Daily. The programme is based heavily on news and current affairs, with segments focusing on sports, finance, lifestyles, arts and entertainment and discussion. It is axed in 1992 after failing to gain enough viewers and was subsequently replaced by the much more popular The Big Breakfast.
- The Australian children's series The Bartons makes its UK debut on BBC1.[24]
- 4 April – TUGS, a children's model animated series made by Clearwater Features (the British company behind the first two series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends), makes its debut on Children's ITV. Also on the same day, the final episode of Hill Street Blues is broadcast on Channel 4 for the last time.
- 8 April – The US action series MacGyver makes its UK debut on BBC1, starring Richard Dean Anderson.
- 15 April – Hillsborough disaster. The BBC's cameras are at the Hillsborough ground in Sheffield to record the FA Cup semi-final clash between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest for their Match of the Day programme, but as the disaster unfolds, the events are relayed to their live sports show, Grandstand, resulting in the extreme emotional impact on the general British population.
- 20 April – John Leslie becomes the first Scottish presenter of Blue Peter on BBC1.[25]
- 21 April – BBC2's 25th anniversary. Programming includes an edition of Arena in which the author Graham Greene sets out to trace a namesake who posed as him for many years and an edition of The Late Show which looks at the early BBC2 jazz programme Jazz 625.[26]
- 24 April
- The BBC's Ceefax runs as a partial service only, due to a strike by broadcasting unions.
- Jon Snow joins Channel 4 News as its main newscaster, replacing Peter Sissons, who had presented the programme since its launch in November 1982.
- 26 April – BBC1 airs A Case of Spontaneous Human Combustion, a Q.E.D. documentary which sets out to investigate apparent instances of the phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion, combustion of the human body without an apparent external source of ignition.[27]
- 27 April – BBC2 airs the 40 Minutes documentary Inside Broadmoor, a film showing life inside Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire.[28]
May
- 1 May – The network television premiere of the 1984 science-fiction sequel on BBC1, starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley.
- 2 May – ITV airs an edition of the First Tuesday documentary strand investigating the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War called Four Hours in My Lai which is later shown in the US as part of the Frontline series with the title Remember My Lai.[29]
- 6 May – Yugoslavia's Riva wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 (staged in Lausanne) with "Rock Me".
- 15 May - Series 3 of The Cook Report begins with an investigation into the ivory trade.
- 18 May - Channel 4's Treasure Hunt airs its final episode.
- 20 May – Debut of game show That's Showbusiness on BBC1, presented by Mike Smith.
- 26 May
- The High Court rejects a legal challenge to overturn the prohibition on broadcasting the voices of representatives of Irish terrorist organisations introduced in October 1988 after deciding the Home Secretary acted lawfully.[30] In December, the Appeal Court upholds the ban.[31]
- ITV airs live the last Football League game of the season, between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield. Arsenal win the League title with the last kick of the season, thanks to a late goal from Michael Thomas. More than 8 million people are said to have tuned in.
June
- 3 June – Sky Television and The Walt Disney Company come to an arrangement which allows Sky to broadcast movies for a five-year period. This agreement comes a few weeks after plans to create a full-time channel were scrapped, although the channel itself eventually launches on 1 October 1995.
- 5 June
- BBC2 broadcasts a special 90-minute programme Climate in Crisis to mark United Nations' World Environment Day, presented by Michael Buerk and David Attenborough, which predicts the Earth's greatest threats from climate change and sea level rise are already changing the planet with a need to avert catastrophe in the mid-3rd millennium. Studio guests include Sir Shridath Ramphal and Jonathon Porritt with an exclusive interview of HRH Prince Charles voicing his concerns.
- Channel 4 airs the network television premiere of David Lynch's 1984 science-fiction epic Dune, starring Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Francesca Annis, Max von Sydow, Jürgen Prochnow, Everett McGill, Sean Young, Siân Phillips, José Ferrer, Freddie Jones, Patrick Stewart, Dean Stockwell, Alicia Witt and Sting.
- 19 June – For the first time, BBC2 broadcasts during the morning when not showing Daytime on 2. Programmes begin at 10am as opposed to lunchtime.
- 22 June
- John Craven presents his final edition of the children's news programme John Craven's Newsround. After his departure, the show continues under the name Newsround.
- An edition of Question Time looks back at Robin Day's ten years as the show's presenter as he prepares to step down from the role. The edition is presented from the Greenwood Theatre in London, with panellists Michael Foot, Lady Antonia Fraser, Michael Heseltine and David Owen.[32]
- Debut of the Channel 4 miniseries Traffik, a drama about the illegal drugs trade.
- 27 June - Tugs airs its final episode on Children's ITV as plans for a second series were scrapped following TVS's bankruptcy.
July
- 10 July
- The music magazine series The O-Zone makes its debut on BBC1.[33]
- ITV introduces a second daily airing of Home and Away.
- On the Channel 4 game show Countdown, the set receives a redesign and Carol Vorderman is promoted to being the show's co-host alongside Richard Whiteley.
- 12 July – A special edition of Question Time from Paris, France, is the last to be chaired by Robin Day. Panellists on the programme are Leon Brittan, Chantal Cuer, Denis Healey and Yvette Roudy.[34]
- 19 July
- Debut of the game show Interceptor on ITV, hosted by former tennis player and Treasure Hunt sky-runner Annabel Croft with the eponymous Interceptor played by actor Sean O'Kane. The series will run for seven episodes until it ends on 1 January 1990 with a New Year special.
- The BBC documentary series Panorama accuses Shirley Porter, Conservative Leader of Westminster City Council, of gerrymandering.
- 25 July – ITV airs "Don't Like Mondays", an episode of The Bill, featuring a storyline in which several characters are caught up in a bank robbery. The episode sees the exit of PC Pete Ramsey, played by Nick Reding, who is shot in the chest by one of the robbers while protecting a colleague. The fate of the character is left unresolved.
- 28 July – London Weekend Television's current affairs programme Friday Now! is axed after ten months on air due to poor ratings. From the Autumn, it is replaced by Six O'Clock Live.
- 31 July
- Sky Channel is rebranded as Sky One and confines its broadcasting to the UK and Ireland.
- Satellite subscription movie channel Premiere ceases broadcasting due to losses of around £10 million and increased competition from Sky Movies. It thanks the viewers as well as a few businesses that helped with the channel's transmission.
August
- 2 August – The US animated series Garfield and Friends, based on the comic strip Garfield makes its UK debut on Children's ITV.
- 18–20 August – Michael Aspel presents Murder Weekend, a five-part televised murder mystery series for ITV. The show, devised and written by Joy Swift, sees celebrities attempting to solve a murder, with viewers also invited to identify the suspect.[35]
- 25 August – Rupert Murdoch delivers the MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in which he launches an attack on the narrow elitism within the British television industry.[36]
- 26 August – ITV airs Michael Lindsay-Hogg's science-fiction mystery television movie Murder on the Moon, starring Brigitte Nielsen, Julian Sands, Gerald McRaney, Jane Lapotaire, Celia Imrie and Brian Cox. It focuses on American and Soviet mining companies teaming up with several human settlements to exploit the satellite's resources for survival as investigators from NASA and KGB are forced to solve a case together.
- 27 August
- 28 August
September
- 1 September
- The first ITV generic look is introduced.
- Launch of London Weekend Television's Friday evening news magazine programme Six O'Clock Live.[35]
- 3 September
- The Disney Club airs for the first time on Children's ITV. Produced by Scottish Television and went out on Sundays at 9:25am and runs mainly between September and April.
- BBC1 airs the television film Bomber Harris, a drama based on the life of Arthur Harris and starring John Thaw in the eponymous role.[36]
- 5 September – Carol Smillie makes her debut as hostess on ITV's Wheel of Fortune, replacing Angela Ekaette.
- 8 September – Debut of Challenge Anneka on BBC1, presented by Anneka Rice.
- 10 September – BBC1 launches Screen One, an anthology of one-off dramas. The first film is One Way Out, directed by Mick Ford and starring Bob Peck, Denis Lawson, Samantha Bond and Enn Reitel.[37]
- 11 September – NICAM stereo broadcasting launches with stereo programming beginning on ITV and Channel 4 from the Crystal Palace and Emley Moor transmitters and their relays.[38]
- 13 September
- The BBC is accused of censorship after banning an interview with Simon Hayward, a former Captain of the Life Guards who spent several years in a Swedish prison after a drug smuggling conviction, just hours before he is due to appear on the Wogan show. The decision, taken by BBC1 Controller Jonathan Powell followed protests from several MPs. The BBC says the subject is not appropriate for a family programme, but will be discussed on other shows.[39]
- Debut of the children's series Bodger & Badger on BBC1, starring Andy Cunningham.
- 14 September
- 15 September – Ceefax AM is broadcast for the final time.
- 25 September – BBC2 airs The Interrogation of John, Malcolm McKay's 1987 ScreenPlay, starring Dennis Quilley, Bill Paterson and Michael Fitzgerald. The film, about the police questioning of a murder suspect and first shown in 1987, now forms the first of a three-part series titled A Wanted Man which further develops the story. The second part of the trilogy, The Secret, airs on 27 September, while Shoreland concludes the series on 28 September.[41] [42] [43]
- 26 September – Debut of Capital City, a drama series about investment bankers produced by Euston Films for Thames on ITV. Thames has spent an estimated £500,000 to run newspaper and billboard advertisements to promote the series launch, believed at the time to be the largest advertising spend for a programme in the history of ITV. Full-page advertisements are taken in six national newspapers including the Financial Times, The Times and The Independent, promoting Shane-Longman, the fictitious company of the series and featuring images of cast members in character.[44]
- 28 September
October
- 1 October
- 2 October
- Launch of RTL Veronique, a Dutch private commercial television station broadcasting from Luxembourg. The channel airs to Europe via the Astra satellite and attracts attention in its early days due to its late-night lineup of erotic programmes. The station changes its name to RTL 4 in 1991.[47]
- Breakfast Time is relaunched as Breakfast News on BBC1.
- 4 October – Jeremy Paxman makes his first regular appearance as presenter of BBC2's Newsnight. He will be in this role until 2014.
- 11 October
- 16 October – Debut of the sitcom Birds of a Feather on BBC1, starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph.
- 20 October – ITV introduces a third weekly episode of Coronation Street which airs on Fridays at 7:30pm.
- 29 October – Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher appears on ITV's The Walden Interview with Brian Walden. His tough stance with her during the programme is one of the things that helps to contribute to her downfall the following year.[50] [51]
November
- 1 November – ITV airs One Day in the Life of Television, a documentary filmed by 50 camera crews looking behind-the-scenes of British television on 1 November 1988.[52]
- 2 November
- The children's series The Riddlers makes its debut on ITV.
- The last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, Goodbyeee, is broadcast on BBC1. With one of the moving endings ever seen on British television, it is aired nine days before Remembrance Day. The final scene is also voted the ninth most memorable moment of all time in a poll for The Observer and Channel 4 on 11 September 1999.
- 7 November – MTV Europe broadcasts a live programme from East Berlin from hotels and conference centres that have given access to the channel for the first time, two days before the fall of the Berlin Wall, paving the way for German reunification.
- 8 November – The teenage drama series Byker Grove makes its debut on BBC1.[53]
- 9 November – The last episode of the soap Emmerdale Farm airs under its original title.
- 14 November – The long-running soap Emmerdale Farm changes its name after 17 years by dropping the word Farm and becoming plain Emmerdale.
- 16 November – Debut of Tony Robinson's children's comedy series Maid Marian and Her Merry Men on BBC1.[54]
- 19 November–26 November – Prince Caspian becomes the second Narnia book to be aired as a television serial on BBC1 in two parts.[55] [56]
- 20 November – The Ceefax service is relaunched to focus on news, sport and current affairs. The magazine elements are significantly reduced and are mainly restricted to the weekend.[57]
- 20–24 November – TVS pilots a 30-minute late-night edition of its news programme Coast to Coast called Coast to Coast Late.[58]
- 21 November – Television coverage of proceedings in the House of Commons begins.
- 22 November
- Following the commencement of televised coverage of the House of Commons the previous day, BBC2 launches a breakfast round-up of yesterday's proceedings. This is preceded by the 8am bulletin from Breakfast News.[59] Previously, the only BBC2 breakfast output was programmes from The Open University. Their programmes continue to be shown on BBC2 at breakfast, but in an earlier timeslot.
- The Stone Roses are invited to appear on BBC2's The Late Show. During their performance, the electricity is cut off by noise limiting circuitry, prompting singer Ian Brown to shout "Amateurs, amateurs" as presenter Tracey MacLeod tries to link into the next item.
- 25 November – Helen Sharman is selected as the first Britain to travel into space in a live programme aired by ITV. She is one of 13,000 people to apply for the chance to become an astronaut after responding to a radio advertisement, and journeys to the Mir space station in 1991.[60]
- 26 November – BBC1 debuts The Ginger Tree, a four-part television adaptation of Oswald Wynd's 1977 novel of the same name starring Samantha Bond, Daisuke Ryu and Adrian Rawlins. The serial ends on 17 December.
- 29 November – Debut of four-part serial Blackeyes on BBC2 which is written and directed by Dennis Potter, adapted from his novel of the same name, starring Gina Bellman as an attractive model with Michael Gough in a key role as her uncle. The series theme is described as the objectification of "young and attractive women as consumer goods in a way that brutalizes both sexes". The serial continues on 20 December.
December
- December – The controversial Broadcasting Bill is introduced into Parliament by the Government. It will pave the way for the deregulation of commercial television.[61]
- 3 December – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, another Narnia story, is aired as a four-part serial on BBC1.[62] The serial continues on 24 December.[63]
- 4 December – ITV airs the 3000th episode of Coronation Street.
- 6 December
- 8 December – Alan Bradley (Mark Eden) is fatally run over by a Blackpool tram on Coronation Street, getting the soap's biggest ever audience at almost 27 million viewers, a record that remains to this day.[64] [65]
- 11 December – Debut of The Art of Landscape on Channel 4, a programme that shows slowly changing sceneries, animations and landscapes accompanied by music. Initially lasting for three hours, it is broadcast throughout the morning when ITV Schools is off air; from March 1990, the slot is reduced to 30 minutes and airs prior to The Channel Four Daily. After disappearing from the schedule in early 1991, it makes a one-off return in August 1997.[66]
- 17 December – The network television premiere of John Hughes' 1985 American fantasy comedy Weird Science on BBC2, starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock and Bill Paxton.
- 24 December
- 25 December
- 26 December – Boxing Day highlights on ITV include the network television premieres of the blockbuster 1983 Star Wars sequel Return of the Jedi, starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, as well as the 1973 Disney animated version of Robin Hood and the 1986 comedy Ruthless People starring Danny DeVito.[67]
- 28 December – Paul Gambaccini guest presents a special end-of-decade edition of Top of the Pops with Mike Read.[71]
- 29 December – Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) confronts her husband Ken (William Roache) on Coronation Street before throwing him out, ending their decade-long television marriage.
- 31 December
- The network television premiere of Peter Yates' 1983 British/American science-fiction fantasy adventure Krull on BBC1, starring Kenneth Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Francesca Annis, Alun Armstrong, David Battley, Bernard Bresslaw, Robbie Coltrane and Liam Neeson.
- BBC1 says goodbye to the 1980s with Clive James on the 80s, a special two-hour programme reviewing the decade.[72]
- BBC2 has its own review of the 1980s, with The Late Show Eighties, featuring highlights of 1980s rock music.[73]
- The animated special Granpa, based on the book by veteran English children's author and illustrator John Burningham and produced by John Coates and directed by Dianne Jackson (best known for working on the animated Christmas special The Snowman) is shown on Channel 4 at 6:30pm.
Debuts
BBC1
BBC2
ITV
Channel 4
Sky Channel/One
- 5 February
- 6 February – Sky Star Search (1989–1991)
- 3 September – 21 Jump Street (1987–1991)
- 15 October – Amerika (1987)
- 24 October – Dick Francis Mysteries (1989)
- Unknown – My Little Pony (1986–1987)
Sky News
Channels
New channels
| width=90 | Date | width=250 | Channel |
|---|
| 5 February | Sky News |
| Sky Movies |
|
| 1 April | | |
Defunct channels
| width=90 | Date | width=250 | Channel |
|---|
| 31 July | Premiere | |
Rebranded channels
| width=90 | Date | width=150 | Old Name | width=150 | New Name |
|---|
| 31 July | Sky Channel | Sky One | |
Television shows
Changes of network affiliation
Returning this year after a break of one year or longer
Continuing television shows
1920s
- BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present)
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
- Play Your Cards Right (1980–1987, 1994–1999, 2002–2003)
- Family Fortunes (1980–2002, 2006–2015, 2020–present)
- Juliet Bravo (1980–1985)
- Cockleshell Bay (1980–1986)
- Children in Need (1980–present)
- Finders Keepers (1981–1985)
- Freetime (1981–1985)
- Game for a Laugh (1981–1985)
- Tenko (1981–1985)
- That's My Boy (1981–1986)
- Razzamatazz (1981–1987)
- Bergerac (1981–1991)
- Odd One Out (1982–1985)
- On Safari (1982–1985)
- 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
- Wogan (1982–1992)
- Saturday Superstore (1982–1987)
- The Tube (1982–1987)
- Brookside (1982–2003)
- Countdown (1982–present)
- Let's Pretend (TV series) (1982–1988)
- No. 73 (1982–1988)
- Timewatch (1982–present)
- Right to Reply (1982–2001)
- Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1983–1985)
- Inspector Gadget (1983–1986)
- Bananaman (1983–1986)
- Just Good Friends (1983–1986)
- Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983–1986)
- Breadwinners (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, 2019)
- The Cook Report (1987–1999)
Ending this year
Births
Deaths
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Amadeus – BBC One London – 1 January 1989 – BBC Genome . January 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: Desperately Seeking Susan – BBC Two England – 2 January 1989 – BBC Genome . 2 January 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: The Late Show – BBC Two England – 16 January 1989 . BBC Genome . 16 January 1989 . BBC . 15 January 2017.
- Web site: BBC Two England – 16 January 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 15 January 2017.
- News: US Presidential Inauguration – BBC Two England – 20 January 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 15 January 2017.
- Web site: BBC One - EastEnders: Iconic Episodes, Colin and Guido Kiss. BBC. Aug 22, 2021.
- Book: Paul Burston. Paul Burston Nfa. Colin Richardson. A Queer Romance: Lesbians, Gay Men and Popular Culture. 26 July 2005. Routledge. 978-1-134-86482-9. 228.
- News: David Ashdown's Classic Sports Picture Diary: Frank Bruno v Mike Tyson 1989 . The Independent . 23 February 2009 . 10 April 2009 . IN2M . https://web.archive.org/web/20090418140359/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/david-ashdowns-classic-sports-picture-diary-frank-bruno-v-mike-tyson-1989-1630094.html . 18 April 2009 . live .
- Web site: Scene . BroadcastForSchools.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: BBC Two England – 2 March 1989 – BBC Genome . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: Scene/My Brother David . BroadcastForSchools.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: DEF II Scene – BBC Two England – 19 June 1989 – BBC Genome . 19 June 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- News: A Night of Comic Relief 2 – BBC One London – 10 March 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 12 November 2016.
- News: Q.E.D. – BBC One London – 15 March 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 12 November 2016.
- News: Maggie . Brown . Channel Five: a timeline . The Guardian . 23 July 2010 . 21 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181122092106/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jul/23/channel-five-timeline . 2018-11-22 . live .
- Web site: Bains . Geoff . Celebrating 20 years of UK satellite TV . TechRadar . 2008-12-11 . 2013-09-03.
- Web site: BBC One London – 1 April 1989 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 4 May 2019.
- Web site: 12 Moments Of Extreme Awkwardness From 80s TV . 30 March 2016. Caroline Westbrook . 27 June 2015 . Metro Newspaper (website). Associated Newspaper Ltd. . en . It was all going so well for the five-piece band of siblings – who fair dominated the charts in the latter part of the decade – as they appeared on the Saturday morning kids' show to promote new single With Every Heartbeat. Until, that is, the now infamous moment when one Eliot Fletcher called in to ask the band 'why they're so f*****g crap!' Cue shocked expressions all round, and presenter Sarah Greene not knowing quite what to say..
- Book: Appelby, Marion . Are We Live? The Funniest Bloopers from TV and Radio . 24 Mar 2016 . 2012 . Michael O'Mara Books . London . 978-1843179634.
- Web site: Top ten television moments of the Eighties. Tom. Bromley. 26 August 2010. www.telegraph.co.uk.
- Web site: Video: Swearing celebs – Mirror.co.uk's Top 10 on air cock ups. Beth. Hardie. 17 June 2008. mirror.
- News: Mark . Savage . Boy who swore at Five Star on kids' TV apologises . BBC News . BBC . 23 September 2019 . 24 September 2019.
- News: Did the boy who swore at Five Star really apologise? A needlessly long investigation . BBC News . BBC . 6 October 2019 . 6 October 2019.
- Web site: Children's BBC – BBC One London – 3 April 1989 – BBC Genome . 3 April 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- News: I Love Blue Peter – John Leslie. BBC Online. 9 May 2009.
- Web site: BBC Two England – 21 April 1989 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 14 October 2018.
- Web site: Q.E.D. – BBC One London – 26 April 1989 – BBC Genome . 26 April 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: 40 Minutes: Inside Broadmoor – BBC Two – 27 April 1989 . BBC Genome . 27 April 1989 . BBC . 29 December 2019.
- Web site: First Tuesday: Four Hours in My Lai . https://web.archive.org/web/20090506145919/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/427568 . 2009-05-06 . dead . 2009-04-10 .
- News: London Broadcasting Ban On Ulster Militants Upheld . The New York Times . 27 May 1989 . 2 July 2013.
- News: Broadcast ban . https://archive.today/20130630195732/http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/broadcast-ban . dead . 30 June 2013 . The Law Society of England and Wales . The Law Gazette . 10 January 1990 . 30 June 2013 .
- News: Question Time – BBC One London – 22 June 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 12 November 2016.
- News: BBC One London – 10 July 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 12 November 2016.
- News: Question Time from Paris – BBC One London – 12 July 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 12 November 2016.
- Web site: Six O'Clock Live (TV series). https://web.archive.org/web/20190504233507/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4f4b9f3e5d41a. dead. 4 May 2019. BFI. 4 May 2019.
- Web site: Bomber Harris – BBC One London – 3 September 1989 – BBC Genome . 3 September 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- News: Screen One: One Way Out – BBC One London – 10 September 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 22 October 2016.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9-bnNFPArI&ab_channel=bayside2000 IBA Engineering Announcement 19 December 1989
- News: Hayward banned from Wogan show . 22 February 2014 . The Herald . Newsquest . 14 September 1989 . 1.
- News: Conference Question Time – BBC One London – 14 September 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 12 November 2016.
- News: A Wanted Man – BBC Two England – 25 September 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 25 November 2016.
- News: A Wanted Man – BBC Two England – 27 September 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 25 November 2016.
- News: A Wanted Man – BBC Two England – 28 September 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 25 November 2016.
- News: Cochrane . Hugh . A great gamble as the full-page ads run on . The Glasgow Herald . Herald and Times Group . Glasgow . 4 October 1989.
- News: Top of the Pops: 1989 – what time is it on TV? Cast list and preview . Radio Times . 5 June 2020 . 5 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200605190936/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/mcymp6/top-of-the-pops-1989/ . dead .
- News: BBC One – Top of the Pops, 28/09/1989 . BBC . 28 September 1989 . 5 June 2020.
- Web site: Dutch Channels RTL 4 . TVARK . 9 June 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120510053915/http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/International/netherlands/rtl4.html . 2012-05-10 . dead .
- Web site: Around the World in 80 Days – BBC One London – 11 October 1989 – BBC Genome . 11 October 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: Around the World in 80 Days – BBC One London – 22 November 1989 – BBC Genome . 22 November 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: Margaret Thatcher TV Interview for The Walden Interview (Lawson's resignation). Margaret Thatcher Foundation. 28 October 1989. 23 May 2009.
- News: Brian Walden: Broadcaster and former Labour MP dies aged 86 . BBC News . BBC . 12 May 2019 . 12 May 2019.
- Book: 40 Years of British Television . Jane Harbor & Jeff Wright . 111 . Boxtree . London . 1992 . 1-85283-409-9.
- Web site: Children's BBC. 2 November 1989. 3439. 67. 19 January 2019. BBC Genome.
- Web site: Maid Marian and Her Merry Men – BBC One London – 16 November 1989 . BBC Genome . 16 November 1989 . BBC . 7 July 2017.
- Web site: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – BBC One London – 19 November 1989 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 19 November 1989 . 22 November 2018.
- Web site: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: 2 – BBC One London – 26 November 1989 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 26 November 1989 . 22 November 2018.
- https://cleanfeed.thetvroom.com/7104/features/the-history-of-pages-from-ceefax-part-3-3/ The History of Pages from Ceefax
- Television & Radio. The Times, Monday, 20 November 1989;
- Web site: BBC Two England – 22 November 1989 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 4 May 2019.
- News: Meet the first Briton in space: Helen Sharman . ITV News West Country . ITV . 3 November 2015 . 29 December 2015.
- Web site: The Broadcasting Acts of 1990 and 1996 . Ofcom . https://web.archive.org/web/20090508065029/http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/itc/itc_publications/itc_notes/view_note59.html . 2009-05-08 . live . 2009-04-10 .
- Web site: The Chronicles of Narnia – BBC One London – 3 December 1989 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 3 December 1989 . 22 November 2018.
- Web site: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: 6 – BBC One London – 24 December 1989 – BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 24 December 1989 . 22 November 2018.
- News: Hotel to unveil plaque where Street's Alan Bradley died . Johnston Press . Blackpool Gazette . 18 November 2009 . 8 July 2017 .
- News: Helen . Steel . Blackpool: A love affair with the nation's favourite street . Blackpool Gazette . Johnston Press. 5 April 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100401005822/http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?pageID=81535 . 1 April 2010.
- Web site: 1989 : Off The Telly. 23 January 2019.
- News: ITV 1989 – UK Christmas TV . Ukchristmastv.weebly.com . 26 October 2016.
- Web site: UK TV Adverts - Fun Facts. 2015-01-15. 2015-04-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090819/http://www.uktvadverts.com/facts/?list=ch4. dead.
- Web site: Thinkbox. 2009-04-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090305130459/http://thinkbox.tv/server/show/nav.943. 2009-03-05.
- Web site: BBC One London – 25 December 1989 . BBC Genome . BBC . 26 October 2016.
- Web site: Top of the Pops – BBC One – 28 December 1989 . BBC Genome . 28 December 1989 . BBC . 22 December 2019.
- Web site: Clive James on the 80s – BBC One London – 31 December 1989 – BBC Genome . 31 December 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: Eighties – BBC Two England – 31 December 1989 – BBC Genome . 31 December 1989 . Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk . 2018-01-13.
- Web site: Byker Grove . www.bbc.com . 25 March 2023 . en.
- Web site: The Eighties. https://web.archive.org/web/20121017132731/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/442242. dead. 2012-10-17. BFI. 2009-10-30.
- Web site: What the Papers Say in pictures . The Guardian . 2 April 2022 . 29 May 2008.
- Web site: BBC - Comedy Guide - The Bubblegum Brigade . https://web.archive.org/web/20041209035925/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/bubblegumbrigade_1299000452.shtml . 2004-12-09 . BBC.
