1984 in British television

This is a list of British television related events from 1984.

Events

• 4 January – Pat Phoenix leaves Coronation Street for the second and final time as Elsie Tanner goes to live with old flame Bill Gregory in Portugal, having been in the show since its inception in 1960.
• 16 January – "The Satellite Channel" is renamed "Sky Channel".
• 30 January – The BBC's Panorama documentary strand broadcasts "Maggie's Militant Tendency" which claims links between several Conservative MPs and far-right organisations both in Britain and Europe. Two of the MPs named, Neil Hamilton and Gerald Howarth subsequently sue the BBC for slander. In 1986 after the BBC withdraws from the case Hamilton is awarded £20,000 damages.^[1]
• 14 February – An estimated 24 million viewers watch Torvill and Dean win Gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics skating to Ravel's Boléro.
• 16 March – Peter Davison's last serial as the Fifth Doctor in Doctor Who, 'The Caves of Androzani', finished; Colin Baker became the Sixth Doctor in the same episode.
• 15 April – Comedian Tommy Cooper dies from a heart attack on live television at the age of 63 during Live From Her Majesty's.
• 7 June – BBC1 airs the first edition of Crimewatch. The first case to be featured on the show is the murder of Colette Aram, which had occurred the previous year. A man is finally charged with the murder in 2009,^[2] and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2010 after pleading guilty.^[3]
• 23 June – ITV broadcasts the rock concert New Brighton Rock recorded at the event staged in the seaside resort of New Brighton, Merseyside over two days on 21 and 22 May.
• 28 July – The 1984 Summer Olympics begin in Los Angeles.
• 27 August – Technicians at Thames Television walk out on strike over the use of new cameras and editing equipment along with overtime payments for transmission staff. The strike lasts for two weeks but the station is off the air for just one day over the August Bank Holiday weekend.^[4] Management and administration staff take over their roles, broadcasting a skeleton service.^[5]
• 1 September – The Children's Channel launched on satellite television.
• 4 September – The Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends television series is first broadcast on ITV.
• 23 September – British single TV drama play Threads premiered on BBC2.
• 8 October – The Australian soap Prisoner: Cell Block H makes its British television debut when Yorkshire Television becomes the first ITV region to begin airing the programme in a late night slot. It is followed by most other ITV regions in 1987.
• 15 October – Channel 4's output increases by 25%. The weekday schedules now begin at 2.30pm instead of 5:00pm, while weekend airtime starts at 1:00pm rather than 2:00pm.
• 16 October – The Bill, a police TV drama, airs for the first time on ITV. It debuted last year as a pilot show Wooden Top.^[6] When the last episode is shown in 2010 it will be the longest-running police procedural in British television history.
• 23 October – BBC News newsreader Michael Buerk gives powerful commentary of the famine in Ethiopia which has already claimed thousands of lives and reportedly has the potential to kill as many as 7million people.
• Unknown – Telstar TV, the UK's first pirate television station goes on air in Birmingham. The channel broadcasts for about eight weeks on the BBC2 transmitter in the Northfield and Rubery areas of the city, showing a mixture of films and pop videos after BBC2 closes at weekends. It goes unnoticed by the authorities for several weeks much to their embarrassment.^[7]

Debuts

BBC1

• 19 January – The Living Planet (1984)
• 29 January – Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989)
• 7 June – Crimewatch (1984–present)
• 1 September – Bob's Full House (1984–1990)
• 3 September – BBC News at Six (1984–present)

BBC2

• 31 January – Alas Smith and Jones (1984–1998)
• 23 September – Threads (1984)

ITV

• 7 January – Child's Play (1984–1988)
• 9 January – The Jewel in the Crown (1984)
• 13 February – Duty Free (1984–1986)
• 26 February – Spitting Image (1984–1996)
• 7 March – Fresh Fields (1984–1986)
• 24 March – The Price Is Right (1984–2007)
• 10 April – How Dare You (1984–1987)
• 24 April – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984–1988, 1991–1994)
• 28 April – Robin of Sherwood (1984–1986)
• 6 May – Surprise Surprise (1984–2001, 2012–present)
• 1 September
  • Bottle Boys (1984–1985)
  • The Saturday Starship (1984–1985)
• 4 September – Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (ITV 1984–2006, Five 2006–present)
• 8 October - Prisoner Cell Block H Yorkshire Region only (1984–1998)
• 13 October – Wide Awake Club (1984–1992)
• 16 October – The Bill (1984–2010)
• Unknown
  • The Trap Door (1984–1986)
  • We Love TV (1984–1986)
  • James the Cat (ITV 1984–1992, Five 1998–2003)

Television shows

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)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• World of Sport (1965–1985)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006–present)
• 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

• Juliet Bravo (1980–1985)
• Dempsey and Makepeace (1984-1986)
• Cockleshell Bay (1980–1986)
• Children in Need (1980–present)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989)
• Thomas the Tank Engine (1984–present)
• The Trap Door (1984–1986)
• James the Cat (1984–2003)

Ending this year

• 14 January – Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime (1983–1984)
• 17 February – A Fine Romance (1981–1984)
• 29 March – Crown Court (1972–1984)
• 2 April – Alphabet Zoo (1983–1984)
• 3 April – The Jewel In The Crown (1984)
• 14 April – The Saturday Show (1982–1984)
• 11 June – Rentaghost (1976–1984)
• 19 June – The Young Ones (1982–1984)
• 24 July – Terrahawks (1983–1984)
• 27 July – Sixty Minutes (1983–1984)
• 24 November – The Gentle Touch (1980–1984)
• 11 December – On Safari (1982–1984)
• 20 December – Screen Test (1970–1984)
• 21 December – Crackerjack (1955–1984)
• 22 December – Punchlines (1981–1984)

Births

• 6 February – Gemma Merna, actress
• 7 March – Rachel Rice, actress and reality show contestant
• 28 March – Nikki Sanderson, actress
• 22 April – Michelle Ryan, actress
• 19 August – Simon Bird, actor
• 27 October – Kelly Osbourne, singer
• 16 November – Gemma Atkinson, actress and model

Deaths

• 11 February – John Comer, 59, actor (Last of the Summer Wine)
• 12 March – Arnold Ridley, 88, actor, Private Charles Godfrey in Dad's Army
• 31 March – Jack Howarth, 88, actor, Albert Tatlock in Coronation Street (1960–1984)
• 15 April – Tommy Cooper, 63, comedian and magician
• 4 May – Diana Dors, 52, actress
• 27 May – Reginald Bosanquet, 51, journalist and newsreader, presented News at Ten during the 1970s
• 28 May – Eric Morecambe, 58, comedian, Morecambe and Wise
• 27 August – Bernard Youens, 69, actor, Stan Ogden in Coronation Street (1964–1984)
• 27 September – Toke Townley, 71, actor, Sam Pearson in Emmerdale (1972–1984)
• 6 October – Leonard Rossiter, 57, actor, Rising Damp, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
• 10 October – Alan Lake, 43, actor

References