OTD in early British television: 8 May 1939

8th May 2025

John Wyver writes: Thirty months into the high definition service Mary Adams' Talks programmes were becoming increasingly ambitious, with an increasing number of broadcasts featuring multiple guests. Perhaps the most ambitious was the 50-minute Salute to America on the evening more

OTD in early British television: 7 May 1939

7th May 2025

John Wyver writes: On Sunday 7 May 1939 the critic 'E.H.R.' contributed his usual television review column to The Observer. It was a fairly run-of-the-mill filing, but it gives us occasion to take a brief look at the state of more

OTD in early British television: 6 May 1939

6th May 2025

John Wyver writes: Saturday 6 May 1939 saw an exceptional morning broadcast from midday covering the departure from Waterloo of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, along with the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret (both only going as far as Portsmouth), more

OTD in early British television: 5 May 1938

5th May 2025

Daily Telegraph, 6 May 1938, with a picture (and apologies for the quality of the reproduction) taken in the studio during the previous evening's Picture Page.

OTD in early British television: 30 April 1937

30th April 2025

John Wyver writes: Sports punditry on television starts here, with the first edition of Sports Review on the afternoon and evening of Friday 30 April 1937. Billed as 'a survey of the outstanding sports events in the month of April', more

OTD in early British television: 29 April 1939

29th April 2025

John Wyver writes: Saturday 29 April 1939 was some way off the heady days of my youth when FA Cup Final day was one of those rare and much-anticipated occasions when television began early on a Saturday morning. But already more