OTD in early British television: 27 February 1939

27th February 2025

John Wyver writes: Before the war The Times did not employ a regular television critic, but occasional anonymous columns offered acute reflections on the development of the new medium. These included a piece published on Monday 27 February 1939 headed more

OTD in early British television: 25 February 1932

25th February 2025

John Wyver writes: Today is the 93rd anniversary of the earliest Shakespeare performance on British television that I can identify. In the morning of Thursday 25 February 1932, producer Harold Bradly in the Baird studio in Covent Garden's Long Acre, more

OTD in early British television: 24 February 1939

24th February 2025

John Wyver writes: The evening schedule of Friday 24 February 1939 featured a half-hour police drama with a twist, since you, the viewer, were expected to solve the crime. The Fletcher Case was the third of the occasional Telecrime series, more

OTD in early British television: 23 February 1939

23rd February 2025

John Wyver writes: Characterised by The Times as ‘an animated scene’, the interior of the Marble Arch Pavilion cinema was packed on the evening of 23 February 1939 with ‘an audience of men and women who were evidently boxing enthusiasts.’⁠ Every more

OTD in early British television: 21 February 1938

21st February 2025

John Wyver writes: Making a Poster on the evening of Monday 21 February 1938 featured artist Dora Clarke, familiar from other AP broadcasts, taking the audience through the stages of producing what was not exactly a poster, but rather the more

OTD in early British television: 20 February 1937

20th February 2025

John Wyver writes: Frustration reigned at AP on the afternoon of Saturday 20 February 1937 as it proved impossible to get the vision system working and between the sound-only transmission of records director of television Gerald Cock had to make more

OTD in early British television: 19 February 1938

19th February 2025

John Wyver writes: The afternoon of Saturday 19 February 1938 saw high drama enacted in and around Alexandra Palace. Fire Up Aloft was a 25-minute fire-fighting demonstration given by members of the Enfield Fire Brigade, with the full-hearted participation of more

OTD in early British television: 18 February 1939

18th February 2025

John Wyver writes: Just after 10pm on Saturday 18 February 1939 the AP schedule carried an unbilled 3-minute item titled Special Transmission. This was a short interview with the Mr Edgar Charloe of Acton about his suggestion for a 'Viewer's more