Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops 1964

6.60

The biggest stars, the most iconic performances, the most outrageous outfits – it’s Britain’s number one pop show.

1964

Grange Hill

Grange Hill 1978

6.68

Children's drama series following the lives of students and teachers at Grange Hill comprehensive school.

1978

The Graham Norton Show

The Graham Norton Show 2007

7.19

Each week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on around the world that week. The guests poke fun and share their opinions on the main news stories. Graham is often joined by a band or artist to play the show out.

2007

EastEnders

EastEnders 1985

4.15

The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.

1985

Holby City

Holby City 1999

5.75

Drama series about life on the wards of Holby City Hospital, following the highs and lows of the staff and patients.

1999

Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders 2013

8.53

A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world.

2013

Money for Nothing

Money for Nothing 2015

4.50

Entrepreneur Sarah Moore saves things from being dumped and transforms them into valuable pieces, making money for people who had no idea there was cash to be made from their trash.

2015

Dragons' Den

Dragons' Den 2005

6.36

Budding entrepreneurs get three minutes to pitch their business ideas to five multi-millionaires willing to invest their own cash.

2005

Tomorrow's World

Tomorrow's World 1965

6.20

Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series on new developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.

1965

Panorama

Panorama 1953

6.20

Current affairs programme, featuring interviews and investigative reports on a wide variety of subjects.

1953

Angels

Angels 1975

3.70

Angels is a BBC medical soap-opera which launched on 1st September 1975 and was the blue print for such medical soaps as Casualty, Holby City, plus daytime soap, Doctors. The medical soap focuses on different departments within Heath Green Hospital and was a highly successful continuing drama.

1975

Newsnight

Newsnight 1980

6.20

A daily BBC Television current affairs programme which specialises in analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians.

1980

Doctors

Doctors 2000

4.80

Set in the fictional Midlands town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the city of Birmingham, this soap opera follows the staff and families of a doctor's surgery.

2000

BBC Play of the Month

BBC Play of the Month 1965

5.00

A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

1965

Doctor Who

Doctor Who 1963

7.87

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

1963

Doctor Who

Doctor Who 2005

7.60

The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.

2005

Match of the Day 2

Match of the Day 2 2004

6.91

A light-hearted look at the United Kingdom's Premier League action, rounding-up the weekend's football action.

2004

This Is Your Life

This Is Your Life 1955

6.40

This is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64. Michael Aspel then took up the role of host until the show ended in 2003. It returned in 2007 as a one-off special presented by Trevor McDonald, which to date was its most recent airing. In the show the host surprises a special guest, before taking them through their life with the assistance of the 'big red book'. Both celebrities and non-celebrities have been 'victims' of the show. The show was originally broadcast live, and over its run it has alternated between being broadcast on the BBC and on ITV.

1955

The Great British Bake Off

The Great British Bake Off 2010

7.54

This British television baking competition selects from amongst its competitors the best amateur baker. The series is credited with reinvigorating interest in baking throughout the UK, and many of its participants, including winners, have gone on to start a career based on baking.

2010

The Generation Game

The Generation Game 1971

9.00

The Generation Game was a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two competed to win prizes. The programme was first broadcast in 1971 under the title Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game and ran until 1982, and again from 1990 until 2002. The show was based on the Dutch TV show Een van de acht, "One of the Eight", the format devised in 1969 by Theo Uittenbogaard for VARA Television. Mrs. Mies Bouwman - a popular Dutch talk show host and presenter of the show - came up with the idea of the conveyor belt. She had seen it on a German programme and wanted to incorporate it into the show. Another antecedent for the gameshow was 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium' on ATV, which had a game called Beat the Clock, taken from an American gameshow. It featured married couples playing silly games within a certain time to win prize money. This was hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1958, and he took the idea with him when he went over to the BBC. During the 1970s, gameshows became more popular and started to replace expensive variety shows. Creating new studio shows was cheaper than hiring a theatre and paying for long rehearsals and a large orchestra, and could secure a similar number of viewers. With less money for their own productions, a gameshow seemed the obvious idea for ITV. As a result many variety performers were recruited for gameshows. The BBC, suffering poor ratings, decided to make its own gameshow. Bill Cotton, the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment, believed that Bruce Forsyth was best for the job. For years, The Generation Game was one of the strong shows in the BBC's Saturday night line-up, and became the number one gameshow on British television during the 1970s, regularly gaining over 21 million viewers. However, things were about to change. LWT, desperate to end the BBC's long-running ratings success on a Saturday night, offered Forsyth a chance to change channel to host The Big Night.

1971