1990 in British television

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This is a list of British television related events from 1990.

Events

• 25 March – British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) launches on cable in the UK, a rival to Sky Television (which launched in February 1989).
• 26 March – The science fiction soap Jupiter Moon makes its debut on the Galaxy channel. 150 episodes are commissioned, but only 108 are aired before the series is cancelled in December.
• 28 March – ITV broadcasts the Granada Television documentary drama, Who Bombed Birmingham?. The programme, which looks at the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings and the conviction of the Birmingham Six names several people believed to have actually been behind the bombings.
• 3 April – ITV airs the First Tuesday documentary Sonia's Baby, the story of a woman's fight with the medical establishment to have a test tube baby using her late husband's sperm.
• 29 April – BSB launches on satellite television.
• 10 May – The Broadcasting Bill receives its third reading in the House of Commons and is passed with 259 votes to 180.
• 28 May – ITV airs a special edition of Coronation Street as part of its Telethon in which Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander) returns for a special visit.
• 6 July – Channel 4 introduced a third weekly episode of its soap Brookside, airing on a Friday evening. The soap now airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
• 7 July – In Rome, on the eve of the final of the 1990 FIFA World Cup soccer the Three Tenors sing together for the first time. The event is broadcast live on television and watched worldwide by millions of people. Highlight is Luciano Pavarotti's performance of "Nessun Dorma" from Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot.
• 9 September – As part of the Screen One series, BBC1 screens the groundbreaking comedy drama Frankenstein's Baby which explores the subject of male pregnancy.
• 30 September – The BSB channel Galaxy airs the pilot episode of Heil Honey I'm Home!, a controversial sitcom featuring a fictionalised Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. The show attracts much criticism and is cancelled after one episode. Several other episodes were recorded, but none have ever been broadcast.
• 2 October – The First Tuesday documentary Swing Under the Swastika airs on ITV. The programme looks at jazz music under the Nazi regime and is narrated by Alan Plater.
• 2 November – BSB merges with Sky Television, becoming British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). Of BSB's five channels, only two, The Movie Channel and The Sports Channel, remain on air long term, though both are eventually renamed. Galaxy is closed with its transponders handed over to Sky One, Now is replaced in the most part with Sky News and The Power Station remains on air until 8 April 1991 before being replaced by MTV.
• 20 November – Broadcaster John Sergeant's famous encounter with Margaret Thatcher on the steps of the British embassy in Paris. He was waiting for Thatcher in the hope of hearing her reaction to the first ballot in the party leadership contest of 1990, only to be pushed aside by her press secretary, Sir Bernard Ingham, when Thatcher emerges from the building. Sergeant later wins the British Press Guild award for the most memorable broadcast of the year.
• November – The Broadcasting Act 1990 receives Royal Assent. The Act paves the way for the deregulation of the British commercial broadcasting industry, and will have many consequences for the ITV system.
• 9 December – Cilla Black hosts Happy Birthday Coronation Street, an evening of entertainment on ITV to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Coronation Street. The series reached its 30th birthday on 9 December.

Debuts

BBC1

• 4 January – One Foot in the Grave (1990–2000).
• 21 April – 8:15 from Manchester (1990–1992)
• 28 June – Waiting for God (1990–1994)
• 2 July – Masterchef (1990-2001, 2005-)
• 29 October – Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995)

BBC2

• 28 September – Have I Got News for You (1990–present)
• 3 October – The Mary Whitehouse Experience (1990–1992)

ITV

• 1 January – Mr Bean (1990–1995)
• 7 February – El C.I.D. (1990–1992)
• 7 February – No Job for a Lady (1990–1992)
• 28 February – Spatz (1990–1992)
• 6 March – Chancer (1990–1991)
• 16 April – You've Been Framed (1990–present)
• 22 April – Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993)
• 23 April – Families (1990–1993)
• 1 May – The Upper Hand (1990–1996)
• 21 July – Stars in Their Eyes (1990–2006)
• 7 September – The Piglet Files (1990–1992)

Channel 4

• February – Cutting Edge (1990–present)
• 15 February – The Crystal Maze (1990–1995)
• 9 August – Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998)

Television shows

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• Panorama (1953–present)
• This Week (1956–1978, 1986–1992)
• What the Papers Say (1956–present)
• The Sky at Night (1957–present)
• Blue Peter (1958–present)
• Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street (1960–present)
• World in Action (1963–1998)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006–present)
• The Money Programme (1966–present)
• The Big Match (1968–2002)

1970s

• Rainbow (1972–1992)
• Emmerdale (1972–present).
• Newsround (1972–present).
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973–present).
• That's Life! (1973–1994)
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974–present).
• Arena (1975–present).
• Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008).
• Antiques Roadshow (1979–present).
• Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

• Bergerac (1981–1991)
• 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
• Wogan (1981–1992)
• Brookside (1982–2003)
• Timewatch (1982–present)
• Right to Reply (1982–2001)
• Good Morning Britain (1983–1992)
• First Tuesday (1983–1993)
• Highway (1983–1993)
• Spitting Image (1984–1996)
• The Bill (1984–present)
• Busman's Holiday (1985–1993)
• EastEnders (1985–present).
• The Cook Report (1985–1998)
• Crosswits (1985–1998)
• Telly Addicts (1985–1998)
• Bread (1986–1991)
• Brush Strokes (1986–1991)
• Naked Video (1986–1991)
• Boon (1986–1992, 1995)
• Lovejoy (1986–1994)
• Beadle's About (1986–1996)
• Comic Relief (1986–present).
• The Chart Show (1986–1998, 2008–2009)
• Casualty (1986–present).
• All Clued Up (1987–1992)
• Going Live! (1987–1993)
• Watching (1987–1993)
• The Time, The Place (1987–1996)
• Allsorts (1987–1995)
• Going for Gold (1987–1996, 2008–present)
• ChuckleVision (1987–present).
• I Can Do That (1988–1991)
• After Henry (1988–1992)
• Park Avenue (1988–1992)
• Count Duckula (1988–1993)
• You Rang, M'Lord? (1988–1993)
• Playdays (1988–1997)
• London's Burning (1988–2002)
• On the Record (1988–2002)
• Fifteen to One (1988–2003)
• This Morning (1988–present).
• Tricky Business (1989–1991)
• The Channel Four Daily (1989–1992)
• Absolutely (1989–1993)
• KYTV (1989–1993)
• Press Gang (1989–1993)
• Birds of a Feather (1989–1998)
• A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995)
• Desmond's (1989–1994)
• The Simpsons (1989-present)

Ending this year

• Blankety Blank (1979–1990, 1997–2002)
• Opportunity Knocks (1956–1978, 1987–1990)
• All Creatures Great and Small (1978)
• Don't Wait Up (1983)
• Bob's Full House (1984)
• Home to Roost (1985)
• Howards' Way (1985)
• Colin's Sandwich (1988)
• Noel's Saturday Roadshow (1988)
• Campion (1989)
• Everybody's Equal (1989)
• The Labours of Erica (1989)

Births

• 16 May – Thomas Sangster, actor

Deaths

• 8 January – Terry-Thomas, 78, actor
• 14 January – Gordon Jackson, 66, actor
• 8 April – Doreen Sloane, 56, actress
• 14 November – Malcolm Muggeridge, 87, journalist, author and media personality