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1955 in British television

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List of years in British television (table)
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This is a list of British television related events from 1955.

Events

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January

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February

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  • No events.

March

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  • No events.

April

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  • 8 April – The BBC broadcasts Billy Graham's All Scotland Crusade live from the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow.[1] This has the second highest audience share at this time, after the Coronation.

May

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  • May – A consortium of the initial four Independent Television broadcasting companies establishes ITN, which will provide ITV with its news service when it launches in September.
  • 17 May – Sir Anthony Eden hosts a ground-breaking television election programme for the Conservative Party, the first broadcast of its type. The 30 minute programme features government ministers pitted against newspaper editors.[2]
  • 26–27 May – The BBC provides around 17 hours of results coverage of the 1955 United Kingdom general election. The BBC records the coverage for the first time but only around three hours still exists in the BBC archives.

June

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  • 29 June – Life with the Lyons, one of the first successful British sitcoms (starring British-domiciled American couple Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels), premieres on the BBC Television Service, having previously been broadcast only on radio. It will later transfer to ITV.

July

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August

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  • No events.

September

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October

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November

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  • No events.

December

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  • 25 December – After being on radio since 1932, the Royal Christmas Message is broadcast on British television for the first time, in sound only at 3pm. The first visual Christmas message is shown in 1957.

Undated

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New channels

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Date Channel
22 September ITV (network rebrands in the next 46 years to become ITV1)

Debuts

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BBC Television Service/BBC TV

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ITV

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Continuing television shows

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1920s

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  • BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–2024)

1930s

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  • Trooping the Colour (1937–1939, 1946–2019, 2023–present)
  • The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present)
  • BBC Cricket (1939, 1946–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s

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1950s

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Ending this year

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  • Muffin the Mule (1946–1955, 2005–2006)
  • Garrison Theatre (1953–1955)
  • Face the Music (1953–1955)
  • Walk in the Air (1954–1955)
  • Stage by Stage (1954–1955)
  • Fast and Loose (1954–1955)
  • Show Case (1954–1955)

Births

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Deaths

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Genome Project - BBC TV listings 8 April 1955[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Eden takes to the airwaves". BBC On This Day. 1955-05-17. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  3. ^ Sydney-Smith, Susan (2014). "Dixon of Dock Green (1955-76)". screenonline. BFI. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  4. ^ "The 1950s". Irish TV: The story of Irish Television. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  5. ^ "Panorama: The Mescaline Experiment". sotcaa. February 2005. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  6. ^ "New TV channel ends BBC monopoly". BBC "On This Day". 1955-09-22. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  7. ^ Hayward, Anthony (5 September 1998). "Obituary: Barbara Mandell – Arts & Entertainment". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
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