‘Nation shall speak peace unto
Nation’... Speaking to a Lords Select Committee in 2016, Lord Booth described the corporation as “a cornerstone of British life. The BBC is, indeed, a national treasure. It is the envy of countries all over the world [...] as it has been since the days of Lord Reith.” A Scottish Calvinist, Reith had high moral standards for its content, and set out a strict code of conduct hosts and guests followed. Topics like religion were avoided, as well as derogatory or coarse language. Censorship was usually done in the public’s presumed ‘best interest’, while the UK government maintained a quiet ban on the corporation commenting on its public policies. Reith stepped down in 1938 after establishing BBC branches across the Empire.
Sound and vision… Fellow Scotsman John Logie Baird became
the father of live television in 1929. Continued forays into the burgeoning technology met the ire of then-traditional live entertainment mediums, namely theatres and concert halls, who relied on performers’ material being ever-changing rather than preserved in broadcast media. Television shut down during WWII, putting increased emphasis on radio services to maintain public morale and information. The BBC broadcast messages from Churchill, international and religious leaders, the royal family and staffer George Orwell, but also continued to censor local and international news all over Europe – and even banned music from composers of ‘enemy’ nations. This practice continued into the Cold War, and in individual instances, like the Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen and Ding, Dong! The Witch Is Dead following Thatcher’s death.
Andy Zaltzman
guests since include Princess Margaret, David Attenborough, Stephen Fry, George Michael, Maya Angelou, and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. A light, fun listen providing interesting insight into storied lives.
EVE DAVIES
Doctor Who In 1966, Doctor Who had a problem. Leading actor William Hartnell’s failing health was affecting his ability to learn the Doctor’s lines. The show was successful, therefore, BBC bosses needed a solution. Enter: regeneration. William Hartnell’s first Doctor regenerated into Patrick Troughton’s second Doctor on 29 Oct 1966 in the fourth episode of The Tenth Planet. As a result, the show has now been running for 59 years (albeit with a few breaks), becoming one of the BBC’s most successful exports. Curiously,
itself is missing, having been junked by the BBC in the 70s – so check your attics for any old film cans… you may just well have a piece of television history in there!
the episode
1970s: BBC Cymru Wales’ first colour
broadcast comes from the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. BBC Wales and BBC Cymru radio stations launch.
1980s: S4C (Sianel Pedwar
In 2008, Doctor Who, became a cultural juggernaut once more, gaining millions of viewers with its reboot. Not only did this bring those eyes to Wales where the show has been filmed since 2005, but it also spawned the adult-orientated spin-off Torchwood (set in Cardiff) and CBBC spin-off Sarah Jane Adventures. In June 2008, the three shows came together
ambitious two-parter The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End, which included a surprise regeneration for David Tennant’s Doctor, seen by over 10 million people watching live in the UK.
for an epic crossover for
Now (spoilers ahead!), David Tennant has just returned to Doctor Who with Swansea’s Russell T. Davies back as head writer and Sex Education actor Ncuti Gatwa coming on board as the next Doctor. What’s more, the show will continue to be produced domestically by BBC Wales, and given an extra boost from its partnership with Disney+, bringing millions more eyes worldwide to our country.
JOSHUA WILLIAMS
Cymru, or Welsh Fourth Channel) is created as the first solely Welsh-language station; Pobol Y Cwm becomes the first British soap opera broadcast daily.
1990s: First BBC Welsh webpages
go online. Despite competition
from deregulated commercial stations, devolution increases investment in BBC Wales.
2000s: BBC 2W goes on air. Doctor
Not big enough for the both of us…
The BBC’s TV monopoly was demolished in 1955 with the creation of ITV. Throwing some major shade ITV’s way in 1960 was this report from business bigwig Sir Harry Pilkington’s committee: “Those who say they give the public what it wants begin by underestimating public taste, and end by debauching it”. Dissatisfied by the output of commercial television, Pilkington gave the BBC an extra channel, BBC 2, creating BBC 1 by default. Not only this, BBC 2 was higher resolution and became the first to broadcast in colour in 1967. Unofficial competition came in the form of pirate radio, leading to greater regulation, along with expansion and restructuring of BBC services to become more localised and specialised. Competition has nipped at its heels ever since – today, from online streaming – but the Beeb has weathered it all, a century later.
HANNAH COLLINS
Who is relaunched by BBC Cymru Wales from Roath Lock and becomes an instant hit.
2010s: BBC Cymru Wales is first
in the UK to go totally digital; successes like Merlin, Casualty and Sherlock drive expanded drama department.
2020s: BBC opens new Broadcasting
House in Central Square, Cardiff.
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