1949 in British television

This is a list of British television related events from 1949.

List of years in British television (table)
… 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 …
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Events

January

• No events.

February

• No events.

March

• No events

April

• 23 April - The first FA Amateur Cup Final staged at Wembley is also the first to be televised. The whole match is shown on the BBC, Bromley beating Romford 1-0.

May

• No events.

June

• No events.

July

• July – BBC Television revives the regular televised weather forecast.
• July 11–14 – The first film made specifically for British television, A Dinner Date With Death, is shot at Marylebone Studios in London, featuring Roy Plomley. It is broadcast in 1950.

August

• No events.

September

• 29 September – The BBC Television Service first broadcasts Come Dancing, a TV ballroom dancing competition show.

October

• 26 October – How Do You View?, the first comedy series on British television, starring Terry-Thomas, is first broadcast.

November

• No events.

December

• 17 December – The Sutton Coldfield television transmitter is opened in the Midlands, making it the first part of the UK outside London to receive the BBC Television Service.
• 31 December – BBC television ends the day with a brief live broadcast of 20 sleeping babies in St Thomas' Hospital, London.

Debuts

• 25 January – The Time Machine (1949)
• 10 June – Triple Bill (1949) (trio of plays: Witness For the Prosecution; The Call To Arms; and Box For One)
• 29 September – Come Dancing (1949–1998)
• 26 October – How Do You View? (1949–1953)
• 27 November – By Candlelight (1949)
• 25 December – Miranda (1949)

Continuing television shows

1920s

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

1930s

• Picture Page (1936–1939, 1946–1952)
• For the Children (1937–1939, 1946–1952)
• 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

• Kaleidoscope (1946–1953)
• Muffin the Mule (1946–1955, 2005–2006)
• Café Continental (1947–1953)
• Television Newsreel (1948–1954)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)

Births

• 13 March – David Neilson, actor
• 30 March – Sue Cook, broadcaster and author
• 11 April – David Stafford, writer and broadcaster (died 2023)
• 29 April – Anita Dobson, actress
• 2 May – Alan Titchmarsh, gardener and television presenter
• 13 May – Zoë Wanamaker, American-born actress
• 21 May – Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and broadcaster
• 22 May – Cheryl Campbell, film, television and stage actor
• 16 August – John McArdle, actor
• 25 August – Ross Davidson, actor (died 2006)
• 2 September – Moira Stuart, broadcast presenter
• 10 September – Freddy Marks, actor, singer and musician (died 2021)
• 19 September – Twiggy, model and television presenter
• 23 September – Floella Benjamin, Trinidad-born children's TV presenter and actress
• 6 October – Sarah Cullen, television and radio journalist (died 2012)
• 20 October – Jane Tucker, actress, singer and musician
• 12 December – Bill Nighy, actor
• 13 December – Robert Lindsay, actor

Deaths

• 10 June – Sir Frederick Ogilvie, Director General of the BBC, aged 57

See also

• 1949 in British music
• 1949 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1949

External links

• List of 1949 British television series at IMDb