1954 in British radio

This is a list of events from British radio in 1954.

Events

• 25 January – First broadcast of Dylan Thomas's radio play Under Milk Wood , two months after its author's death, with Richard Burton as 'First Voice', on the BBC Third Programme.
• 18 September – The Last Night of the Proms for the first time features the subsequently almost-invariable second-half coupling of Sir Henry Wood's 1905 Fantasia on British Sea Songs , Sir Edward Elgar's 1902 setting of "Land of Hope and Glory", Sir Hubert Parry's 1916 setting of William Blake's "Jerusalem", and "Rule, Britannia!". ^[1]
• BBC Light Programme Saturday morning music request programme Children's Favourites , presented by Derek McCulloch ("Uncle Mac"), replaces Children's Choice.

Programme debuts

• 2 November – Hancock's Half Hour on BBC radio ^[2] (1954–1959 on radio)
• Antony Hopkins Talking About Music on the BBC Third Programme (1954–1992)

Continuing radio programmes

1930s

• In Town Tonight (1933–1960)

1940s

• Music While You Work (1940–1967) ^[3]
• Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
• Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
• Family Favourites (1945–1980)
• Down Your Way (1946–1992)
• Have A Go (1946–1967)
• Housewives' Choice (1946–1967)
• Letter from America (1946–2004)
• Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
• Twenty Questions (1947–1976)
• Any Questions? (1948–Present)
• Mrs Dale's Diary (1948–1969)
• Take It from Here (1948–1960)
• Billy Cotton Band Show (1949–1968)
• A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)
• Ray's a Laugh (1949–1960)

1950s

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• Educating Archie (1950–1960)
• Listen with Mother (1950–1982)
• The Goon Show (1951–1961)

Births

• 28 May – Andy Hamilton, comedy scriptwriter and performer
• 8 July – Mark Tavener, scriptwriter (d. 2007)
• 26 August – Steve Wright, DJ (d. 2024)
• 27 August – Andrew Marshall, comedy scriptwriter
• 27 November – Arthur Smith, comedian and radio presenter
• 1 December – Alan Dedicoat, newsreader and broadcast announcer
• David Miles, newsreader and broadcast announcer

See also

• 1954 in British music
• 1954 in British television
• 1954 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1954

References

1. Cannadine, David (2008). "The 'Last Night of the Proms' in historical perspective". Historical Research . 31 (212): 315–349. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2281.2008.00466.x.
2. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN   978-0-14-102715-9.
3. "Music While You Work". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024.