1968 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 1968.

Events

• 4 February – BBC Radio Nottingham broadcasts the UK's first ever radio phone-in, What Are They Up To Now, hosted by Tony Church. ^[1]
• 18 July – The BBC Proms season opens for the first time on a Friday evening, with a tribute to the late Sir Malcolm Sargent.
• 21 August – Protests are heard at tonight's BBC Proms concert by the USSR Symphony Orchestra against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. ^[2]

Station debuts

• 31 January – BBC Radio Nottingham
• 14 February – BBC Radio Brighton
• 14 March – BBC Radio Stoke
• 24 June – BBC Radio Leeds
• 3 July – BBC Radio Durham

Programme debuts

• Undated – The Living World on BBC Radio 4 (1968–Present)
• 14 January – Brain of Britain (as an independent programme) on BBC Radio 2 (1968–Present)
• October – Helo Sut Dach Chi? presented by Hywel Gwynfryn on BBC Wales, the first Welsh-language pop radio programme
• 11 October – Follow This Space on BBC Radio 4 (1968–1969) ^[3]

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

• Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
• Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
• Family Favourites (1945–1980)
• Down Your Way (1946–1992)
• Letter from America (1946–2004)
• Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
• Twenty Questions (1947–1976)
• Any Questions? (1948–Present)
• The Dales (1948–1969)
• A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

1950s

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• Listen with Mother (1950–1982)
• From Our Own Correspondent (1955–Present)
• Pick of the Pops (1955–Present)
• The Clitheroe Kid (1957–1972)
• My Word! (1957–1988)
• Test Match Special (1957–Present)
• The Today Programme (1957–Present)
• The Navy Lark (1959–1977)
• Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
• Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

1960s

• Farming Today (1960–Present)
• In Touch (1961–Present)
• The Men from the Ministry (1962–1977)
• I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (1964–1973)
• Petticoat Line (1965–1979)
• The World at One (1965–Present)
• The Official Chart (1967–Present)
• Just a Minute (1967–Present)

Ending this year

• 9 June – Round the Horne (1965–1968)
• 11 June – The Embassy Lark (1966–1968)
• July – Billy Cotton Band Show (1949–1968)

Births

• 15 January – Alex Lowe, actor, comedian and voice artist
• 16 May – Stephen Mangan, actor and presenter
• 2 June – John Culshaw, comic actor and impressionist
• 15 June – Samira Ahmed, arts journalist and broadcaster
• 4 July – Ronni Ancona, comic actress and impressionist
• 20 July – Julian Rhind-Tutt, actor
• 2 October – Victoria Derbyshire, presenter
• 18 October – Rhod Gilbert, Welsh comedian and presenter
• Sonita Alleyne, media production company executive and college principal
• Chris Neill, comedy producer and performer
• Approximate date – Christopher Green, comedy writer-performer

Deaths

• 10 February – Mary O'Farrell, actress (born 1892)
• 24 June – Tony Hancock, comedian, suicide, in Australia (born 1924)

See also

• 1968 in British music
• 1968 in British television
• 1968 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1968

References

1. "We need to talk: why Britain loves radio phone-ins". theguardian.com. 28 January 2018.
2. "1968 Proms". Your Classical. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
3. Walmsley, Andy (17 March 2015). "That Was the Week - Part 1". Random radio jottings. Retrieved 24 December 2023.