Notable presenters
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(July 2017) |
| Why Don't You? | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Ben Slade, Ant McPartlin |
| No. of series | 42 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Peter Charlton, Patrick Dowling, Catherine MacFarlane, David J. Evans, Kirstie Fisher, Russell T Davies, Trevor Stephenson-Long |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 20 August 1973 – 21 April 1995 |
Why Don't You? (originally Wdyjsoytsagadslbi?: Why don't you just switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead?) was a BBC children's television series created by producer/director Patrick Dowling and broadcast in 42 series between 20 August 1973 and 21 April 1995. The format consisted of groups or "gangs" of children responding to letters from viewers who wrote into the show suggesting games, 'makes' and days out. Typically these were arts-and-crafts activities or games and magic tricks children could learn to impress their friends.
The show was originally broadcast in the morning during the school summer holidays and once was shown during the weekday evening children's TV slot. Later it went out during the Easter and Christmas school holidays although it was also broadcast once on Saturday mornings.
Russell T Davies was at one time a producer and director for Why Don't You...? before going on to greater fame as writer of Queer as Folk and producer of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who . Under Davies's direction, the format of the series shifted from magazine show to drama, with plots frequently centring on harebrained young Welsh presenter Ben Slade and his increasingly elaborate inventions. Slade was the longest serving presenter in the show's 22-year run. [1] During the Russell T Davies/Ben Slade era viewing figures rose from 0.9 to 3 million up against stiff competition on ITV. Slade and Davies reunited in 2019 in a BBC Radio Wales documentary, first broadcast in December of that year.
The 1972 pilot for Why Don't You was filmed in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, with a team of children from Valley Road Primary School. When the series proper launched in 1973, the gang's studio had been moved to Bristol and resembled a dusty basement; however, from 1980 the show also featured gangs from other parts of the United Kingdom, and these shows were made by the respective BBC regional centre, although all were broadcast nationwide. [2] The first "alternative" gangs came from a barn in Scotland and a church hall in Belfast, followed by a seaside café in Cardiff. As the 1980s continued, all four studio settings were abandoned and the gang became based in other UK locations.
The original 1973 theme was "I Say, I Say, I Say", from the De Wolfe Music Library, written by Paul Lewis and credited to The London Studio Group. This theme was retained until 1975. [3] [4] [5]
In 1976 the theme changed to "Kings Road Raspberry Parade", written by Roger Greenaway & Roger Cook and performed by George Martin & His Orchestra. [6] [7]
By 1979 the opening theme had changed to the "Why Don't You?" song, written by Faron Brooks. [8] This series retained "Kings Road Raspberry Parade" as the closing theme, but by 1981 this had been replaced by a reprise of the opening song.
By 1984 the opening song had been re-recorded by a children's choir. [9]
By 1991 the theme tune had changed to one by Norman Cook. [10] The last theme tune was introduced in 1994.
| | This section needs additional citations for verification .(July 2017) |
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.
The Old Grey Whistle Test is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. It took over the BBC2 late-night slot from Disco 2, which ran between September 1970 and July 1971, while continuing to feature non-chart music. The original producer, involved in an executive capacity throughout the show's entire history, was Michael Appleton.
Top of the Pops (TOTP) is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1 January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984.
Blue Peter is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Television Centre in London until September 2011, when the programme moved to dock10 studios at MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester. It is currently shown live on the CBBC television channel on Fridays at 5 pm. The show is also repeated on Saturdays at 11:30 am, Sundays at 9:00 am and a BSL version is shown on Tuesdays at 2:00 pm.
Stephen Russell Davies, better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2023. His other notable works include creating the series Queer as Folk (1999–2000), Bob & Rose (2001), The Second Coming (2003), Casanova (2005), Doctor Who spin-offs Torchwood (2006–2011) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), Cucumber (2015), A Very English Scandal (2018), Years and Years (2019), It's a Sin (2021) and Nolly (2023).
What The Papers Say is a British radio and television series. It consists of quotations from headlines and comment pages in the previous week's newspapers, read in a variety of voices and accents by actors. The quotes are linked by a script read by a studio presenter, usually a prominent journalist. The show did not have a regular host, and was intended as a wry look at how British broadsheets and tabloids covered the week's news stories. The programme was most recently broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
Points of View is a long-running British television series broadcast on BBC One. It started on 2 October 1961 and features the letters of viewers offering praise, criticism and observations on BBC television programmes of recent weeks.
Andi Eleazu Peters is a British television presenter, producer, journalist and voice actor, currently employed by ITV and known for presenting Children's BBC, roles on breakfast TV shows Live & Kicking, GMTV, Good Morning Britain and Lorraine, and for hosting Dancing on Ice: Extra and The Big Reunion.
Fighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. The show is broadcast on Saturday mornings for an hour between 1100 and 1200 and is currently presented by Rick Edwards. This show is a similar format to the ESPN show Around the Horn.
Bear Behaving Badly is a British children's sitcom produced by Darrall Macqueen Productions, which originally aired for four series and was broadcast on CBBC between 3 September 2007 and 21 December 2010.
Benjamin Rory Slade is a British educator.
"Music of the Spheres" is an interactive mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in London before the Intermission of the Doctor Who Prom on 27 July 2008, for which it was especially made. The Doctor Who Prom, including the audio for "Music of the Spheres", was broadcast simultaneously on BBC Radio 3. "Music of the Spheres" was shown on the official BBC Doctor Who website during the interval and the concert itself was filmed for later broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2009.
Michael Duncan Buerk is a British journalist and newsreader. He presented BBC News from 1973 to 2002 and has been the host of BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze since 1990. He was also the presenter of BBC One's docudrama 999 from 1992 to 2003. From 2017, Buerk also presented the TV programme Royal Recipes which ran for two series.
This is a list of British television related events from 1973.
This is a list of British television related events from 1972.
This is a list of British television related events from 1970.
Paul O'Grady on the Wireless was the incarnation of the Sunday teatime slot on BBC Radio 2 from 5 April 2009 to 14 August 2022, hosted by Paul O'Grady. It was produced by Malcolm Prince, who also made regular contributions to the programme, and it regularly attracted over two million listeners. It was broadcast on Sundays between 17:00 and 19:00.
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. The 'About Radio 2' BBC webpage says: "With a repertoire covering more than 40 years, Radio 2 plays the widest selection of music on the radio—from classic and mainstream pop to a specialist portfolio including classical, country, folk, jazz, soul, rock 'n' roll, gospel and blues."
Top Gear is a British motoring magazine and entertainment television programme. It is a revival by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman of the 1977–2001 show of the same name for the BBC, and premiered on 20 October 2002. The programme focuses on the examination and reviewing of motor vehicles, primarily cars, though this was expanded upon after the broadcast of its earlier series to incorporate films featuring motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on a course specially-designed for the relaunched programme. The programme drew acclaim for its visual and presentation style since its launch, which focused on being generally entertaining to viewers, as well as criticism over the controversial nature of its content. The show was also praised for its occasionally controversial humour and lore existing in not just the automotive community but in the form of internet memes and jokes. The programme was aired on BBC Two until it was moved to BBC One for its twenty-ninth series in 2020.
The 2023 specials of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who are three special episodes that aired between 25 November and 9 December 2023, to celebrate the programme's 60th anniversary. They were written by Russell T Davies and marked the start of his second tenure as showrunner, having served in the role from the start of Doctor Who's revival in 2005 until leaving in 2010. The specials were broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on Disney+ internationally.
