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1976 in British television

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List of years in British television (table)
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This is a list of British television-related events in 1976.

Events

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January

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February

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  • 4 February – Early morning programming from the Open University begins on BBC1 with Electrons in motion airing at 7:05am. It is shown only on UHF 625-line transmitters.[2]
  • 20 February – The first regular episode of the Ronnie Barker- and David Jason-starring comedy series Open All Hours airs on BBC2, almost three years after the pilot episode was first shown.

March

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  • No events.

April

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May

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June

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July

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  • 1 July – American science-fiction series The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner, launches on ITV and reaches number one in the ratings, an almost unheard-of event for a science-fiction series.
  • 17 July–1 August – The BBC provides extensive live coverage of the 1976 Summer Olympic Games from Montreal. BBC1 broadcasts into the early hours to provide live coverage of the swimming and athletics events with overnight highlights and coverage of other sports shown the following afternoon.
  • 26 July – Channel Television becomes the final ITV region to begin broadcasting in colour although it is not until the following year that all of its local programmes are made in colour.[5]

August

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September

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October

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November

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  • 3 November – ITV screens the network television premiere of the blockbuster 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, starring Sean Connery.[3]
  • 11 November – The "Gwen Troake's Banquet" episode of reality television series The Big Time is broadcast on BBC1 which leads in two weeks to the termination of Fanny Cradock's contract with the BBC due to her patronising attitude towards an amateur chef.

December

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Unknown

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  • Swindon Viewpoint's experimental phase ends when EMI decides to pull out of funding the service. However, the channel continues after being sold to the public of Swindon for £1.
  • Arthur Billitt succeeds Percy Thrower as principal host of BBC2's Gardeners' World after the BBC does not renew Thrower's contract following his agreement to front a series of commercials on independent television for gardening products from ICI Plant Protection.[7]

Debuts

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BBC1

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BBC2

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ITV

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Continuing television shows

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^[e] signifies that this show has a related event in the Events section above.

1920s

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  • BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1945–2019, 2021–present)

1930s

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  • Trooping the Colour (1937–1939, 1945–2019, 2023–present)
  • The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1945–2019, 2021–present)
  • BBC Cricket (1939, 1945–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s

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1950s

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1960s

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1970s

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Ending this year

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Births

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Deaths

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lack of funds closes local TV". The Guardian. 2 January 1976. p. 6.
  2. ^ "BBC One London – 4 February 1976 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b "James Bond On TV – Movies". MI6 – The Home Of James Bond 007. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  4. ^ "LWT forms new company to acquire its equity.", The Times, 20 May 1976; p.26
  5. ^ "Our History". Channel 50: 50 Years of Channel Television. ITV Channel Television. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Fork handles script makes £48,500". BBC News. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  7. ^ Neal, Toby (2022-01-10). "Great Lives: Percy paved a way for future TV gardeners". Shropshire Star. pp. 24–25.
  8. ^ "What the Papers Say in pictures". The Guardian. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Dad's Army". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
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