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This is a list of events from British radio in 1956.
Events
[edit]- January
- No events.
- February
- No events.
- March
- No events.
- April
- 22 April – The Shipping Forecast is broadcast on long wave for the first time.[1]
- May
- Charles Hill, the former 'Radio Doctor' now Postmaster General with government responsibility for broadcasting, attempts to formalise the existing 'fourteen-day rule' agreement by which discussions or statements about matters before Parliament cannot be broadcast in the fortnight preceding any debate.
- June
- No events.
- July
- No events.
- August
- 17 August – Bacchanale by Jacques Ibert, a commission by the BBC to mark the tenth anniversary of the Third Programme, is performed at The Proms with the composer in the audience.
- September
- No events.
- October
- 29 October–7 November – Suez Crisis. The British government pressures the BBC to support the war[2] and seriously considers taking over the network.[3] Charles Hill also criticises the BBC's coverage but accepts that the 'fourteen-day rule' is unworkable and it is completely suspended by the year's end.
- November
- No events.
- December
- 12 December – The Irish Republican Army launches its Border Campaign in Northern Ireland[4] with the bombing of a BBC relay transmitter in County Londonderry.
- 22 December – The BBC Light Programme begins transmitting from the Wenvoe transmitting station in south Wales on VHF, giving it a wider audience.
Programme debuts
[edit]- 24 April – The Clitheroe Kid is piloted on the BBC North Home Service
- June – My Word! is piloted on the BBC Midland Home Service, chaired by John Arlott[5]
- 17 August – Floggit's featuring Elsie and Doris Waters opens on the BBC Light Programme (1956–1959), including Ronnie Barker's radio debut
- 8 October – The Spice of Life on the BBC Home Service (1956–1957)[6]
Continuing radio programmes
[edit]1930s
[edit]- In Town Tonight (1933–1960)
1940s
[edit]- Music While You Work (1940–1967)
- 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 (1949–1961)
1950s
[edit]- The Archers (1950–Present)
- Educating Archie (1950–1960)
- Listen with Mother (1950–1982)
- The Goon Show (1951–1960)
- Hancock's Half Hour (1954–1959)
- From Our Own Correspondent (1955–Present)
- Pick of the Pops (1955–Present)
Births
[edit]- 6 January – Angus Deayton, actor and television presenter
- 9 January – Imelda Staunton, actress
- 21 January – Ian McMillan, poet and broadcaster
- 14 February – Tom Watt, radio presenter, journalist and actor
- 1 March – Helen Boaden, broadcasting executive
- 4 May – Charlotte Green, radio newsreader and announcer
- 2 June – Susan Rae, Scottish radio newsreader and announcer
- 6 June – Vaughan Savidge, radio newsreader and announcer
- 7 July – Jonathan Kydd, actor
- 2 October – John Pienaar, political journalist
- 30 October – Juliet Stevenson, actress
- 8 November – Richard Curtis, scriptwriter
- 27 November – John McCarthy, journalist
- 26 December – Simon Fanshawe, writer and broadcaster
- 29 December – Fred MacAulay, Scottish comedian
Deaths
[edit]- 20 May – Sir Max Beerbohm, theatre critic, humorist and broadcaster (born 1872)
See also
[edit]- 1956 in British music
- 1956 in British television
- 1956 in the United Kingdom
- List of British films of 1956
References
[edit]- ^ Last long wave only Shipping Forecast
- ^ Goodwin, Peter (2005). "Low Conspiracy? — Government interference in the BBC". Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture. 2 (1): 96–118. doi:10.16997/wpcc.10. ISSN 1744-6708.
- ^ Fairhall, John (30 June 2011). "Drama sparks Suez Crisis memories". Eastern Daily Press. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ Hanley, Brian; Miller, Scott (2009). The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party. Dublin: Penguin Ireland. p. 14.
- ^ My Word, My Music ~ A Fond Farewell.
- ^ Slide, Anthony (2023). Just a Regular Bloke: the Ted Ray Story. BearManor. ISBN 9798887711072.