1983 in British television

List of years in British television (table)
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This is a list of British television related events from 1983.

Events

• 3 January – Children's ITV premieres on ITV.
• 17 January – Breakfast Time, Britain's first breakfast show, launches on BBC1.
• 1 February – TV-am launches, with Good Morning Britain
• 6 February – The Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters makes its British television debut when Central becomes the first ITV region to begin screening the programme. All other ITV regions soon follow suit.
• 8 February – Minipops premieres on Channel 4. Though a ratings success, it is axed after only one series due to heavy media criticism.
• 23 February – After months of "will she or won't she?" drama, Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) makes the choice to break up with Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) and reunite with her estranged husband Ken (William Roache) on Coronation Street. The episode was one of the highest-rated in the soap's history.
• 11 May – Peter Adamson makes his last appearance as Len Fairclough on Coronation Street.
• 9 June-10 June – BBC1 and ITV broadcast coverage of the 1983 general election.
• 15 June – The first episode of The Black Adder, the first in the successful Blackadder series of sitcoms, debuts on BBC One.
• 27 June – The shareholders of Satellite Television agree a £5 million offer to give News International 65% of the company.^[1][2]
• 16 August – ITV broadcasts Woodentop as part of its Storyboard series. It would later be turned into a series and re-titled The Bill, commencing in October 1984 and lasting until August 2010.
• 29 August – Blockbusters is launched on ITV, hosted by Bob Holness and features sixth-formers as contestants.
• 6 September – ITV broadcasts Killer. It would later be turned into a series and re-titled Taggart.
• 12 October – Doris Speed makes her last appearance as Annie Walker on Coronation Street.
• 23 November – 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who.
• 25 November – The BBC airs "The Five Doctors", a 90-minute episode of Doctor Who made to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
• ITV's animated series Danger Mouse viewing figures reach 21.59 million,^[3] an all-time high for a British children's programme.
• BBC's school strand was moved to BBC2 and renamed to Daytime on Two.

Debuts

BBC1

• 17 January – Breakfast Time (1983–1989)
• 17 February – Gran (1983)
• 15 June – Blackadder (1983–1989)
• 22 September – Just Good Friends (1983–1986)
• 3 October – Bananaman (1983–1986)
• 24 October – Sixty Minutes (1983–1984)
• 25 October – Don't Wait Up (1983–1990)

BBC2

• 10 March – Tucker's Luck (1983–1985)

ITV

• 3 January – CITV (Afternoon block 1983–2007, Morning block 1983–present)
• 10 January – Alphabet Zoo (1983–1984)
• 1 February –
  • Good Morning Britain (1983–1992)
  • TV-am (1983–1992)
• 5 April – First Tuesday (1983–1993)
• 16 April – Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983–1986)
• 29 August – Blockbusters (1983–93, 1994–95, 1997, 2000–01, 2012)
• 6 September
  • Taggart (1983–2011)
  • Rocky Hollow (1983)
• 12 September – Dramarama (1983–1989)
• 16 October – Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime (1983–1984)
• 23 October – Highway (1983–1993)
• 30 November – Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1983–1985)
• 27 December – The Wind in the Willows (1983–1990)

Channel 4

• 8 February – Minipops (1983)

Television shows

Changes of network affiliation

Shows	Moved from	Moved to
Des O'Connor Tonight	BBC1	ITV
BBC Schools and Colleges programmes		BBC2

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• Panorama (1953–present)
• Crackerjack (1955–1984)
• What the Papers Say (1956–2008)
• The Sky at Night (1957–present)
• Blue Peter (1958–present)
• Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street (1960–present)
• Songs of Praise (1961–present)
• Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005–present)
• World in Action (1963–1998)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Match of the Day (1964–present)
• Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
• Play School (1964–1988)
• Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999, 2008–2010, 2012–present)
• World of Sport (1965–1985)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006)
• Sportsnight (1965–1997)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• The Money Programme (1966–2010)
• The Big Match (1968–2002)

1970s

• The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)
• The Two Ronnies (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)
• Crown Court (1972–1984)
• Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
• Pebble Mill at One (1972–1986)
• Weekend World (1972–1988)
• Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)
• Emmerdale (1972–present)
• Newsround (1972–present)
• We Are the Champions (1973–1987)
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)
• That's Life! (1973–1994)
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)
• Arena (1975–present)
• Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
• Rentaghost (1976–1984)
• One Man and His Dog (1976–present)
• 3-2-1 (1978–1988)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008)
• Terry and June (1979–1987)
• The Book Tower (1979–1989)
• Blankety Blank (1979–1990, 1997–2002)
• The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1979–1994)
• Antiques Roadshow (1979–present)
• Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

• The Gentle Touch (1980–1984)
• Juliet Bravo (1980–1985)
• Cockleshell Bay (1980–1986)
• Children in Need (1980–present)
• A Fine Romance (1981–1984)
• Punchlines (1981–1984)
• Finders Keepers (1981–1985, 1991–1996, 2006)
• Freetime (1981–1985)
• Game for a Laugh (1981–1985)
• Tenko (1981–1985)
• That's My Boy (1981–1986)
• Razzamatazz (1981–1987)
• Bergerac (1981–1991)
• The Saturday Show (1982–1984)
• The Young Ones (1982–1984)
• Odd One Out (1982–1985)
• On Safari (1982–1985)
• 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
• Wogan (1982–1992)
• Saturday Superstore (1982–1987)
• The Tube (1982–1987)
• Brookside (1982–2003)
• Let's Pretend (1982–1988)
• No. 73 (1982–1988)
• Timewatch (1982–present)
• Countdown (1982–present)
• Right to Reply (1982–2001)

Ending this year

• 6 February – The Professionals (1977–1983)
• 8 March – Animal Magic (1962–1983)
• 21 April – ITV Playhouse (1967–1983)
• 12 May – Gran (1983)
• 5 July – The Gaffer (1981–1983)
• 21 July – Andy Robson (1982–1983)
• 5 August – Nationwide (1969–1983)
• 19 October – Butterflies (1978–1983, 2000)
• 28 October – The Bounder (1982–1983)
• 30 December – The Good Old Days (1953–1983)

Births

• 5 February – Gemma McCluskie (d. 2012)
• 14 March – Johnny Flynn, actor
• 15 March – Sean Biggerstaff, actor
• 21 March – Bruno Langley, actor
• 22 April – Elliott Jordan, actor
• 5 May – Lucy-Jo Hudson, actress
• 13 May – Natalie Cassidy, actress
• 30 May – Jennifer Ellison, actress
• 31 May – Reggie Yates, actor and television and radio presenter
• 6 June
  • Gemma Bissix, actress
  • Ella Smith, actress
• 30 June – Cheryl Cole, singer
• 19 July – Brooke Kinsella, actress and writer
• 20 July – Rory Jennings, actor
• 7 August – Tina O'Brien, actress
• 21 August – Chantelle Houghton, reality TV star
• 24 August – Christopher Parker, actor
• 28 October – Joe Thomas, actor
• 17 November – Harry Lloyd, actor
• Unknown – Natalie Denning, British model

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Cinematic Credibility
2 January	Dick Emery	67	comedian and actor
20 October	Peter Dudley	48	actor (Coronation Street)
15 November	John Le Mesurier	71	actor (Dad's Army)
26 December	Violet Carson	85	actress (Coronation Street)

References

1. News International buys 65% of satellite group. By Bill Johnstone, Electronics Correspondent. The Times, Wednesday, 29 June 1983; pg. 13
2. Title The franchise affair: creating fortunes and failures in independent televisionAuthors Asa Briggs, Joanna SpicerEdition illustratedPublisher century, 1986Original from the University of MichiganDigitized 9 Oct 2006 ISBN 9780712612012
3. "Cosgrove Hall: 30 years". BBC Manchester. June 2006. Retrieved 2013-10-12.