1994 in British television

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This is a list of British television related events from 1994.

Events

January

• 2 January – BBC2 begins a repeat run of the 1960s US television series The Fugitive.^[1]
• 10 January – The Welsh language soap opera Pobol y Cwm makes its debut in the rest of the UK when BBC2 begins airing episodes daily from Mondays to Thursdays.^[2] The series was, shown with English subtitles, aired on BBC2 for three months,^[3] and on an experimental basis.^[4]
• 13 January – David Dimbleby takes over as host of Question Time.
• 14 January – An episode of the television soap Brookside shows a lesbian kiss between two of its characters.^[5][6]

February

• 4 February – Following a review of the broadcasting ban conducted by Heritage Secretary Peter Brooke the Major government decides to maintain the status quo.^[7]
• 12–27 February – The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway.

March

• 25 March – Lynne Perrie makes her final appearance as Coronation Street battleaxe Ivy Tilsley. The press later speculates that Perrie's decision to have plastic surgery without consulting her bosses was the reason for her departure, though Perrie denied this, insisting that she felt that her character had simply run its course. Ivy's death occurs off screen the following year.

April

• 7 April – BBC Scotland makes history by televising a criminal trial as part of its Focal Point strand.
• 11 April – BBC1 introduces a third weekly episode of EastEnders which airs on Mondays at 8:00pm.
• 12 April – Paula Tilbrook makes her debut in Emmerdale as long-serving character Betty Eagleton.
• 16 April – BBC2 celebrates its 30th birthday (four days early) with an evening of programmes selected and introduced by former controller David Attenborough. Among them are episodes of Elizabeth R and The Barry Humphries Show, a 1967 documentary about politics in India and a new episode of Call My Bluff.

May

• 3 May – Channel 4 starts broadcasting Brookside on Tuesdays instead of Mondays which means the soap is now seen on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
• 5 May – The Simpsons 100th episode airs on Sky1.
• 10 May – Launch of BBC Worldwide.
• 12 May –
  • The European Commission of Human Rights rejects a legal challenge brought by the National Union of Journalists seeking to take the British government to court for breach of freedom of expression under the European Convention of Human Rights over the broadcast ban.^[8][9]
  • The death of Labour Party leader and Leader of the Opposition John Smith, who suffered a fatal heart attack. That evening's edition of the BBC Nine O'Clock News is extended to an hour as opposed to the usual half-hour, meaning the following programme due to air at 9.30 and coincidentally entitled Cardiac Arrest is postponed. Panellists on the evening's edition of Question Time, including George Robertson and Menzies Campbell, depart from the usual political debate to pay tribute to Smith instead.
• 25 May – First broadcast of the Wipeout television game show created by Bob Fraser.

June

• 3 June – Broadcast of an episode of Have I Got News for You in which panelist Ian Hislop was suffering from appendicitis during filming. Having spent most of that day in hospital awaiting treatment, he temporarily discharged himself to record the episode, before returning to undergo surgery.
• 5–10 June – Sue Lawley presents News '44, a series of news bulletin-style programmes to mark the 50th anniversary of D-Day.
• 6 June – Due to a failed satellite link, BBC1 is unable to broadcast a remembrance concert marking the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Instead it is forced to show recorded highlights of D-Day commemoration events and a repeated Wildlife on One documentary about racoons. The concert, featuring Dame Vera Lynn and other stars, from the QE2 off the Normandy port of Cherbourg, is recorded and shown three days later.^[10]
• 17 June–17 July – The BBC and ITV show live coverage of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
• 19 June – That's Life!, the long-running BBC magazine programme presented by Esther Rantzen, is broadcast for the last time following twenty one years on air.
• 20 June – The BBC's Arabic television service is launched, with funding from the Saudi Arabian Mawarid Group.

July

• 1 July – Launch of the BBC's Japanese News and Information Service.
• 3 July – Gerry Goldwyre wins the 1994 series of MasterChef.
• 16 July – John Finch, performing as Marti Pellow wins the fifth series of Stars in Their Eyes.

August

• 11 August – Frazer Hines makes his final appearance in Emmerdale.
• 16 August – A new channel, Sky Sports 2 launches.
• 27 August – BBC2 presents a night of programming dedicated to ATV.

September

• 16 September – The restrictions that prevents radio and television broadcasting the voices of members of some Irish political and military groups are lifted in the wake of the Provisional IRA's ceasefire declaration.^[11][12]
• 21 September – University Challenge returns to British TV, making its debut on BBC2 with Jeremy Paxman as host.

October

• 3 October – Two more channels, Sky Soap and Sky Real Lives, then known as Sky Travel, launch.
• 6 October – Debut of the Central Television soap Revelations, a series about a clergyman and his family written by Russell T. Davies. The series, which was only aired in some ITV regions ran for two seasons, and featured Davies' first gay character, a lesbian vicar named Joan (played by Sue Holderness) who comes out during a two-hander episode with another female character.
• 24 October – The Sharongate storyline in EastEnders, centred around the character of Sharon Mitchell (played by Letitia Dean) reaches its finale. The episode is watched by 25.3 million viewers.

November

• 4 November – Leslie Crowther announces his retirement from show business.
• 7 November – Barbara Windsor makes her EastEnders debut as Peggy Mitchell. The character had previously been briefly played by Jo Warne in 1991.
• 10 November –
  • To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Lord Lucan following the murdeer of his children's nanny, ITV airs The Trial of Lord Lucan, a production by Granada Television which sees a fictional dramatisation of how a trial against the peer might proceed.^[13]
  • The first episode of the Dawn French sitcom The Vicar Of Dibley airs on BBC1.
• 11 November – The BBC apologises after its Ceefax teletext service mistakenly reports the death of the Queen Mother. The item – described as a rehearsal script – is on screen for 30 seconds before being removed.^[14] The Queen Mother died in 2002.
• 13 November – Katie Targett-Adams wins the 1994 series of Junior MasterChef.
• 18 November – Debut of The Trial, a series of documentaries aired on BBC2, which were filmed largely inside Scottish courts in 1993 and early 1994. Filming of the series is possible because Criminal Justice Act 1925, the legislation banning photography in British courts does not appl in Scotland.
• 19 November – BBC1 airs the first National Lottery draw, which is hosted by Noel Edmonds.

December

• 3 December – Comedian Larry Grayson makes his final television appearance at the Royal Variety Performance (recorded on 28 November). He had been absent from television for some years and made reference to this during his act, commenting to the audience, "They thought I was dead!". He died the following month.
• 21 December – The BBC subscription service BBC Select ends broadcasts after two years on air.^[15]
• 25 December –
  • Christmas Day highlights include the British television premier of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves on BBC1.^[16]
  • ITV screens its first Christmas episode of Heartbeat, titled "A Winter's Tale".
• 29 December – British television premier of In Bed with Madonna, a film following singer Madonna during her 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour, and broadcast by BBC2.^[17]

Unknown

• Unknown – The first BBC website is created for the BBC 2 series The Net.

Debuts

BBC1

• Unknown – Animal Hospital (1994–2004)
• 30 January – Incredible Games (1994–1995)
• 13 March – Pie in the Sky (1994–1997)
• 25 May – Wipeout (1994–2002)
• 16 July – Pets Win Prizes (1994–1996)
• 24 July – Small Talk (1994–1996)
• 18 September – Paul Merton's Palladium Story (1994)
• 5 October – SMart (1994–2009)
• 10 November – The Vicar of Dibley (1994–2007)
• 27 November – A Mind to Kill (1994–2004)

BBC2

• 9 January – The High Life (1994–1995)
• 19 January – The Day Today (1994)
• 4 July – Room 101 (1994–2007)
• 17 September – Top of the Pops 2 (1994–present)
• 19 September – Working Lunch (1994–2010)
• 27 September – The Fast Show (1994–1997, 2000)
• 24 October – Ready Steady Cook (1994–2010)

ITV

• 4 January – Budgie the Little Helicopter (1994–1996)
• 10 January – Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean (1994)
• 28 February – Talking Telephone Numbers (1994–1997)
• 10 April – The Knock (1994–2000)
• 25 April – Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean (1994)
• 29 May – Cadfael One Corpse Too Many (1994 Season 1 Episode 1)
• 5 June – Cadfael The Sanctuary Sparrow (1994 Season 1 Episode 2)
• 12 June – Cadfael The Leper of Saint Giles (1994 Season 1 Episode 3)
• 19 June – Cadfael Monk's Hood (1994 Season 1 Episode 4)
• 15 July – Body Heat (1994–1996)
• 27 July – Wycliffe (1994–1998)
• 7 September – Police Camera Action! (1994–2008)
• 25 October – Back to School Mr. Bean (1994)
• 12 November – Open Fire (1994)

Channel 4

• 16 January – Time Team (1994–2013)
• 12 February – Don't Forget Your Toothbrush (1994–1995)
• 30 July – The People's Parliament (1994–1999)

Television shows

Changes of network affiliation

Shows	Moved from	Moved to
Blockbusters	ITV	Sky1
Men Behaving Badly		BBC1
This Is Your Life

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

• 10 January – The new version of Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)
• 18 March – Play Your Cards Right (1980–1987, 1994–1999, 2002–2003)
• 18 April – Blockbusters (1983–1993, 1994–1995, 1997, 2000–2001, 2012)
• 21 September – University Challenge (1962–1987 ITV, 1994–present BBC)

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• Panorama (1953–present)
• Take Your Pick (1955–1968, 1992–1998)
• 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)
• World in Action (1963–1998)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Match of the Day (1964–present)
• Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006)
• Sportsnight (1965–1997)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• The Money Programme (1966–2010)

1970s

• Emmerdale (1972–present)
• Newsround (1972–present)
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)
• Celebrity Squares (1975–1979, 1993–1997, 2014–present)
• Arena (1975–present)
• One Man and His Dog (1976–present)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008)
• Antiques Roadshow (1979–present)
• Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

• Children in Need (1980–present)
• Timewatch (1982–present)
• Brookside (1982–2003)
• Countdown (1982–present)
• Right to Reply (1982–2001)
• Spitting Image (1984–1996)
• The Bill (1984–2010)
• EastEnders (1985–present)
• The Cook Report (1985–1998)
• Crosswits (1985–1998)
• Telly Addicts (1985–1998)
• Comic Relief (1985–present)
• Beadle's About (1986–1996)
• The Chart Show (1986–1998, 2008–2009)
• Casualty (1986–present)
• Allsorts (1987–1995)
• Going for Gold (1987–1996, 2008–2009)
• The Time, The Place (1987–1996)
• Chain Letters (1987–1997)
• ChuckleVision (1987–2009)
• You Bet! (1988–1997)
• Playdays (1988–1997)
• London's Burning (1988–2002)
• On the Record (1988–2002)
• Fifteen to One (1988–2003, 2013–present)
• This Morning (1988–present)
• Birds of a Feather (1989–1998, 2014–present)
• A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995)

1990s

• Mr. Bean (1990–1995)
• The Crystal Maze (1990–1995)
• Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995)
• The Dreamstone (1990–1995)
• Turnabout (1990–1996)
• The Upper Hand (1990–1996)
• Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998)
• Stars in Their Eyes (1990–2006)
• Big Break (1991–2002)
• 2point4 Children (1991–1999)
• The Brittas Empire (1991–1997)
• Bottom (1991–1995)
• Soldier Soldier (1991–1997)
• Brum (1991–1994, 2001–2002)
• Noel's House Party (1991–1999)
• GamesMaster (1992–1998)
• Heartbeat (1992–2010)
• Men Behaving Badly (1992–1998)
• The Big Breakfast (1992–2002)
• Noddy's Toyland Adventures (1992–1999)
• 999 (1992–2003)
• Chef! (1993–1996)
• Doctor Finlay (1993–1996)
• Saturday Disney (1993–1996)
• Breakfast with Frost (1993–2005)
• ZZZap! (1993–2001)
• Avenger Penguins (1993–1994)
• Jo Brand Through the Cakehole (1993–1996)
• Mr. Motivator exercise routines (1993–2000)
• Wipeout (1994–2002)

Ending this year

• That's Life! (1973–1994)
• Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
• The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1979–1994)
• Postman Pat (1981, 1991–1994, 1996, 2004–2008)
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984–1994)
• Lovejoy (1986–1994)
• The Raggy Dolls (1986–1994)
• Fireman Sam (1987–1994, 2003–2013)
• Knightmare (1987–1994)
• The New Statesman (1987–1994)
• Garfield and Friends (1988–1994)
• Desmond's (1989–1994)
• Waiting for God (1990–1994)
• The House of Eliott (1991–1994)
• Brum (1991–1994, 2001–2002)
• Anna Lee (1993–1994)
• Avenger Penguins (1993–1994)
• Paul Merton's Palladium Story (1994)

Births

• 3 March – Leah Coombes, actress
• 23 June – Jamie Borthwick, actor
• 28 June – Madeline Duggan, actress

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Cinematic Credibility
10 January	Michael Aldridge	73	actor (Last of the Summer Wine)
22 January	Bill Podmore	62	television producer (Coronation Street)
7 June	Dennis Potter	59	scriptwriter
26 July	Terry Scott	67	actor
2 September	Roy Castle	62	dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician
16 November	Doris Speed	95	actress (Coronation Street)
27 December	Fanny Cradock	85	Television cookery expert

References

1. "The Fugitive - BBC Two England - 2 January 1994". BBC Genome. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
2. "BBC Two England - 10 January 1994". BBC Genome (BBC). Retrieved 15 January 2016.
3. Lewis, Caroline (1995). Welsh soap: "Pobol Y Cwm" and Welsh national identity. Critical Survey: Vol. 7, No. 2, Heritage: textual landscapes (Berghahn Books). pp. 152–157 – via Jstor. (subscription required (help)).
4. McCrum, Kirstie (10 October 2014). "40 Pobol y Cwm facts to mark 40 years of the S4C and BBC soap". The Western Mail (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 15 January 2016.
5. "Brookside Guide.....Season Thirty Four.....". Brookside Guide. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
6. Roffey, Monique (2 October 1994). "When Anna and Beth kissed Margaret: Anna Friel plays Brookside's lesbian pin-up. Monique Roffey met her". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
7. Brown, Colin (5 February 1994). "Sinn Fein broadcast ban to be maintained: Right wing urges tougher line on IRA". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 27 June 2013.
8. Foley, Michael (17 September 1994). "Dubbing SF voices becomes the stuff of history". The Irish Times (The Irish Times Trust). p. 5.
9. "Challenge to broadcasting ban fails: Government avoids facing European court on human rights over gagging of Sinn Fein". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). 13 May 1994. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
10. MacDonald, Marianne (7 June 1994). "D-Day Remembered: BBC satellite link goes out on Dame Vera QE2 concert". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
11. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1994". Cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
12. Welch, Francis (5 April 2005). "The 'broadcast ban' on Sinn Fein". BBC News (BBC). Retrieved 15 June 2013.
13. Marianne Macdonald (24 July 1994). "Lord Lucan returns: With the anniversary of a horrific murder mystery looming, rival books and TV studies are coming Marianne Macdonald Reports". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 20 June 2013.
14. "Queen Mum's 'death' computed". Toledo Blade (Block Communications). 12 November 1994. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
15. "BBC One London – 20 December 1994". BBC Genome (BBC). Retrieved 28 June 2015.
16. "BBC One London - 25 December 1994". BBC Genome (BBC). Retrieved 18 January 2016.
17. "In Bed with Madonna - BBC Two England - 29 December 1994". BBC Genome. Retrieved 2 February 2016.