BBC Light Programme
The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the longwave frequency which had earlier been used – prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 – by the BBC National Programme.
The BBC Light Programme headquarters was at Broadcasting House in London. | |
Country | United Kingdom |
---|---|
Headquarters | Broadcasting House, London, UK |
Owner | BBC |
Launch date | 29 July 1945 |
Dissolved | 29 September 1967 |
Language | English |
Replaced | BBC General Forces Programme |
Replaced by | BBC Radio 2 |
The service was intended as a domestic replacement for the wartime BBC General Forces Programme which had proved popular with civilian audiences in Britain as well as members of the armed forces.
History
The longwave signal on 200 kHz/1500 metres was transmitted from Droitwich in the Midlands (as it still is today for BBC Radio 4, although adjusted slightly to 198 kHz/1515 metres in 1988), and gave fairly good coverage of most of the United Kingdom, although a number of low-power mediumwave transmitters (using 1214 kHz/247 metres) were added later to fill in local blank spots. Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, the Light Programme (along with the BBC's two other national programmes, the Home Service and the Third Programme) gradually became available on what was known at the time as VHF, as the BBC developed a network of local FM transmitters.
From its first day of broadcasting in 1945 until Monday, 2 September 1957, the Light Programme would be on the air from 9 am until midnight each day, apart from Sundays when it would come on the air at 8 am. From Monday, 2 September 1957, the Light Programme's broadcasting hours would start to increase, with a new early morning start time of 7 am, later moving to 6:30 a.m. from Monday, 29 September 1958. In 1964, broadcasting hours were increased even more, with a new morning start time of 5:30 am from Monday, 31 August 1964. Up until September 1964, the Light Programme would always end its broadcasting day at midnight; however, this changed on Sunday, 27 September 1964, when a new closedown time of 2:02 a.m. was introduced.[1][2][3][4]
The Light Programme closed down for the last time at 2:02 am on Friday, 29 September 1967. At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, 30 September 1967, it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 on its longwave frequency and VHF.
The long-running soap opera The Archers was first heard nationally on the Light Programme, on 1 January 1951,[5] although a week-long pilot version had been broadcast on the Midlands Home Service in 1950.
Notable former programmes
- The Al Read Show
- Appointment with Fear
- The Archers (1951–1967)
- The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride (1965)
- Beyond Our Ken
- The Billy Cotton Band Show
- Breakfast Special
- The Clitheroe Kid
- Dick Barton – Special Agent
- Does The Team Think?
- Easy Beat (1960–67)
- Educating Archie
- Family Favourites
- Friday Night Is Music Night (1953–1967)
- From Us to You (1964)
- The Goon Show (repeats from the BBC Home Service)
- Hancock's Half Hour
- Have a Go!
- Housewives' Choice
- Ignorance is Bliss
- I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
- ITMA (repeats from the BBC Home Service)
- Journey into Space
- Junior Choice (1954-1967)
- Life with the Lyons
- Listen with Mother (1950–1964)
- Meet the Huggetts
- Movie-Go-Round
- Mrs Dale's Diary
- Much Binding in the Marsh
- Music While You Work
- The Navy Lark
- Orbiter X
- Pick of the Pops (1955–1967)
- The Public Ear
- Pop Go the Beatles (1963)
- Radio Newsreel
- Ray's a Laugh
- Richard Attenborough's Record Rendezvous
- Riders of the Range
- Round the Horne
- Roundabout
- Saturday Club (1957–67)
- Shadow of Sumuru
- The Showband Show
- Side by Side
- Sing Something Simple
- The Sunday Hour (1945–1967)
- The Slide
- Sports Report
- Take It From Here
- Teenager's Turn—Here We Go
- Top Gear (1964–75; a music show unrelated to the car franchise)
- Variety Bandbox
- Waterlogged Spa
- Welsh Rarebit
- Woman's Hour (1946–1967)
- Workers' Playtime (BBC Home Service until September 1957)
Former Presenters
- Barry Alldis
- Marjorie Anderson
- Richard Attenborough[6]
- Tim Brinton
- Michael Brooke
- Desmond Carrington
- Sam Costa
- Bill Crozier
- Alan Dell
- Robert Dougall
- David Dunhill
- John Dunn
- Ray Moore
- Jimmy Young
- Tom Charmers
- Don Durbridge
- Franklin Engelmann
- Peter Fettes
- Alan Freeman
- Tony Blackburn
- Annie Nightingale
- Tim Gudgin
- Peter Haigh
- Colin Hamilton
- Paul Hollingdale
- David Jacobs
- Brian Matthew
- Jean Metcalfe
- Roger Moffat
- Pete Murray
- Phillip Slessor
- Douglas Smith
- Ken Sykora
- David Symonds
- John Webster
- Roy Williams
- Bruce Wyndham
References
- "Light Programme - 26 September 1964 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
- "Light Programme - 2 September 1957 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
- "Light Programme - 29 September 1958 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
- "Light Programme - 29 July 1945 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
- Reynolds, Gillian (24 August 1996). "William Smethurst: the man who turned The Archers into a cult". The Telegraph.
- https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/656f9afff7134c55a271f709472f2248