BBC

BBC Television is 80 years young, says Norman Green

Green, the first head of technology at ITV Network and the founder of the RTS London Centre, came armed with a series of fascinating test transmissions and films from the 1930s.

The BBC officially launched its TV service from Alexandra Palace London on 2 November 1936. Its first major outside broadcast was the coronation of George VI in May 1937. This technological breakthrough was captured in a BBC film, Televising the Coronation Procession, which Green showed at the event.

Classic Christmas TV moments

It really is the season to be jolly as far as television is concerned, the line-up is full of one-off specials, film premieres and climatic soap storylines.

So, crack open the port, grab a selection box and feast on our compilation of some of the finest moments in the history of Christmas television.

​Only Fools and Horses

 

Breaking records with Casulty director Jon Sen

In front of an audience of students from Solent and Bournemouth University, Sen gave a fascinating insight into the job of masterminding the 52-minute, single-shot episode, which aired last July.

Sen explained that the programme – a celebration of the 30th anniversary of BBC One series Casualty – was shot in a single take to heighten the sense of drama in a busy A&E department.

Fleabag producer Lydia Hampson on comedy, drama and Reese Witherspoon

It is a motto she has picked up from Fleabag’s creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

“We wanted to shoot it like a drama and cut it like a comedy,” she explains. “Sometimes it feels like drama is comedy’s big older brother.”

For Hampson and Waller-Bridge, it wasn’t enough to create a ‘typical’ comedy. “We were trying to go for the ambition of drama, but not at the expense of the laughs.”

The White Princess brings blood, law and politics to UKTV Drama

The adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s novel was a smash hit in America, becoming the highest rated premium cable show this year. “The fight for eyeballs and the fight to get noticed is more intense than it has ever been,” Frost believes. “Our audiences grew week-on-week and there was such a buzz about it on social media. It really became such a talking point… which was thrilling for us.”