1956 in British radio

Overview of the events of 1956 in British radio

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In British television
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959

In British music
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959

* Art
* Archaeology
* Architecture
* Literature
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* Philosophy
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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

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* 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)[7]
* 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

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* 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

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* 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]

1. ^ Last long wave only Shipping Forecast
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ 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.
4. ^ Hanley, Brian; Miller, Scott (2009). The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party. Dublin: Penguin Ireland. p. 14.
5. ^ My Word, My Music ~ A Fond Farewell.
6. ^ Slide, Anthony (2023). Just a Regular Bloke: the Ted Ray Story. BearManor. ISBN 9798887711072.
7. ^ "Music While You Work". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024.