This is a list of events from British radio in 1949.
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Events edit
January edit
- 9 January – The death today in London of comedian Tommy Handley is announced after the Sunday evening repeat of his popular series It's That Man Again by the Director General of the BBC, Sir William Haley, who insists on making the announcement himself; ITMA is immediately cancelled[1] and succeeded by Ray's a Laugh with Ted Ray,[2] while Take It from Here takes over its repeat slot.[3]
February edit
- 2 February – Parody travelogue "Balham - Gateway to the South", written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, is first broadcast as a comedy sketch narrated by Peter Sellers in the second edition of Third Division on the BBC Third Programme.[4]
March edit
- 26 March – The Boat Race 1949 is memorable for a blooper in which BBC commentator John Snagge, on a launch whose engine has failed,[5] announces "I can't see who's in the lead, but it's either Oxford or Cambridge."[6]
- 28 March – Astronomer Fred Hoyle coins the term Big Bang during a BBC Third Programme broadcast.[7][8][9]
April to August edit
- No events.
September edit
- 5 September – Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop makes his last appearance at the BBC Proms, singing an aria from Lohengrin, only one day before his sudden death.
October to December edit
- No events.
Debuts edit
- 26 January – Third Division on the BBC Third Programme (26 January–2 March)
- 31 January – A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)
- 6 March – Billy Cotton Band Show (1949–1968)
- 4 April – Ray's a Laugh (1949–1961)
Continuing radio programmes edit
1930s edit
- In Town Tonight (1933–1960)
1940s edit
- Music While You Work (1940–1967)
- 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)
Ending this year edit
- 6 January – It's That Man Again (1939–1949)
Births edit
- 7 February – Les Ross, né Meakin, midlands DJ
- 12 March – David Mellor, politician and radio presenter
- 2 April – Paul Gambaccini, American-born music presenter
- 11 April – David Stafford, writer and broadcaster (died 2023)
- 20 April – Paul Heiney, broadcaster
- 29 May – Michael Berkeley, composer and music broadcaster
- 7 August – Matthew Parris, South African-born political writer and broadcaster, previously MP
- 2 September – Moira Stuart, broadcast presenter
- 25 November – Isabel Hilton, Scottish-born journalist and broadcaster
- 12 December – Bill Nighy, actor
- Philip Dodd, creative arts academic and broadcaster
Deaths edit
- 9 January – Tommy Handley, comedian (born 1892)
- 10 June – Sir Frederick Ogilvie, broadcasting executive and university administrator (born 1893)
- 9 July – Peter Waring, comedian and fraudster, suicide (born 1916)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Took, Barry (1981). Laughter in the Air. London: Robson Books; BBC. ISBN 978-0-86051-149-6.
- ^ Street, Sean (2002). A Concise History of British Radio, 1922–2002. Tiverton: Kelly. p. 103. ISBN 9781903053140.
- ^ "Take It From Here". British Comedy. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Barfe, Louis (2008). Turned Out Nice Again: The Story of British Light Entertainment. Atlantic Books. ISBN 9781848877573.
- ^ Miall, Leonard (28 March 1996). "Obituary: John Snagge". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ Elmes, Simon (2013). Hello Again: Nine Decades of Radio Voices. London: Arrow. p. 82. ISBN 9780099559788.
- ^ "'Big bang' astronomer dies". BBC News. 22 August 2001. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ Croswell, Ken (1995). "Chapter 9". The Alchemy of the Heavens. Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-47213-7.
- ^ Mitton, Simon (2005). Fred Hoyle: a Life in Science. Aurum Press. p. 127. ISBN 1-85410-961-8.