12th November 2025
- Programmes
- 1961 The first episode of Sir Francis Drake airs on BBC TV.
- 1962 The first edition of Television Top of the Form airs on BBC TV.
- 1972 The first edition of America airs on BBC Two. A personal history of the United States in 13 parts, written and narrated by Alistair Cooke.
- 1973 The first episode of Last of the Summer Wine airs on BBC One.
- 1977 The final episode of Space 1999 airs on ITV.
- 1977 The 100th edition of Play Away airs on BBC Two.
- 1982 The Late Late Show first airs on Channel 4. Chat show, produced by RTÉ and presented by Gay Byrne.
- 1985 The 1,000th episode of Emmerdale Farm airs on ITV.
- 1985 The first episode of Hold the Back Page! airs on BBC One.
- 1990 The first episode of Freddie and Max airs on ITV.
- 1991 The final episode of Making Out airs on BBC One.
- 1992 The 100th edition of TV Weekly airs on ITV.
- 1992 The first episode of Absolutely Fabulous airs on BBC Two.
- 1992 The 1,500th edition of Top of the Pops airs on BBC One.
- 1996 The first edition of Never Mind the Buzzcocks airs on BBC Two.
- 1998 The first episode of Dinnerladies airs on BBC One.
- 2008 The pilot episode of Gigglebiz airs on CBeebies. A series began in September 2009.
- 2016 The final edition of The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins! airs on BBC One. Presented by Nick Knowles.
- 2019 The first episode of Gold Digger airs on BBC One.
- 2022 Jools' 30th Birthday Bash airs on BBC Two. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Later...with Jools Holland.
- 2023 The final episode of Six Four airs on ITV 1. Crime thriller set in Glasgow.
- Test Card/Teletext In-Vision Music
- 1979 BBC One tape Jeff's Special airs for the first time.
- 1987 BBC One tape One of a Crowd airs for the first time.
More anniversaries
There are more On This Day anniversaries on our other sub-sites:
- SHOWREEL: presenters, announcers.
- STUDIO A: broadcast buildings, studios, outside broadcast facilities.
- TX: transmitters.
Acknowledgements
Research for On This Day in TV History is by Paul R. Jackson.
Details about test card/teletext in-vision music and BBC trade test films are available as a result of decades of research and logging by members of the Test Card Circle.
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