1949 in British television

Overview of the events of 1949 in British television

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This is a list of British television related events from 1949.

Events

23 April - The first FA Amateur Cup Final staged at Wembley is also the first to be televised. The whole match is shown on the BBC, Bromley beating Romford 1-0.^[1]^[2]

July – BBC Television revives the regular televised weather forecast.^[3]
July 11–14 – The first film made specifically for British television, A Dinner Date With Death, is shot at Marylebone Studios in London,^[4] featuring Roy Plomley. It is broadcast in 1950.

29 September – The BBC Television Service first broadcasts Come Dancing, a TV ballroom dancing competition show.

26 October – How Do You View?, the first comedy series on British television, starring Terry-Thomas, is first broadcast.

17 December – The Sutton Coldfield television transmitter is opened in the Midlands, making it the first part of the UK outside London to receive the BBC Television Service.
31 December – BBC television ends the day with a brief live broadcast of 20 sleeping babies in St Thomas' Hospital, London.^[5]

25 January – The Time Machine (1949)
10 June – Triple Bill (1949) (trio of plays: Witness For the Prosecution; The Call To Arms; and Box For One)
29 September – Come Dancing (1949–1998)
26 October – How Do You View? (1949–1953)
27 November – By Candlelight (1949)
25 December – Miranda (1949)

Kaleidoscope (1946–1953)
Muffin the Mule (1946–1955, 2005–2006)
Café Continental (1947–1953)
Television Newsreel (1948–1954)
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)

13 March – David Neilson, actor
30 March – Sue Cook, broadcaster and author
11 April – David Stafford, writer and broadcaster (died 2023)
29 April – Anita Dobson, actress
2 May – Alan Titchmarsh, gardener and television presenter
13 May – Zoë Wanamaker, American-born actress
21 May – Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and broadcaster
22 May – Cheryl Campbell, film, television and stage actor
5 July – Sue Robbie, television presenter
16 August – John McArdle, actor
25 August – Ross Davidson, actor (died 2006)
2 September – Moira Stuart, broadcast presenter
10 September – Freddy Marks, actor, singer and musician (died 2021)
19 September – Twiggy, model and television presenter
23 September – Floella Benjamin, Trinidad-born children's TV presenter and actress
6 October – Sarah Cullen, television and radio journalist (died 2012)
20 October – Jane Tucker, actress, singer and musician
12 December – Bill Nighy, actor
13 December – Robert Lindsay, actor

^ "Match Details - Bromley 1-0 Romford". THE TV FOOTBALL ALMANAC. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
^ "Programme Details - Association Football". THE TV FOOTBALL ALMANAC. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
^ "A history of TV weather forecasts " Archived 2013-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, BBC website, 16 January 2009
^ "Today in History". Metro. London. 2023-07-11. p. 2.
^ McCann, Graham (2021-12-30). "Gang Aft Agley: The Day TV Broke Hogmanay". Comedy Chronicles. British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2022-01-01.