TV classics recalled for BBC2 birthday

BBC2 is celebrating its 40th birthday – and the BBC Radio Times has compiled a list of 40 landmark shows which have kept viewers tuning in.

From comedy classics Fawlty Towers and Monty Python to era-defining dramas like Boys From The Blackstuff and This Life, the list compiled by the Radio Times contains favourites from across the decades.

Some of the programmes featured in the list, such as Newsnight and Have I Got News For You, are still going strong.

Match of the Day is one of a number of shows which started life on BBC2.

Others have been consigned to TV history but will still conjure up fond memories for viewers.

They include the fearsome commands of dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse and the theme tune to Pot Black.

BBC2 launched on April 20, 1964, but the opening night was scuppered by a power failure in west London.

The channel finally began broadcasting the following morning and the first programme to be screened was Play School, which ran for 24 years.

Comedy shows feature heavily on the list. BBC2 was home to Yes, Minister, Not Only… But Also with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, Not the Nine O’Clock News and The Young Ones.

But it also produced ground-breaking history shows in the form of The Great War and Civilisation, both from the 1960s, and award-winning dramas such as I, Claudius and The Forsyte Saga.

David Attenborough’s pioneering natural history programme Life On Earth, featuring the famous footage of him playing with gorillas, was a BBC2 commission.

The most recent entry on the list is comedy sketch show Little Britain.

BBC2 transmitted the country’s first colour broadcast on July 1, 1967. It consisted of four hours of coverage from the Wimbledon tennis championships.

The Radio Times’s 40 best BBC2 shows (in no particular order) are:

1 Yes, Minister (1980) – classic political comedy.

2 Play School (1964) – original and best children’s show.

3 The League of Gentlemen (1999) – strange goings on in Royston Vasey.

4 Civilisation (1969) – highbrow culture from art historian Kenneth Clark.

5 This Life (1996) – Amy Jenkins’s 20-something drama.

6 Heimat (1984) – landmark foreign series about life in a German village.

7 The Great War (1964) – epic 26-part documentary.

8 Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969) – seminal comedy show.

9 Life On Earth (1979) – pioneering David Attenborough documentary.

10 Kangaroos (1964) – original ident starring cartoon pair Hullabaloo and Custard.

11 A History of Britain (2000) – Simon Schama’s sweeping history series.

12 Little Britain (2003) – comedy with Matt Lucas and David Williams.

13 Red Dwarf (1988) – intergalactic sit-com beloved of sci-fi geeks.

14 Not Only... But Also (1965) – groundbreaking comedy with Dud and Pete.

15 Jazz 625 (1964) – music show featuring live acts.

16 Pot Black (1969) – turned snooker into a TV favourite.

17 Match of the Day (1964) – transferred to BBC1 after the 1966 World Cup win.

18 Two Fat Ladies (1996) – eccentric and un-PC cookery duo.

19 Call My Bluff (1965) – long-running panel game with Frank Muir.

20 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) – acclaimed spy drama with Alec Guinness.

21 The Office (2000) – Ricky Gervais’s comedy masterpiece.

22 Not The Nine O’Clock News (1979) – satirical comedy with Rowan Atkinson.

23 Boys From The Blackstuff (1982) – Alan Bleasdale’s decade-defining drama.

24 Newsnight (1980) – famed for Jeremy Paxman’s ferocious interview style.

25 The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971) – much-loved music show.

26 Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting (1996) – toothy nun becomes a TV star.

27 Ground Force (1997) – gardening show which launched bra-less Charlie Dimmock.

28 Colour (1967) – Britain’s first colour broadcast

29 The Weakest Link (2000) – Anne Robinson terrifies quiz contestants.

30 The Forsyte Saga (1967) – landmark costume drama.

31 Fawlty Towers (1975) – just 12 episodes turned it into a comedy classic.

32 I, Claudius (1976) – sex and violence in ancient Rome.

33 The Day Today (1994) – satirical news show starring Chris Morris.

34 The Young Ones (1982) – anarchic humour and pioneer of alternative comedy.

35 Our Friends In The North (1996) – drama about the fortunes of four friends.

36 Floyd on Fish (1984) – revolutionary cookery show with wine-loving Keith Floyd.

37 Have I Got News For You (1990) – topical quiz show now without Angus Deayton.

38 Twin Peaks (1990) – surreal series which asked “Who killed Laura Palmer?”

39 Edge of Darkness (1985) – atmospheric thriller with Bob Peck.

40 Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way (1980) – Barbara Woodhouse scares dogs and their owners.