1988 in British television

List of years in British television       (table)
… 1978 .  1979 .  1980 .  1981  . 1982  . 1983  . 1984 … 1985 1986 1987 -1988- 1989 1990 1991 … 1992 .  1993 .  1994 .  1995  . 1996  . 1997  . 1998 …

This is a list of British television related events from 1988.

Events

• 4 January – BBC1 moves the repeat episode of Neighbours to a 5:35pm evening slot, the decision to do this having been made by controller Michael Grade on the advice of his daughter.
• 5 February – Comic Relief airs its Red Nose Day fundraiser on BBC1.
• 20 February – London's Burning makes its debut as a regular series on ITV, having been developed from Jack Rosenthal's original 1986 film.
• 4 April – The original series of Crossroads airs for the last time on ITV. It returns in 2001 before being axed again in 2003.
• 28 April – ITV broadcasts Death on the Rock, a hugely controversial episode of Thames Television's This Week current affairs strand, investigating Operation Flavius, which resulted in the SAS killing three members of the IRA in Gibraltar.
• 16 May – The youth strand DEF II is launched on BBC2 in the UK.
• 8 June – Television presenter Russell Harty dies aged 53.
• 11 June – The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert is staged at Wembley Stadium, London, and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. In the UK it is broadcast on BBC 2.
• 23 June - Three gay rights activists invade the BBC studios during a six o'clock bulletin of the BBC News.
• 19 July – The Bill broadcasts the first episode of its fourth season and switches to a year-round serial format.
• 3 August - Brookside is moved from Tuesdays to Wednesdays which means the soap can now be seen on Mondays and Wednesdays.
• 31 August – ITV airs a version of The Hound of the Baskervilles starring Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke.
• 17 September-2 October – The 1988 Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea and broadcast to television audiences around the world.
• 30 September – Television presenters Mike Smith and Sarah Greene are seriously injured in a helicopter crash in Gloucestershire.
• 3 October – The magazine programme This Morning makes its debut. It is presented by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan until 2001.
• 22 November – On the 25th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy ITV airs the two part documentary The Men Who Killed Kennedy, a film which explores discrepancies and inconsistencies in the US Government's official version of events.
• 23 November – The BBC science fiction series Doctor Who celebrates its 25th anniversary and begins the three part serial Silver Nemesis.
• 1 December – ITV's ORACLE Teletext service launches Park Avenue, a teletext based soap opera. It is written by Robert Burns and runs until ORACLE loses its franchise at the end of 1992.
• 13 December – Central airs the final episode of Sons and Daughters making it the first ITV region to complete the series.
• 26 December-30 December – As part of a Christmas special, Channel 4 soap Brookside airs five epidodes over five consecutive days.
• Unknown – Ulster Television in Northern Ireland is the last in the ITV network to begin 24-hour transmission.

Debuts

BBC 1

• 3 January – First of the Summer Wine (1988–1989)
• 3 May – 4 Square (1988–1991)
• 3 September – Noel's Saturday Roadshow (1988–1990)
• 12 September – * Stoppit and Tidyup (1987–1990)
• 18 September – On the Record (1988–2002)
• 17 October – Playdays (1988–1997)
• 20 October – * Charlie Chalk (1988–1989)
• 29 December – You Rang, M'Lord? (1988–1993)

BBC 2

• 15 February – Red Dwarf (1988–1999, 2009).
• 9 May DEF II (1988–1994)
• 18 October – Colin's Sandwich (1988–1990)

ITV

• 4 January – After Henry (1988–1992)
• 20 February –
  • You Bet! (1988–1997).
  • London's Burning (1988–2002)
• 16 April – All Clued Up (1988–1991)
• 19 July - Wheel of Fortune (1988–2001)
• 26 July – I Can Do That (1988–1991)
• 6 September – Count Duckula (1988–1993).
• 3 October – This Morning (1988—present)
• 24 November – Children's Ward (1988–2000).
• 1 December – Park Avenue on ORACLE (1988–1992)

Channel 4

• 4 January – Fifteen to One (1988–2003)
• 23 September – Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988–1998)

Television shows

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• Panorama (1953–present)
• Opportunity Knocks (1956–1978, 1987–1990)
• This Week (1956–1978, 1986–1992)
• What the Papers Say (1956–2008)
• The Sky at Night (1957–present)
• Blue Peter (1958–present)
• Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street (1960–present)
• Songs of Praise (1961–present)
• Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005–present)
• World in Action (1963–1998)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Match of the Day (1964–present)
• Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999, 2008-2010)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006–present)
• The Money Programme (1966–present)
• The Big Match (1968–2002)

1970s

• Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)
• Emmerdale (1972–present).
• Newsround (1972–present).
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010).
• That's Life! (1973–1994)
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003).
• Arena (1975–present).
• Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008).
• The Book Tower (1979–1989)
• Blankety Blank (1979–1990, 1997–2002)
• The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1979–1994)
• Antiques Roadshow (1979–present).
• Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

• Bergerac (1981–1991)
• 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
• Wogan (1981–1992)
• Brookside (1982–2003)
• Timewatch (1982–present)
• Right to Reply (1982–2001)
• Breakfast Time (1983–1989)
• Dramarama (1983–1989)
• Don't Wait Up (1983–1990)
• Good Morning Britain (1983–1992)
• First Tuesday (1983–1993)
• Highway (1983–1993)
• Blockbusters (1983–93, 1994–95, 1997, 2000–01, 2012–present).
• Wide Awake Club (1984–1992)
• Bob's Full House (1984–1990)
• Spitting Image (1984–1996)
• The Bill (1984–2010)
• Three Up, Two Down (1985–1989)
• Home to Roost (1985–1990)
• Howards' Way (1985–1990)
• Busman's Holiday (1985–1993)
• EastEnders (1985–present).
• The Cook Report (1985–1998)
• Crosswits (1985–1998)
• Telly Addicts (1985–1998)
• Bread (1986–1991)
• Brush Strokes (1986–1991)
• Naked Video (1986–1991)
• Boon (1986–1992, 1995)
• Every Second Counts (1986–1993)
• Lovejoy (1986–1994)
• Beadle's About (1986–1996)
• Comic Relief (1986–present).
• The Chart Show (1986–1998, 2008–2009)
• Casualty (1986–present).
• All Clued Up (1987–1992)
• Allsorts (1987–1995)
• Going Live! (1987–1993)
• Watching (1987–1993)
• The Time, The Place (1987–1996)
• Going for Gold (1987–1996, 2008–2009)
• Chain Letters (1987–1997)
• ChuckleVision (1987–present).

Ending this year

• Unknown – Weekend World (1972–1988)
• Unknown – Let's Pretend (1982–1988)
• Unknown – Bad Boyes (1987–1988)
• 2 January – No. 73 (1982–1988)
• 13 January – Your Mother Wouldn't Like It (1985–1988)
• 28 January – Yes Minister (1980–1988)
• 11 March – Play School (1964–1988)
• 18 March – Rockliffe's Babies (1987–1988)
• 4 April – Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
• 6 April – The Roxy (1987–1988)
• 17 April - Hot Metal (1986–1988)
• 13 May – Tales of the Unexpected (1979–1988)
• 30 May – All in Good Faith (1985–1988)
• 26 August – Child's Play (1984–1988)
• 28 August – Get Fresh (1986–1988)
• 10 October – Sorry! (1981–1982, 1985–1988)
• 27 October – Beat the Teacher (1984–1988)
• 1 December – Button Moon (1980–1988)
• 3 December – New Faces (1973–1978, 1986–1988)
• 24 December – 3-2-1 (1978–1988)
• 27 December – Executive Stress (1986–1988)

Births

• 14 January – Jack P. Shepherd, actor
• 28 March – Lacey Turner, actress
• 2 December – Alfred Enoch, actor

Deaths

• 1 January – Margot Bryant, actress (Minnie Caldwell in Coronation Street)
• 7 January – Trevor Howard, 74, actor
• 18 March – Percy Thrower, 75, gardener and broadcaster
• 15 April – Kenneth Williams, 62, comic actor
• 27 April – David Scarboro, 20, actor
• 8 June – Russell Harty, 53, television presenter
• 20 September – Roy Kinnear, 53, actor

References

Years in television: 1988
Template:TV countries/1988