1994 in British television

Updated on Dec 18, 2024

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This is a list of British television related events from 1994.

January

1 January – BBC2 airs the first Hootenanny, an annual New Year's Eve music show hosted by Jools Holland. The show includes performances from Sting, the Gipsy Kings and Sly and Robbie.

2 January – BBC2 begins a repeat run of the 1960s US television series The Fugitive.

10 January – The Welsh language soap opera Pobol y Cwm makes its debut in the rest of the UK when BBC2 begins airing episodes daily from Mondays to Thursdays. The series was, shown with English subtitles, aired on BBC2 for three months, and on an experimental basis.

13 January – David Dimbleby takes over as host of Question Time.

14 January – An episode of the television soap Brookside shows a lesbian kiss between two of its characters.

20 January – BBC 1 airs an edition of Question Time from Birmingham, which includes a confrontation between Jeffrey Archer and David Starkey over the age of homosexual consent.

February

4 February – Following a review of the broadcasting ban conducted by Heritage Secretary Peter Brooke the Major government decides to maintain the status quo.

March

25 March – Lynne Perrie makes her final appearance as Coronation Street battleaxe Ivy Tilsley. The press later speculates that Perrie's decision to have plastic surgery without consulting her bosses was the reason for her departure, though Perrie denied this, insisting that she felt that her character had simply run its course. Ivy's death occurs off screen the following year.

April

7 April – BBC Scotland makes history by televising a criminal trial as part of its Focal Point strand.

11 April – BBC1 introduces a third weekly episode of EastEnders which airs on Mondays at 8:00pm.

12 April – Paula Tilbrook makes her debut in Emmerdale as long-serving character Betty Eagleton.

16 April – BBC2 celebrates its 30th birthday (four days early) with an evening of programmes selected and introduced by former controller David Attenborough. Among them are episodes of Elizabeth R and The Barry Humphries Show, a 1967 documentary about politics in India and a new episode of Call My Bluff.

May

3 May – Channel 4 starts broadcasting Brookside on Tuesdays instead of Mondays which means the soap is now seen on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

5 May – The Simpsons 100th episode airs on Sky1.

10 May – Launch of BBC Worldwide.

12 May –

The European Commission of Human Rights rejects a legal challenge brought by the National Union of Journalists seeking to take the British government to court for breach of freedom of expression under the European Convention of Human Rights over the broadcast ban.

The death of Labour Party leader and Leader of the Opposition John Smith, who suffered a fatal heart attack. That evening's edition of the BBC Nine O'Clock News is extended to an hour as opposed to the usual half-hour, meaning the following programme due to air at 9.30 and coincidentally entitled Cardiac Arrest is postponed. Panellists on the evening's edition of Question Time, including George Robertson and Menzies Campbell, depart from the usual political debate to pay tribute to Smith instead.

23 May – The BBC2 youth strand DEF II comes to an end after six years.

25 May – First broadcast of the Wipeout television game show created by Bob Fraser.

June

3 June – Broadcast of an episode of Have I Got News for You in which panelist Ian Hislop was suffering from appendicitis during filming. Having spent most of that day in hospital awaiting treatment, he temporarily discharged himself to record the episode, before returning to undergo surgery.

5–10 June – Sue Lawley presents News '44, a series of news bulletin-style programmes to mark the 50th anniversary of D-Day.

6 June – Due to a failed satellite link, BBC1 is unable to broadcast a remembrance concert marking the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Instead it is forced to show recorded highlights of D-Day commemoration events and a repeated Wildlife on One documentary about racoons. The concert, featuring Dame Vera Lynn and other stars, from the QE2 off the Normandy port of Cherbourg, is recorded and shown three days later.

17 June–17 July – The BBC and ITV show live coverage of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

19 June – That's Life!, the long-running BBC magazine programme presented by Esther Rantzen, is broadcast for the last time following twenty one years on air.

20 June – The BBC's Arabic television service is launched, with funding from the Saudi Arabian Mawarid Group.

July

1 July – Launch of the BBC's Japanese News and Information Service.

3 July – Gerry Goldwyre wins the 1994 series of MasterChef.

16 July – John Finch, performing as Marti Pellow wins the fifth series of Stars in Their Eyes.

August

11 August – Frazer Hines makes his final appearance in Emmerdale.

16 August – A new channel, Sky Sports 2 launches.

27 August – BBC2 presents a night of programming dedicated to ATV.

September

16 September – The restrictions that prevents radio and television broadcasting the voices of members of some Irish political and military groups are lifted in the wake of the Provisional IRA's ceasefire declaration.

17 September – BBC2 airs the first edition of Top of the Pops 2, a programme showing footage from present day editions of Top of the Pops, as well as material from the series' archive.

21 September – University Challenge returns to British TV, making its debut on BBC2 with Jeremy Paxman as host.

October

3 October – Two more channels, Sky Soap and Sky Real Lives, then known as Sky Travel, launch.

6 October – Debut of the Central Television soap Revelations, a series about a clergyman and his family written by Russell T. Davies. The series, which was only aired in some ITV regions ran for two seasons, and featured Davies' first gay character, a lesbian vicar named Joan (played by Sue Holderness) who comes out during a two-hander episode with another female character.

21 October – BBC1 airs the British television premiere of Backdraft.

24 October – The Sharongate storyline in EastEnders, centred around the character of Sharon Mitchell (played by Letitia Dean) reaches its finale. The episode is watched by 25.3 million viewers.

November

4 November – Leslie Crowther announces his retirement from show business.

7 November – Barbara Windsor makes her EastEnders debut as Peggy Mitchell. The character had previously been briefly played by Jo Warne in 1991.

10 November –

To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Lord Lucan following the murdeer of his children's nanny, ITV airs The Trial of Lord Lucan, a production by Granada Television which sees a fictional dramatisation of how a trial against the peer might proceed.

The first episode of the Dawn French sitcom The Vicar Of Dibley airs on BBC1.

11 November – The BBC apologises after its Ceefax teletext service mistakenly reports the death of the Queen Mother. The item – described as a rehearsal script – is on screen for 30 seconds before being removed. The Queen Mother died in 2002.

13 November – Katie Targett-Adams wins the 1994 series of Junior MasterChef.

18 November – Debut of The Trial, a series of documentaries aired on BBC2, which were filmed largely inside Scottish courts in 1993 and early 1994. Filming of the series is possible because Criminal Justice Act 1925, the legislation banning photography in British courts does not appl in Scotland.

19 November – BBC1 airs the first National Lottery draw, which is hosted by Noel Edmonds.

December

3 December – Comedian Larry Grayson makes his final television appearance at the Royal Variety Performance (recorded on 28 November). He had been absent from television for some years and made reference to this during his act, commenting to the audience, "They thought I was dead!". He died the following month.

21 December – The BBC subscription service BBC Select ends broadcasts after two years on air.

24 December – Final edition of The Generation Game to be presented by Bruce Forsyth.

25 December –

Christmas Day highlights include the British television premier of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves on BBC1.

ITV screens its first Christmas episode of Heartbeat, titled "A Winter's Tale".

29 December – British television premier of In Bed with Madonna, a film following singer Madonna during her 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour, and broadcast by BBC2.

Unknown

Unknown – The first BBC website is created for the BBC 2 series The Net.

BBC1

Unknown – Animal Hospital (1994–2004)

30 January – Incredible Games (1994–1995)

13 March – Pie in the Sky (1994–1997)

25 May – Wipeout (1994–2002)

16 July – Pets Win Prizes (1994–1996)

24 July – Small Talk (1994–1996)

18 September – Paul Merton's Palladium Story (1994)

5 October – SMart (1994–2009)

10 November – The Vicar of Dibley (1994–2007)

19 November – The National Lottery Draws (1994–2017)

27 November – A Mind to Kill (1994–2004)

BBC2

9 January – The High Life (1994–1995)

19 January – The Day Today (1994)

4 July – Room 101 (1994–2007)

17 September – Top of the Pops 2 (1994–present)

19 September – Working Lunch (1994–2010)

27 September – The Fast Show (1994–1997, 2000)

24 October – Ready Steady Cook (1994–2010)

ITV

4 January – Budgie the Little Helicopter (1994–1996)

10 January – Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean (1994)

28 February – Talking Telephone Numbers (1994–1997)

10 April – The Knock (1994–2000)

25 April – Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean (1994)

29 May – Cadfael One Corpse Too Many (1994 Season 1 Episode 1)

5 June – Cadfael The Sanctuary Sparrow (1994 Season 1 Episode 2)

12 June – Cadfael The Leper of Saint Giles (1994 Season 1 Episode 3)

19 June – Cadfael Monk's Hood (1994 Season 1 Episode 4)

15 July – Body Heat (1994–1996)

27 July – Wycliffe (1994–1998)

7 September – Police Camera Action! (1994–2008)

25 October – Back to School Mr. Bean (1994)

12 November – Open Fire (1994)

Channel 4

16 January – Time Team (1994–2013)

12 February – Don't Forget Your Toothbrush (1994–1995)

30 July – The People's Parliament (1994–1999)

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

10 January – The new version of Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)

18 March – Play Your Cards Right (1980–1987, 1994–1999, 2002–2003)

18 April – Blockbusters (1983–1993, 1994–1995, 1997, 2000–2001, 2012)

21 September – University Challenge (1962–1987 ITV, 1994–present BBC)

1940s

Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

Panorama (1953–present)

Take Your Pick (1955–1968, 1992–1998)

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)

World in Action (1963–1998)

Top of the Pops (1964–2006)

Match of the Day (1964–present)

Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999)

Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006)

Sportsnight (1965–1997)

Call My Bluff (1965–2005)

The Money Programme (1966–2010)

1970s

Emmerdale (1972–present)

Newsround (1972–present)

Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)

Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)

Celebrity Squares (1975–1979, 1993–1997, 2014–present)

Arena (1975–present)

One Man and His Dog (1976–present)

Grange Hill (1978–2008)

Antiques Roadshow (1979–present)

Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

Children in Need (1980–present)

Timewatch (1982–present)

Brookside (1982–2003)

Countdown (1982–present)

Right to Reply (1982–2001)

Spitting Image (1984–1996)

The Bill (1984–2010)

Channel 4 Racing (1984–2016)

EastEnders (1985–present)

The Cook Report (1985–1998)

Crosswits (1985–1998)

Telly Addicts (1985–1998)

Comic Relief (1985–present)

Beadle's About (1986–1996)

The Chart Show (1986–1998, 2008–2009)

Casualty (1986–present)

Allsorts (1987–1995)

Going for Gold (1987–1996, 2008–2009)

The Time, The Place (1987–1996)

Chain Letters (1987–1997)

ChuckleVision (1987–2009)

You Bet! (1988–1997)

Playdays (1988–1997)

London's Burning (1988–2002)

On the Record (1988–2002)

Fifteen to One (1988–2003, 2013–present)

This Morning (1988–present)

Birds of a Feather (1989–1998, 2014–present)

A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995)

1990s

Mr. Bean (1990–1995)

The Crystal Maze (1990–1995)

Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995)

The Dreamstone (1990–1995)

Turnabout (1990–1996)

The Upper Hand (1990–1996)

Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998)

Stars in Their Eyes (1990–2006)

Big Break (1991–2002)

2point4 Children (1991–1999)

The Brittas Empire (1991–1997)

Bottom (1991–1995)

Soldier Soldier (1991–1997)

Brum (1991–1994, 2001–2002)

Noel's House Party (1991–1999)

GamesMaster (1992–1998)

Heartbeat (1992–2010)

Men Behaving Badly (1992–1998)

The Big Breakfast (1992–2002)

Noddy's Toyland Adventures (1992–1999)

999 (1992–2003)

Chef! (1993–1996)

Doctor Finlay (1993–1996)

Saturday Disney (1993–1996)

Breakfast with Frost (1993–2005)

ZZZap! (1993–2001)

Avenger Penguins (1993–1994)

Jo Brand Through the Cakehole (1993–1996)

Mr. Motivator exercise routines (1993–2000)

Wipeout (1994–2002)

Ending this year

That's Life! (1973–1994)

Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)

The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1979–1994)

Postman Pat (1981, 1991–1994, 1996, 2004–2008)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984–1994)

Lovejoy (1986–1994)

The Raggy Dolls (1986–1994)

Fireman Sam (1987–1994, 2003–2013)

Knightmare (1987–1994)

The New Statesman (1987–1994)

Garfield and Friends (1988–1994)

Desmond's (1989–1994)

Waiting for God (1990–1994)

The House of Eliott (1991–1994)