
On This Day...
9th January
People
1980
Former BBC director-general Sir Charles Curran dies.
Programmes
1956
The first edition of Junior Sportsview airs on BBC TV.
1965
The first edition of Not Only...But Also airs on BBC Two.
1967
The first edition of Look and Read airs on BBC One.
Schools programme.
1973
The first episode of Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads airs on BBC One.
1975
The pilot episode of Gangsters airs on BBC One (as part of the Play for Today series).
1976
The first episode of Bouquet of Barbed Wire airs on ITV.
1976
The first episode of Yes - Honestly airs on ITV.
1979
The 25th anniversary of BBC TV weather is celebrated with Bob Wellings interviewing past and present weather presenters on Nationwide (BBC One).
1980
The final episode of The Racing Game airs on ITV.
1981
The first episode of The Gaffer airs on ITV.
1982
The first episode of The Goodies (ITV series) airs on ITV.
Previous series aired on BBC TV (1970 - 1977).
1984
The first episode of The Jewel in the Crown airs on ITV.
1984
The first episode of Miracles Take Longer airs on ITV.
1985
The first episode of Lytton's Diary airs on ITV.
A pilot aired on 30th August 1983 as part of the Storyboard series.
1985
The first edition of The Railway Carriage Game Show airs on BBC One.
Celebrity laughter show. Devised and presented by Gyles Brandreth. With Lennie Bennett and Stan Boardman.
1986
The first episode of Blackadder II airs on BBC One.
1986
The first episode of Yes, Prime Minister airs on BBC Two.
1987
The first episode of Rockcliffe's Babies airs on BBC One.
1987
The first edition of The Last Resort airs on Channel 4.
Presented by Jonathan Ross.
1987
The first episode of My Husband and I airs on ITV.
1988
The first episode of US series The Hogan Family airs on BBC One.
A spin-off from Valerie.
1989
The first edition of A-Z of Belief airs on BBC Two.
1989
The first edition of Central News South airs on ITV.
Presented by Wesley Smith.
1990
The final episode of The Return of Shelley airs on ITV.
1991
News at Ten is broadcast from 200 Grays Inn Road for the first time.
1992
The final episode of Dynasty: The Reunion airs on BBC One.
1993
The Challenge of the Gladiators airs on ITV.
1994
The pilot episode of The High Life airs on BBC Two (as part of the Comic Asides series).
1995
The final edition of Champion Telly Addict airs on BBC One.
1995
The first edition of US series The Oprah Winfrey Show airs on BBC Two.
1995
The first edition of Lucky Numbers airs on ITV.
1996
The first edition of The Andrew Neil Show airs on BBC Two.
Former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil presents the BBC's new international talk show, broadcasting both on BBC Two and to a huge global audience via the satellite channel BBC World.
1998
The first edition of Parkinson (revived series) airs on BBC One.
Initially broadcast on Friday evenings (1998 – 2001) before reverting back to a Saturday night slot from 21st October 2001.
2001
The first episode of Judge John Deed airs on BBC One.
2004
The final edition of Stars Reunited airs on BBC One.
2005
Jerry Springer: The Opera airs on BBC Two.
Ofcom received 8,860 complaints accusing the programme of blasphemy. It was the ninth-highest complaint to the regulator since 2004 and was rejected.
2006
The first episode of Life on Mars airs on BBC One.
2021
The first edition of Paul Sinha's TV Showdown airs on ITV.
2022
The first edition of Sunday Morning airs on BBC One.
Presented by Sophie Raworth.
2022
The first edition of The Green Planet airs on BBC One.
Sir David Attenborough presents a journey into the world of plants.
Test Card/Teletext In-Vision Music
1975
BBC One tape Matilda airs for the final time.
2004
BBC Two tape A Girl Like You airs for the final time. Though the tape hadn't been broadcast since 25th January 2003.
2006
BBC Two tape Timetextures airs for the final time.

On This Day...
9th January
Births
1936
Former actor, TV announcer/executive, Robert Love.
1937
Former TV news reporter/presenter, Michael Nicholson.
Deaths
1975
Former actor and TV presenter, John Slater.
2016
Former radio/TV presenter, Ed Stewart.
Events
2004
Michael Buerk presents a BBC TV news programme for the final time.
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.