
On This Day...
22nd March
Programmes
1957
The Tonight programme includes a short news summary for the first time. The change was instigated by editor Donald Baverstock. It was transmitted from Egton House (later home to BBC Radio 1) and was presented by a senior duty news editor. Gavin Gray presented the first news summary. Other presenters of the summary included Palmer (Ritz) Ritzema and John Mackinnon, in what turned out to be a short-lived experiment. Gavin Gray presented the final news summary on 21st August 1957.
1966
The pilot edition of How! airs on ITV (Southern region only).
1967
The final edition of At Last the 1948 Show airs on ITV.
1971
Sesame Street airs on ITV for the first time (HTV region only). The programme wasn't fully networked until 1986.
1975
The final episode of US series The Virginian: The Man from Shiloh airs on BBC One.
1984
The first edition of Channel 4 Racing airs on Channel 4.
1985
The first edition of The Laughter Show airs on BBC One.
1988
The first episode of Couples airs on BBC One.
1989
The final edition of London Plus airs on BBC One South East.
1990
The final edition of Ben Elton - The Man from Auntie airs on BBC One.
1990
The first episode of TECX airs on ITV.
1993
The final episode of Bonjour la Classe airs on BBC One.
1998
The first episode of Midsomer Murders (series) airs on ITV.
2009
The first edition of Chris Moyles' Quiz Night airs on Channel 4.
2016
The first episode of The A Word airs on BBC One.
2020
The first episode of The Nest airs on BBC One.
2023
The first episode of The Cockfields airs on BBC Two. Comedy. First shown on Gold in 2019. Co-written and starring Joe Wilkinson and Diane Morgan.
Test Card/Teletext In-Vision Music
1990
BBC One tape Jewel in the Night airs for the final time.

On This Day...
22nd March
Births
1936
Former singer/songwriter and TV presenter, Roger Whittaker.
1941
Singer/songwriter and TV presenter, Don Spencer.
1949
Former TV news reporter/presenter, Brian Hanrahan.
1958
TV news presenter, Anne Davies.
1967
TV news presenter, Joanne Malin.
Deaths
1995
Former TV news reporter/presenter, Peter Woods.
Events
1961
The
Daily Mail reports that
Nan Winton has been dropped from reading the late-night BBC TV news and from the news presenting team, for the second time in recent months. She presented a news bulletin for the final time on 14th March 1961.
1981
Frank Greene presents a BBC TV weather forecast for the final time.
1985
Princess Anne appears as a guest on Wogan (BBC One).
1989
Suzanne Charlton presents a BBC TV weather forecast for the first 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.