Overview of the events of 1947 in British radio
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This is a list of events from British radio in 1947.
Events
January
- 2 January – Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, starring Kenneth Horne and Richard Murdoch, having started out as a recurring sketch in the wartime comedy-variety show Merry-Go-Round (from 31 March 1944), debuts on the BBC Light Programme, continuing in various formats until 1954.
February
- 21 February – Two issues of Radio Times are missed due to the winter 1946–47 fuel shortage greatly exacerbated by severe weather. (BBC television is suspended 10 February–11 March.)
March
- 28 February – The UK version of Twenty Questions is launched on BBC radio, originally presented by Stewart MacPherson with a panel comprising Richard Dimbleby, Jack Train, Anona Winn and Joy Adamson and with Norman Hackforth as the mystery voice.
April
- 9 April – How Does Your Garden Grow? debuts on BBC radio; as Gardeners' Question Time it will still be running more than 65 years later.
May to September
- No events.
October
- 6 October – Philip Odell, a fictional detective created by Lester Powell and played by Canadian actor Robert Beatty, is heard for the first time on BBC radio in Lady in a Fog.
- 24 October – Francis Poulenc's Sinfonietta receives its world premiere in a broadcast concert from London having been commissioned by the BBC for the first anniversary of their Third Programme.
November
- 18 November – The BBC links up with stations around the globe in the programme BBC Covers the World.
- 20 November – The Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II), daughter of George VI marries The Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey, London. The service is broadcast on BBC radio.
- Gracie Fields hosts Our Gracie's Working Party on BBC radio; in the series, she visits twelve towns (beginning with her native Rochdale), compering and performing in a live show of music and entertainment, with local talents on the bill.
December
- No events.
Debuts
- 28 February – Twenty Questions (1947–1976)
- 9 April – How Does Your Garden Grow? (1947–Present)
- 2 November – Round Britain Quiz (1947–Present)
- PC 49 (1947–1953)
Programme endings
- 26 December – The Happidrome (1941–1947)
Continuing radio programmes
1930s
- In Town Tonight (1933–1960)
1940s
- Music While You Work (1940–1967)
- Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
- Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
- Family Favourites (1945–1980)
- Down Your Way (1946–1992)
- Have A Go (1946–1967)
- Housewives' Choice (1946–1967)
- Letter from America (1946–2004)
- Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
Births
- 1 March – Mike Read, DJ
- 28 June – Gerry Northam, radio presenter
- 10 May – Laurie Macmillan, Scottish-born radio newsreader and continuity announcer (died 2001)
- 20 May – Greg Dyke, journalist and broadcaster, Director-General of the BBC
- 15 September – Mike Sweeney, DJ
- 5 November – Steve Hodson, actor
- 20 November – Marilyn Imrie, Scottish theatre and radio drama director and producer (died 2020)
- Alistair Beaton, Scottish-born satirist, scriptwriter and radio presenter
- Natalie Wheen, arts presenter
- Peter White, blind radio presenter
Deaths
- 11 March – Victor Hely-Hutchinson, composer and conductor, BBC Director of Music (born 1901)
- 24 July – Ernest Austin, composer, arranger and songwriter associated with the Proms (born 1874)
See also
- 1947 in British music
- 1947 in British television
- 1947 in the United Kingdom
- List of British films of 1947
References
- "About The Programme". Gardeners' Question Time. BBC. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- Morgan, Dan (May 2018). "Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) / Les biches / Les animaux modèles / Sinfonietta". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0..
- "Music While You Work". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- "Hely-Hutchinson, Victor (26 Dec. 1901–11 March 1947), Director of Music, BBC, since 1944". Who's Who & Who Was Who. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u226681. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- Norris, Gerald (1981). A Musical Gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 131. ISBN 9780715378458.