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Family Favourites (remembered by its later name Two-Way Family Favourites) was the successor to the wartime radio show Forces Favourites, broadcast at Sunday lunchtimes on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2 from 1945 until 1980. From 1967 to 1972 it was also carried on BBC Radio 1. It was a request programme designed to link families at home in the UK with British Forces serving in West Germany or elsewhere overseas. The programme was a big success with listeners.

It had the memorable signature tune "With a Song in My Heart" (original played by Andre Kostelanetz and his Orchestra) and was presented by a variety of well-known radio personalities, including Cliff Michelmore and Jean Metcalfe who met while presenting the show and later married on 4 March 1950, Bill Crozier (in Cologne only), Michael Aspel, Judith Chalmers, Sarah Kennedy, and the final UK presenter Jean Challis. Both Pete Murray and Ed Stewart continued to use the title for segments only of their shows, often linking up with places such as Australia and New Zealand for another couple of years during the 1980s; during this time, the song "Hurry Home" by Wavelength became popular with the families of troops returning from the Falklands War. Aspel returned to host a one-off special edition of the show for BBC Radio 2's 40th Birthday celebrations, on 30 September 2007.

Internationally

When the programme expanded, it encompassed far-flung corners of the Commonwealth with, amongst others, Bill Paull being the link man in Canada, June Armstrong-Wright in Hong Kong, Ross Symonds in Australia, Don Durbridge in Gibraltar and Marama Martin in New Zealand.

References

1. Jean Metcalfe | | The Guardian
2. "Judith Chalmers OBE at womenspeakers.co.uk". Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
3. BBC Radio 2 documentary about the series, broadcast 30 August 1993

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