1992 in British television

This is a list of British television related events from 1992.

Events

January

• 7 January – Debut of Cold Blood – The Massacre of East Timor, an edition of the documentary strand First Tuesday concerning the Santa Cruz massacre.^[1]
• 13 January – The Parliamentary Channel, operated by United Artists Cable and funded by a consortium of British cable operators,^[2] is launched.^[3] It was later taken over by the BBC and relaunched as BBC Parliament in 1998.
• 14 January – The Dreamstone, the children's animated series returns for a brand new series and second season on ITV.
• 21 January – BBC Select launches overnight on BBC1 and BBC2 as a subscription service showing specialist programmes for professionals including businessmen, lawyers, teachers and nurses. The service ends in 1994.

February

• 8 February – Channel 4 launches TV Heaven, a series of 13 themed Saturday evenings celebrating the best of archive British television. The programme is hosted by Frank Muir with each edition focusing (with one exception) on a particular year. The first week's episode takes a look at 1967, featuring classic episodes of Coronation Street, At Last the 1948 Show, Armchair Theatre and The Frost Programme.
• 18 February – Children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends is revived on ITV with Michael Angelis taking over as narrator.
• 27 February – BBC 1 airs "Cascade", the sixth series finale of Casualty.^[4] The episode, featuring a plane crash and originally scheduled to air on 20 December 1991, was postponed because the airdate fell on the eve of the third anniversary of the Lockerbie air disaster.

March

• 26 March – Television entertainer Roy Castle (59), who currently presents Record Breakers, announces that he is suffering from lung cancer.
• 27 March – During the 1992 General Election campaign, Conservative MP Edwina Currie famously pours a glass of orange juice over Labour's Peter Snape shortly after an edition of the Midlands based debate show Central Weekend has finished airing.^[5] Speaking about the incident later, Currie said "I just looked at my orange juice, and looked at this man from which this stream of abuse was emanating, and thought 'I know how to shut you up.' ".^[5]
• 28 March – Amanda Normansell wins the third series of Stars in Their Eyes, performing as Patsy Cline.

April

• 6 April – Ahead of the election, Sue Lawley presents an edition of The Granada 500 in which a studio audience are given the opportunity to question the three main party leaders; John Major (Conservative), Neil Kinnock (Labour) and Paddy Ashdown (Liberal Democrats).
• 9–10 April – Coverage of the results of the 1992 general election are broadcast both on BBC1 and ITV.
• 10 April – ITV airs the first episode of Heartbeat, a long running police drama set in North Yorkshire during the 1960s.
• 20 April – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, an open-air concert in tribute to the late Freddie Mercury is held at London's Wembley Stadium. The concert is broadcast on BBC2 in the UK and televised worldwide.^[6]
• April – Launch of the music video channel The Box.

May

• 2 May – TV Heaven draws to a close after thirteen weeks, with a selection of programmes from 1968: an episode of Please Sir!, "The Cats Eyes Man", an edition of The World of Whicker, an edition of Do Not Adjust Your Set, and "The Girl Who Was Death",, an episode of The Prisoner.
• 8 May – Liberal Democrat MP, and subsequent leader, Charles Kennedy makes his debut appearance as a panellist on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You.
• 14 May – Final onscreen appearance of Willy, one of two EastEnders dogs to have appeared in the show since the first episode (the other being Roly). Having been killed off in the series, the dog who played Willy dies on 30 May, two weeks after his final scenes are shown.
• 24 May – BBC1 airs the Everyman documentary "E is for Ecstasy", a film exploring the use of the Ecstasy drug in rave culture.^[7]

June

• 9–10 June – Episodes 1450–1454 of Australian soap Neighbours are heavily censored by the BBC because they contain an incest storyline between the characters Glen Donnelly and Lucy Robinson, who had not realised they were half-siblings when they began a relationship. Scenes involving the story are cut from Episode 1450, aired on 9 June, while Episodes 1451–1454 are edited together into one episode, which is transmitted the following day.^[8][9] The scenes were shown uncut in repeats aired by another channel some years later.^[10]
• 14 June – An edition of The South Bank Show, The Making of Sgt. Pepper, celebrates the 25th anniversary of the release of The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.^[11]
• 21 June – ITV airs the first of four editions of Frankie's On..., a series of stand up shows recorded by the late Frankie Howerd shortly before his death in April. Six episodes had been planned, but only four were recorded before he died. The episodes are Frankie's On Board!, Frankie's On The Coals!, Frankie's On Fire! and Frankie's On Call!

July

• 6 July – BBC1 launches the ill fated Eldorado, a soap about a group of ex-pats living in Spain.^[12] The series is axed the following year.
• 18–19 July – ITV stages its third and final nationwide Telethon fundraising effort. The 28-hour show attracts criticism from disability campaigners, who protest outside London Weekend Television, feeling that ITV's charity appeal films for the programme used "pitiful" stereotypes that would not help them to achieve equality.^[13]
• 19 July – Vanessa Binns wins the 1992 series of MasterChef.
• July – The former BSB satellite Marcopolo 2 is sold to Norway's Telenor and renamed Thor 1.

August

• 4 August – ITV airs Katie and Eilish, an edition of the documentary strand First Tuesday about Siamese Twins in Ireland. The film, narrated by Julie Christie is a 1993 Peabody Award winner.^[14]
• 6 August – Lord Hope, the Lord President of the Court of Session, Scotland's most senior judge, permits the televising of appeals in both criminal and civil cases, the first time that cameras have been allowed into courts in the United Kingdom.^[15]
• 15 August – Central Television airs the final episode of the Australian soap The Young Doctors, making it the first ITV region to complete the series.

September

• 12 September – Casualty returns to BBC 1 for a seventh series,^[16] moving from its previous Friday evening slot to Saturday evenings.
• 17 September – Children's stop-motion animated series Noddy's Toyland Adventures based on the original works by Enid Blyton debuts on BBC1.
• 23 September – Channel 4 begins a rerun of the cult 1960s science fiction series The Prisoner starring Patrick McGoohan as the series marks its 25th anniversary.
• 25 September – Channel 4 airs the final Channel Four Daily. The news based breakfast television show was axed due to poor ratings. From Monday 28 September it is replaced by The Big Breakfast, a programme which takes a lighter tone and proves to be more popular with viewers.

October

• 1 October – Sky Movies Gold a channel dedicated to classic movies, launches.
• 3 October – Comedian and television presenter Leslie Crowther sustains serious head injuries after his Rolls Royce veers out of control and crashes on the M5 near Cheltenham. He subsequently undergoes surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain.^[17][18]
• 8 October – BBC2 airs the first edition of Later... with Jools Holland. Artists and groups featuring on this edition are The Neville Brothers, The Christians, Nu Colours and D'Influence.^[19]
• 10 October – Gladiators premieres on ITV.
• 31 October – The controversial one-off drama Ghostwatch is broadcast on BBC1, a 'live' investigation into a haunted North London house.^[20]

November

• 1 November – UK Gold is launched, a joint venture between the BBC and Thames Television.
• 2 November – Channel 4 celebrates ten years on air.

December

• 25 December – Christmas Day highlights on BBC1 include the network television premieres of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Shirley Valentine.^[21]
• 26 December – BBC1 airs the network television premiere of When Harry Met Sally.^[22]
• 28 December – As part of a theme night devoted to (rival) broadcaster Granada Television, BBC2 airs the first new edition of University Challenge in five years, paving the way for a full-scale revival.
• 31 December – After losing its broadcasting franchise, Thames Television goes off-air after 24-years. Television South, Television South West, breakfast television station's TV-am and ITV and Channel 4 teletext service ORACLE also go off air after losing their franchises.

Unknown

• Unknown – John Birt is appointed to succeed Sir Michael Checkland as Director-General of the BBC.

Debuts

BBC1

• 6 January – Goodbye Cruel World (1992)
• 7 January – Joshua Jones (1992)
• 8 January – Fiddley Foodle Bird (1992)
• 10 January – Grace & Favour (1992–1993)
• 12 January – As Time Goes By (1992–2005)
• 27 February – Us Girls (1992–1993)
• 16 March – The Old Devils (1992)
• 16 May – Growing Pains (1992–1993)
• 25 June – 999 (1992–2003)
• 6 July – Eldorado (1992–1993)
• 16 September – Noddy's Toyland Adventures (1992–1999)
• 29 September – Funnybones (1992)
• 12 October – Good Morning with Anne and Nick (1992–1996)
• 22 November – Look at It This Way (1992)

BBC2

• 8 October – Later... with Jools Holland (1992–present)
• 12 November – Absolutely Fabulous (1992–1996, 2001–2004, 2011–2012)

ITV

• 3 January – The Good Guys (1992–1993)
• 25 January – The Cloning of Joanna May (1992)
• 9 February – Maigret (1992–1993)
• 18 February – Men Behaving Badly (1992–1998)
• 9 March – Junglies (1992–1993)
• 10 April – Heartbeat (1992–2010)
• 19 April – White Bear's Secret (1992)
• 26 July – TV Squash (1992)
• 30 July – Me, You and Him (1992)
• 5 September – What's Up Doc? (1992–1995)
• 10 October – Gladiators (1992–2000, 2008–2009)
• 20 November – In Bed with Medinner (1992–1999)
• 6 December – A Touch of Frost (1992–2010)
• 24–25 December – Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean (1992)

Channel 4

• 7 January – GamesMaster (1992–1998)
• 8 February – TV Heaven (1992)
• 5 March – The Camomile Lawn (1992)
• 11 September – Terry and Julian (1992)
• 28 September – The Big Breakfast (1992–2002)

Channels

New channels

Defunct channels

Television shows

Changes of network affiliation

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

• Take Your Pick (1955–1968, 1992–1998)
• The Tomorrow People (1973–1979, 1992–1995)

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• Panorama (1953–present)
• 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)
• That's Life! (1973–1994)
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)
• Arena (1975–present)
• Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
• One Man and His Dog (1976–present)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008)
• The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1979–1994)
• Antiques Roadshow (1979–present)
• Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

• Children in Need (1980–present)
• Danger Mouse (1981–1992)
• Timewatch (1982–present)
• Brookside (1982–2003)
• Countdown (1982–present)
• Right to Reply (1982–2001)
• First Tuesday (1983–1993)
• Highway (1983–1993)
• Blockbusters (1983–93, 1994–95, 1997, 2000–01, 2012)
• Spitting Image (1984–1996)
• The Bill (1984–2010)
• Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (1984–present)
• Busman's Holiday (1985–1993)
• 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)
• Every Second Counts (1986–1993)
• Lovejoy (1986–1994)
• The Raggy Dolls (1986–1994)
• Allsorts (1987–1995)
• Going Live! (1987–1993)
• Watching (1987–1993)
• Going for Gold (1987–1996, 2008–2009)
• The Time, The Place (1987–1996)
• Chain Letters (1987–1997)
• ChuckleVision (1987–2009)
• Count Duckula (1988–1993)
• You Rang, M'Lord? (1988–1993)
• 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)
• Absolutely (1989–1993)
• KYTV (1989–1993)
• Press Gang (1989–1993)
• Birds of a Feather (1989–1998, 2014–present)
• A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995)
• Desmond's (1989–1994)
• The Simpsons (1989–present)

1990s

• The $64,000 Question (1990–1993)
• Families (1990–1993)
• Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993)
• Waiting for God (1990–1994)
• Mr. Bean (1990–1995)
• The Crystal Maze (1990–1995)
• Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995)
• Turnabout (1990–1996)
• The Upper Hand (1990–1996)
• Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998)
• Stars in Their Eyes (1990–2006)
• The Dreamstone (1990–1995)
• Big Break (1991–2002)
• 2point4 Children (1991–1999)
• The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993)
• Spender (1991–1993)
• The House of Eliott (1991–1994)
• The Brittas Empire (1991–1997)
• Bottom (1991–1995)
• Soldier Soldier (1991–1997)
• Noel's House Party (1991–1999)
• Clarissa Explains It All (1991–1994)
• Doug (1991–1994, 1996–1999)
• Rugrats (1991–2004)
• The Ren and Stimpy Show (1991–1996)
• Darkwing Duck (1991-1992)
• Little Dracula (1991-1999)
• Where's Wally?: The Animated Series (1991)

Ending this year

• This Week (1956–1978, 1986–1992)
• The Big Match (1968–1992)
• Van der Valk (1972–1973, 1977, 1991–1992)
• Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)
• Rumpole of the Bailey (1975–1992)
• Shelley (1979–1992)
• Danger Mouse (1981–1992)
• Wogan (1982–1992)
• 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
• Good Morning Britain (1983–1992, 2014–present)
• James the Cat (1984–1992, 1998–2003)
• Wide Awake Club (1984–1992)
• Boon (1986–1992, 1995)
• A Very Peculiar Practice (1986–1992)
• All Clued Up (1987–1992)
• After Henry (1988–1992)
• The Hit Man and Her (1988–1992)
• Park Avenue (1988–1992)
• The Channel Four Daily (1989–1992)
• Dooby Duck's Disco Bus (1989–1992)
• El C.I.D. (1990–1992)
• The Mary Whitehouse Experience (1990–1992)
• No Job for a Lady (1990–1992)
• The Piglet Files (1990–1992)
• Spatz (1990–1992)
• Family Pride (1991–1992)
• Terry and Julian (1992)

Births

• 14 February – Freddie Highmore, actor
• 17 March – Eliza Bennett, actress and singer
• 14 May – Laya Lewis, actress
• 4 June – Brooke Vincent, actress
• 31 August – Holly Earl, actress
• 3 December – Joseph McManners, actor
• 17 December – Thomas Law, actor
• 24 December – Melissa Suffield, actress

Deaths

References