BBC Archive

#OnThisDay 1973: Metal worker John Stewart was preparing a Norton motorcycle for his first ever TT race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncKdY...

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3 days ago | [YT] | 560

BBC Archive

#OnThisDay 1971: The women of Highbury, North London, home of Arsenal Football Club, gave their thoughts on the new football season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Cr9...

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6 days ago | [YT] | 269

BBC Archive

#OnThisDay 1937: An early sort of ‘sizzle’ or ’taster’ reel for BBC television productions was shown to TV manufacturers, to demonstrate the types of programmes broadcast in the first six months of transmission. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZxMF...

Image 1: The Bavera Trio demonstrating dancing on roller-skates.
Image 2: Artist John Piper reviews the work of Gainsborough, Picasso and Henry Moore.
Image 3: Dr Charlotte Wolff conducting an analysis of Jasmine Bligh's palms.

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 863

BBC Archive

#OnThisDay 1987: Barbara Cartland, the queen of romantic fiction, went head-to-head with younger upstart Jackie Collins during a lively interview on Wogan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtXml...

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 407

BBC Archive

#OnThisDay 1973: Fyfe Robertson was instructed in the art of high-speed driving, at the Brands Hatch circuit. Not bad for someone who hadn’t technically passed his driving test. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDSNa...

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1 month ago | [YT] | 498

BBC Archive

The BBC is gearing up for its last live recordings from Maida Vale Studios. The former skating rink was bought by the BBC in 1933 to accommodate the BBC Symphony Orchestra, but sold in 2023 . It went on to house the Radiophonic Workshop and hosted endless legendary music sessions, including The Beatles, Bing Crosby, Nirvana and Adele.

After more than 90 years, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers take to the stage for BBC Radio 3’s In Tune - listen on BBC Sounds.

Image 1: BBC Symphony Orchestra - loading the instruments at Maida Vale. 1935.
Image 2: Studio 1, Maida Vale. 1937.
Image 3: Composer Igor Stravinsky rehearsing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the BBC studios, Maida Vale. 1958.
Image 4: Malcolm Clarke, of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, programming a large voltage controlled Electronic Music Synthesiser called ‘The Delaware’. 1974.
Image 5: Unloading musical instruments and equipment from a BBC Symphony Orchestra truck in the street outside BBC Maida Vale Studios. 1996.
Image 6: Sound effects for a radio drama fight scene being recorded at the BBC Maida Vale studios. 2001.
Image 7: Amy Winehouse performing on Radio 1's ‘Live Lounge’ at the BBCs Maida Vale studios. 2007
Image 8: Elbow in session at Maida Vale Studios for the Jo Whiley show on BBC Radio 2. 2022.
Image 9: Band stickers and signatures in the BBC Maida Vale goods lift. 2025.
Image 10: Studio 3, Maida Vale. It’s distinctive green square acoustic panels and full-length curtains helped to reduce sound reverberation. 2025

To find out more about the history of these iconic studios, visit canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/maidavalelegacy/

This post has been edited for accuracy.

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1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 688

BBC Archive

#OnThisDay 1988: Legendary Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter bid farewell after a quarter of a century, and appeared in front of the cameras to receive gifts, and of course, a gold Blue Peter badge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCJDc...

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1 month ago | [YT] | 389

BBC Archive

It’s Father’s Day! Here's some of the fictional fathers and father-figures who played their part in BBC comedy shows across the decades.


Image 1: Wilfred Brambell as Albert Steptoe alongside his on-screen son Harold, played by Harry H. Corbett in ‘Steptoe and Son’. 1970
Image 2: Ian Lavender as Private Pike with his ‘Uncle Arthur’, also known as Sergeant Wilson, played by John Le Mesurier in ‘Dad’s Army’. 1971
Image 3: Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher in ‘Porridge’, seen here with his cellmate Lennie Godber, played by Richard Beckinsale. Godber would eventually become Fletch’s son-in-law. 1974
Image 4: Tony Britton as Dr Toby Latimer and Nigel Havers as his son Dr Tom Latimer, in the sitcom ‘Don’t Wait Up’ about a father and son living together as adults. 1983
Image 5: Anton Rogers as widowed solicitor Alec Callendar, with his on-screen son Jamie Callendar played by Paul Venables in ‘May to December’. 1989
Image 6: Ricky Tomlinson playing the role of the grumpy but much-loved Jim Royle in ‘The Royle Family’. 1999
Image 7: Robert Lindsay as dentist and father of three, Ben Harper in the series ‘My Family’. 2000
Image 8: Vincent Ebrahim playing the part of Ashwin Kumar, father of Sanjeev in ‘The Kumars at Number 42’. Sanjeev Kumar, played by Sanjeev Bhaskar, hosts a chat show from home but faces interference from his family including his mother played by Indira Joshi and Grandmother Ummi played by Meera Syal. 2001.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 712

BBC Archive

#OnThisDay 1986: Prospecting in a remote part of Australia, drew an eclectic bunch including a former ad exec Londoner and a Liverpudlian mouth organist, trying their luck for black opal gemstones in Lightning Ridge, NSW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FEj-...

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1 month ago | [YT] | 330

BBC Archive

As the World Cup hits the USA for the first time since 1994, revisit this Standing Room Only report on the battle for the future of soccer in the USA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BLKX...

The World Cup deal required the US to set up a professional football league. Alan Rothenberg became the first Chairman of Major League Soccer. He planned to take a slow, steady approach to create a prosperous domestic league.

Jim Pagalia, on the other hand, had more radical intentions. His planned "Zone Soccer" was a $700 million rival to the MLS, with some substantial changes to the rules.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 296