BBC Light Programme

The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the longwave frequency which had earlier been used – prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 – by the BBC National Programme.

The service was intended as a domestic replacement for the wartime BBC General Forces Programme which had proved popular with civilian audiences in Britain as well as members of the armed forces.

History

The longwave signal on 200 kHz/1500 metres was transmitted from Droitwich in the Midlands (as it still is today for Radio 4, although adjusted slightly to 198 kHz/1515 metres in 1988), and gave fairly good coverage of most of the United Kingdom, although a number of low-power mediumwave transmitters (using 1214 kHz/247 metres) were added later to fill in local blank spots. Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, the Light Programme (along with the BBC's two other national programmes, the Home Service and the Third Programme) gradually became available on what was known at the time as VHF, as the BBC developed a network of local FM transmitters.

From its first day of broadcasting in 1945 until Monday 2 September 1957, the Light Programme would be on the air from 9 am until midnight each day, apart from Sundays when it would come on the air at 8 am. From Monday 2 September 1957, the Light Programme's broadcasting hours would start to increase, with a new early morning start time of 7 am, later moving to 6:30 a.m. from Monday 29 September 1958. In 1964 broadcasting hours were increased even more, with a new morning start time of 5:30 am from Monday 31 August 1964. Up until September 1964, the Light Programme would always end its broadcasting day at midnight, however this changed on Sunday 27 September 1964, when a new closedown time of 2:02 a.m. was introduced.

The Light Programme closed down for the last time at 2:02 am on Saturday 30 September 1967. At 5:30 a.m. on the same day it was replaced by Radio 1 on its mediumwave frequencies, and by Radio 2 (the renamed Light Programme) on its longwave frequency. The FM frequencies were mainly used by Radio 2 but sometimes by Radio 1 until that station acquired its own FM frequencies in 1988.

The long-running soap opera The Archers was first heard nationally on the Light Programme, on 1 January 1951, although a week-long pilot version had been broadcast on the Midlands Home Service in 1950.

Notable programmes

The Al Read Show
Appointment with Fear
The Archers
Beyond Our Ken
The Billy Cotton Band Show
Breakfast Special
Children's Favourites
The Clitheroe Kid
Dick Barton – Special Agent
Does The Team Think?
Educating Archie
Family Favourites
Friday Night Is Music Night
The Goon Show (repeats from the BBC Home Service)
Hancock's Half Hour
Have a Go!
Housewives' Choice
Ignorance is Bliss
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
ITMA  (repeats from the BBC Home Service)
Journey into Space
Children's Favourites
Life with the Lyons
Listen with Mother
Meet the Huggetts
Movie-Go-Round
Mrs Dale's Diary
Much Binding in the Marsh
Music While You Work
The Navy Lark
Orbiter X
Pick of the Pops
Radio Newsreel
Ray's a Laugh
Richard Attenborough's Record Rendezvous
Riders of the Range
Round the Horne
Roundabout
Shadow of Sumuru
The Showband Show
Sing Something Simple
Sports Report
Take It From Here
Variety Bandbox
Waterlogged Spa
Welsh Rarebit
Woman's Hour
Workers' Playtime (BBC Home Service until September 1957)

Presenters

Barry Alldis
Marjorie Anderson
Richard Attenborough
Tim Brinton
Michael Brooke
Desmond Carrington
Sam Costa
Bill Crozier
Alan Dell
Robert Dougall
David Dunhill
John Dunn
Don Durbridge
Franklin Engelmann
Peter Fettes
Alan Freeman
Tim Gudgin
Peter Haigh
Colin Hamilton
Paul Hollingdale
David Jacobs
Brian Matthew
Jean Metcalfe
Roger Moffat
Pete Murray
Phillip Slessor
Douglas Smith
Ken Sykora
David Symonds
John Webster
Roy Williams
Bruce Wyndham

References

External links
Radio Rewind – The 1500m Light Programme

 
Category:Radio stations established in 1945
Light Programme, BBC
Category:1945 establishments in the United Kingdom