1. Events
    January  February  March  April  May  June  July  Summer  August  September  October  November  December 

2. Debuts
    BBC1  BBC2  ITV 

3. Television shows
    1920s  1930s  1940s  1950s  1960s 

4. Ending this year

5. Births

6. See also

7. References

This is a list of British television related events from 1966.

Events

January

• 3 January – Camberwick Green is the first BBC television programme to be shot in colour.
• 15 January – BBC2 goes on air in the South and West of England.

February

• No events.

March

• 3 March – The BBC announces plans to begin broadcasting television programmes in colour from next year.^[1]

April

• 5 April – The Money Programme debuts on BBC2. It continued to air until 2010.

May

• 23 May – Julie Goodyear makes her Coronation Street debut as Bet Lynch. She did not become a regular character until 1970.

June

• 6 June – BBC1 sitcom Till Death Us Do Part begins its first series run.
• 11 June – BBC2 Northern Ireland goes on the air.

July

• 9 July – BBC2 Scotland goes on the air, although much of England and some parts of Wales, and Northern Ireland still cannot receive the channel, and this is the last regional area to receive BBC2. It was ceased broadcasting on 17 February 2019 to make way for the new BBC Scotland channel launches on 24 February 2019.
• 30 July – England beat West Germany 4-2 to win the 1966 World Cup at Wembley.^[2]

Summer

• Summer – Patrick McGoohan quits the popular spy series Danger Man after filming only two episodes of the fourth season, in order to produce and star in The Prisoner, which begins filming in September.

August

• No events.

September

• No events.

October

• 2 October –
  • The four-part serial Talking to a Stranger, acclaimed as one of the finest British television dramas of the 1960s, begins transmission in the Theatre 625 strand on BBC2.
  • Thunderbirds is back with a second season on ITV but without David Holliday (the original voice of Virgil Tracy) as he is now replaced by Jeremy Wilkin and running only for six episodes.
• 29 October – Actor William Hartnell makes his last regular appearance as the First Doctor in the concluding moments of Episode 4 of the Doctor Who serial The Tenth Planet. Actor Patrick Troughton briefly appears as the Second Doctor at the conclusion of the serial.

November

• 5 November – Actor Patrick Troughton appears in his first full Doctor Who serial The Power of the Daleks as the Second Doctor.
• 16 November – Cathy Come Home, possibly the best-known play ever to be broadcast on British television, is presented in BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand.

December

• 25 December – The final episode of Thunderbirds is broadcast on ITV.
• 28 December – Jonathan Miller's production of Alice in Wonderland is broadcast.

Debuts

BBC1

• 3 January – The Trumptonshire Trilogy: Camberwick Green (1966)
• 5 January – Softly, Softly (1966–1969)
• 10 March – The Frost Report (1966)
• 7 May – Quick Before They Catch Us (1966)
• 17 May – All Gas and Gaiters (1966–1971)
• 24 May – Beggar My Neighbour (1966–1968)
• 7 August – It's a Knockout (BBC1 1966–1982, Channel 5 1999–2001)
• 17 November – The Illustrated Weekly Hudd (1966–1967)
• 31 December – {{flagicon|USA}} The Monkees (despite airing in Colour in America, it was shown in Black and White on BBC1)

BBC2

• 5 April – The Money Programme (1966–2010)

ITV

• 22 March – How (1966–1982)

Television shows

1920s

• BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2024)

1930s

• BBC Cricket (1939, 1946–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s

• Watch with Mother (1946–1973)
• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• Andy Pandy (1950–1970, 2002–2005)
• The Good Old Days (1953–1983)
• Panorama (1953–present)
• Sunday Night at the London Palladium (1955–1967, 1973–1974)
• Take Your Pick (1955–1968, 1992–1998)
• Double Your Money (1955–1968)
• Dixon of Dock Green (1955–1976)
• Crackerjack (1955–1984)
• Opportunity Knocks (1956–1978, 1987–1990)
• This Week (1956–1978, 1986–1992)
• Armchair Theatre (1956–1974)^[3]
• What the Papers Say (1956–2008)
• The Sky at Night (1957–present)
• Blue Peter (1958–present)
• Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street (1960–present)
• The Avengers (1961–1969)
• Songs of Praise (1961–present)
• Hugh and I (1962–1967)
• The Saint (1962–1969)
• Z-Cars (1962–1978)
• Animal Magic (1962–1983)
• Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005–present)
• World in Action (1963–1998)
• The Wednesday Play (1964–1970)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Match of the Day (1964–present)
• Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
• Play School (1964–1988)
• Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999, 2008–2010, 2012–present)
• The Newcomers (1965–1969)
• Not Only... But Also (1965–1970)
• World of Sport (1965–1985)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006)

Ending this year

• Captain Pugwash (1957–1966, 1974–1975, 1997–2002)
• The Flintstones (1960–1966)
• Marriage Lines (1961–1966)
• Thank Your Lucky Stars (1961–1966)
• Ready Steady Go! (1963–1966)
• The Likely Lads (1964–1966)
• Redcap (1964–1966)
• BBC-3 (1965–1966)
• The Bed-Sit Girl (1965–1966)
• Thunderbirds (1965–1966)
• Stingray (1965–1966)

Births

• 13 January – Shelagh Fogarty, radio and television presenter
• 26 February – Fay Ripley, actress and recipe author
• 6 March – Alan Davies, comedian and actor
• 22 March – Samantha Robson, actress
• 1 April – Chris Evans, radio disc-jockey
• 14 April – Lloyd Owen, actor
• 19 June – Samuel West, actor
• 5 July – Susannah Doyle, actress, playwright and film director
• 12 July – Tamsin Greig, actress
• 16 July – Johnny Vaughan, broadcaster and journalist
• 23 July – Samantha Beckinsale, actress
• 30 August – Helen Fospero, newsreader and journalist
• 26 October – Steve Valentine, actor

See also

• 1966 in British music
• 1966 in British radio
• 1966 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1966

References

• 291 BC
• 291 BCE
• 292
• 2921 Sophocles
• 2929 Entertainment
• 292 BC
• 292 BCE
• 292 Ludovica
• 293
• 2930 Euripides
• 2934 Aristophanes
• 293 BC
• 293 BCE
• 293 Brasilia
• 294
• 294 BC
• 294 BCE
• 294 Felicia
• 295
• 295 BC
• 295 BCE
• 295 Theresia
• 296
• 296 BC
• 296 BCE