How the BBC Began

Miniseries

Participants in the BBC's early history describe the challenges and triumphs of its first fifty years, as it evolved into the corporation of today.

Accident and Opportunity
E1
Accident and OpportunityThe eyewitnesses and participants in the BBC’s early history recount some of the triumphs and disasters as new frontiers of broadcasting were mapped out – often by accident rather than design.
Building the Audience
E2
Building the AudienceBBC TV’s first female newsreader, Nan Winton, tells the story of how she was sacked, and staff from the BBC’s monitoring service explain the role they played in defusing the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Shooting the Rapids
E3
Shooting the RapidsThe story of how the BBC struggled to be impartial at critical moments in British history and how it handled social changes in Britain after the Second World War.