X-Nico

100 unusual facts about BBC


1989 Australian Grand Prix

The four that failed to qualify were Jonathan Palmer in his Tyrrell, which proved to be his last Grand Prix before being a pit lane reporter for the BBC.

1991–92 Scottish League Cup

This period was later covered by an episode of the BBC documentary That Was The Team That Was, which revealed that Hibs player Murdo MacLeod had placed a bet on his team winning the cup.

2010 ExxonMobil oil spill

The Nigerian government estimates there were over 7,000 spills, large and small, between 1970 and 2000, according to the BBC.

A Capitalism for the People

Zingales has answered questions on his book during the Business Daily programme on World Service BBC.

A Musical Joke

In a modernised version by Waldo de los Rios, the opening of the finale of A Musical Joke was used for many years as the theme tune to the BBC's Horse of the Year Show.

A Shot of Rhythm and Blues

The Beatles recorded "A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" three times for the BBC in 1963, with John Lennon on lead vocals each time.

A Trick of the Night

The release of the single in the UK was delayed until February 1987, so that Bananarama could participate in a BBC television show called In at the Deep End.

Acton, Suffolk

According to the BBC QI series, Jennens vs Jennens commenced in 1798 and was abandoned in 1915 (117 years later) when the legal fees had exhausted the Jennens estate of funds (worth c. £2 million).

AdapTV

Much of the programming is produced by AdapTV, colleges for the hearing and visually impaired and the BBC

Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya

The town's many enormous, elaborate mansions has, according to the BBC led it to be called the Miami of the West Bank.

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust

During the 1990s it was featured in the BBC television series Children's Hospital.

Amine and Hamza M'raihi

Amine and Hamza have performed in many prestigious scenes all over the world, including the Arab World Institute in Paris, the BBC, the Medina Theatre in Beirut and the Cairo Opera house.

Ancylotherium

Ancylotherium appears in the BBC's series Walking with Beasts, where CG animation was used to recreate extinct creatures of the Cenozoic era.

Anti-nuclear movement in Canada

According to a 2006 opinion poll commissioned by the BBC, 91 per cent

Arabtec

Documents which had been obtained by the BBC clearly show that a month previous to the television crews' visit, the Dubai municipality described the sewage situation at the site as critical.

Audrey Atterbury

She married Rowley Atterbury in 1943, and had one child, Paul Atterbury, who went on to become an antiques expert and a regular on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow.

Aufidia

Deborah Moore appears as Alfidia, the mother of a fictionalized Livia, in two 2007 episodes of the HBO/BBC series Rome.

Baidoa

On July 20, 2006 it was reported by the BBC that a column of 100 Ethiopian military vehicles including armoured personnel carriers had crossed from the border town of Dolo Odo into Somalia.

Bamzooki

Bamzooki (styled as BAMZOOKi) is a mixed reality television gameshow on the BBC which features a toolkit developed by Gameware Development.

Bankura Sammilani College

The college provides opportunity for Spoken English classes with the help of BBC Bankura Branch.

Bear Creek Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

The township was the site of a plane crash on May 21, 2000, when an airplane, in its attempt to land at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in nearby Avoca, crashed in what was described by the BBC as a "wooded area" of the township near the intersection of Bear Creek Boulevard (PA-Route 115) and the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, killing the pilot as well as all 19 passengers.

Ben Bartlett

He is mainly celebrated for having been the creator of the background music in BBC nature documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs (1999), Walking with Beasts (2001), Chased by Dinosaurs (2002) or Walking with Monsters (2005), among others.

Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven

After 23 April 1945, when Hitler's communications staff began to desert, he had to improvise and he based his intelligence reports on information he was able to gather from the Allied news agencies Reuters and the BBC.

Borneo Orangutan Survival

Willie Smits appeared in Dying for a Biscuit, a 2010 BBC Panorama investigation which looked into the causes of deforestation, focusing particularly on illegal logging and the palm oil industry.

Buttered toast phenomenon

A study by the BBC's television series Q.E.D. found that when toast is thrown in the air, it lands butter-side down just one-half of the time (as would be predicted by chance).

Cameroceras

It was featured in the Ordovician section of the BBC series Sea Monsters (a spin-off to the successful Walking with Dinosaurs) as a nearly blind, feeble-eyed apex predator, and also had a brief cameo in Walking with Monsters, bobbing in the water.

Claw of Archimedes

The plausibility of this invention was tested in 1999 in the BBC series Secrets of the Ancients and again in early 2005 in the Discovery Channel series Superweapons of the Ancient World.

Dechrau Canu, Dechrau Canmol

Currently aired by the Welsh television channel S4C, it is one of the longest-running television programmes on any British television channel, the first edition having been broadcast by the BBC from Trinity Chapel, Swansea, in 1961.

Dembo Konte and Kausu Kuyateh

In 1989 they toured the UK and, on 5 September recorded a session for the John Peel show on BBC radio.

Des Moines Art Center

These include Edward Hopper's "Automat", which was reproduced on a postage stamp as well as used for a cover of Time magazine, Stanton MacDonald Wright's "Synchromy" which has been reproduced in numerous texts about the artist/movement, Francis Bacon's "Portrait of Pope Innocent" which likewise is considered a signature work by the artist and appeared in Robert Hughes "Shock of the New" BBC series in the early 1980s.

Desmond Hawkins

Desmond also had programme ideas accepted by the BBC and 1936 saw his first appearance in Radio Times with a programme called A Nest of Singing Birds – an anthology he compiled of English poets on English birds.

Dimitri Fampas

He lectured on the history of the classical guitar over the Greek National Radio and TV, the BBC, and on several stations in Hungary, in Czechoslovakia, in the US and elsewhere.

Dukan Diet

On May 14, 2010, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 10 minute 3 sided interview/discussion, conducted by Jenni Murray, and including Dr Dukan on Woman's Hour, examining and evaluating the diet's strategy.

Esthesioneuroblastoma

According to the BBC, only 200 cases of the disease have been recorded worldwide in the past two decades.

Eustace II, Count of Boulogne

Eustace has been portrayed on screen by Leslie Bradley in the film Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) and by Joby Blanshard in the two-part BBC TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625.

Fantasia on British Sea Songs

It is a medley of British sea songs and for many years was seen as an indispensable item at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms concert.

Fernando Pessa

He joined Portugal's state radio in 1934, and covered World War II for BBC radio, for which he was subsequently appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by King George VI.

Forward Music

In 2007, one of Forward’s artists, Ghada Shbeir, received The BBC Awards for world music for the region of North Africa and the Middle East for her album Al Muwashahat.

Franz Hildebrandt

In subsequent years, Hildebrandt helped build up the German-speaking Protestant congregation in Cambridge, and worked for a number of church-related projects, including German-language broadcasts on the BBC.

Galton and Simpson

After their association with Hancock had ended, they wrote a series of Comedy Playhouse (1961–62), ten one-off half-hour plays for the BBC.

Gas Mark

The term "gas mark" was a subject of the joint BBC/OED TV series Balderdash & Piffle, in May 2005, which sought to establish the history of the term.

Gold Fever

Gold Fever was the name of a BBC documentary, shown in August 2000, which followed Steve Redgrave and his British rowing coxless four teammates Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell in the years leading up to the Sydney Olympics, where Redgrave was looking to claim his fifth consecutive gold medal.

Harry Locke

In 1972, he played Platon Karataev in the BBC production of War and Peace— a brilliant performance as a "minor" character who advances the development of Pierre Bezukhov, the central character.

Hull Blokes

The project was actually part of the BBC’s Northern Exposure ‘Writing in the Margins’ initiative, spearheaded by the Corporation’s then creative director of new writing, Kate Rowland.

I Second That Emotion

Episode 2 of the 2004 BBC miniseries Blackpool featured the Miracles version, accompanied onscreen by the characters singing and dancing, as part of the story.

INA trials

After the war ended, the story of the INA and the Free India Legion was seen as so inflammatory that, fearing mass revolts and uprisings—not just in India, but across its empire—the British Government forbade the BBC from broadcasting their story.

Incarnation Children's Center

In early 2007 a group of scientists and AIDS activists, including Mark Wainberg, demanded a retraction and apology from the BBC, charging that the BBC documentary Guinea Pig Kids was "inflammatory, deceptive, error-filled and dangerous".

International Cavaliers

The BBC showed the games on television, providing extra revenue, and the games allowed spectators to see a wide range of famous players at county grounds.

Irish dance

The BBC documentary film Jig provided an insight into championship level dancers competing in the 2010 World Championships held in Glasgow.

Japanese variety show

The BBC also has its own version of Hole in the Wall in the United Kingdom, while Cartoon Network has the American version of Hole in the Wall with Teck Holmes.

Jeremiah White

News organizations like BBC, RAI, and CNN picked up on the story, and White was headline news around the world for a short time.

Jess Yates

After the war he directed documentary films, joined BBC Television as a freelance designer and joined the BBC on the production side in 1949.

Justice?

received mainstream attention during the 1990s — including coverage on the BBC Newsnight programme — when they launched their "Squatters' Estate Agents" in squatted retail premises.

Kaya Wittenburg

This included the BBC documentary “The Hollywood Stories Documentary” and ITV’s GMTV.

Khalil Gibran International Academy

The BBC reports that some attendees have joined to reconnect with their families' culture and homeland; others, with no Arab or Muslim background, because they believe learning the language will give them a valuable skill.

The BBC reported that in searching the Internet they found many hateful messages about the school that conflate the Arabic language, Islam, and terrorism.

KNSJ

Content includes locally-produced programs as well as news and information from the BBC and Pacifica Radio.

Kozarac

In the BBC drama series New Tricks episode 84 "Things Can Only Get Better", Hana Koranović, a suspect in the case, comes from Kozarac.

La Coco-Dance

The uncharacteristic style and performance (Monaco and France both being known for entering gentle ballads) was remarked upon by the BBC commentator immediately following the performance, who said " - Who knew Monaco was so versatile?"

Lar Lubovitch Dance Company

In Great Britain the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company was featured on television as part of an hour-long program produced by the BBC, in which the company performed Concerto Six Twenty-Two (1986) and North Star (1978).

Lonclass

The BBC's Lonclass ("London Classification") is a subject classification system used internally at the BBC throughout its archives.

Lucid dream

A 2012 report by the BBC claimed that "interest in lucid dreaming has grown in recent years", and corroborated this with examples of the many telephone apps that exist to help people experience the phenomenon.

Media of Iraq

Immediately, the ban on satellite dishes was no longer in place, and by mid-2003, according to a BBC report, there were 20 radio stations, 15-17 Iraqi-owned television stations, and 200 Iraqi-owned and operated newspapers.

Mercy Murugi

She has worked with National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, amongst other global production houses and TV channels.

Moose River Gold Mines, Nova Scotia

The event was broadcast by J. Frank Willis of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) to over 650 radio stations throughout North America, and was picked up by the BBC and broadcast to Europe.

My Boomerang Won't Come Back

After the BBC refused to play the tune (despite its popularity in record shops), a new version was recorded, substituting "blue in the face"; this version (on Parlophone Records) entered the UK charts in October and eventually peaked at #14.

Nairne baronets

He was later a director of the Bank, and a Governor of the BBC.

New Life Russian Radio

New Life has the exclusive rights to rebroadcast the audio from the Russian Division of the BBC and several radio stations in Russia including: 'Echo of Moscow', 'Russian Radio', 'Radio Retro' and more.

Norman Wooland

During World War II he was a junior radio announcer, reporting the news for the BBC.

Oxford Scientific Films

In 1998, its film "The Forbidden Fruit" produced for the BBC's long-running series The Natural World and WNET Nature, won seven industry awards.

Paracosm

The concept was first described by a researcher for the BBC, Robert Silvey, with later research by British psychiatrist Stephen A. MacKeith, and British psychologist David Cohen.

Paul Austin Kelly

Kelly has also made numerous live performances on BBC Radio.

Platform Post-production

In 2008 renowned VFX editor and colourist John Cryer also bought a share in the business and now works at the facility in DS Nitris, finishing all range of productions for clients including BBC, The Foundation, RDF Television, Lion TV, Five, Channel Four, Nickelodeon and Disney.

QatarDebate

The first Qatar National Schools Debating Team (2008) are the subject of an independent documentary film, 'Team Qatar', directed by Liz Mermin, which premiered in New York at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival and broadcast in the UK on the BBC.

Rich tea

In 2004, Terry Wogan, a radio presenter for the BBC, described the Rich Tea as the "Lord of all Biscuits" on his Radio 2 breakfast show.

Robert Bellinger

He was a Governor of the BBC and chairman of the Panel for Civil Service Manpower Review.

Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury

On screen, Roger was portrayed by actor John Greenwood in the two-part BBC TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625.

Ronald L. Ellis

On 10 September 2012 Judge Ellis refused to quash a subpoena from the United States government which demands the foreign media orgnaisation BBC hand over out takes and portions of documentary, entitled Arafat Investigated to United States Authorities.

S Club Search

S Club Search is a CBBC reality television show that documents the audition process and formation for the pop group S Club Juniors in 2001.

Sandy Welch

Welch has adapted Emma by Jane Austen for BBC, which aired in four parts, running from 4 to 25 October 2009.

Sandy Welch's works for the BBC have included The Magnificent 7, adaptations of Charles Dickens' novel Our Mutual Friend and Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, and most recently the BBC's well-received 2006 interpretation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.

Sarbloh Warriors

In 2006, Singh complained that the game was unfairly stereotyped by the BBC as being anti-Muslim, stating that it was meant to educate the youth on the complicated history of Sikh-Muslim tension.

Sheri's Ranch

Sheri's Ranch was featured in the BBC series Panorama about the importance of safe sex, preventative measures taken to avoid the contraction of HIV, and other STD/STIs by Nevada brothel sex workers.

Slave contract

According to the BBC's reporter Lucy Williamson, some of K-Pop's biggest popstars were built on the back of slave contracts, which tie trainees into long exclusive deals, with not much control and little financial reward.

Some Other Guy

The song was part of The Beatles' live repertoire in 1962-63, and a recording was made on 19 June 1963 during a live BBC radio performance by the band at The Playhouse Theatre, London.

This recording was first released for purchase by the public on the album Live at the BBC in 1994.

Taman Molek

A little known fact about Taman Molek is that for about half century it was the site of the main transmitting station of the BBC or British Broadcasting Corporation in the Far East - known locally as BBC Tebrau - before this was relocated to Singapore.

Thanks for the Night

The B-side, "Nasty", was recorded for the BBC comedy series The Young Ones, which was performed during the episode of the same name in 1984.

The Billion Dollar Bubble

The Billion Dollar Bubble is a 1976 film made for the BBC series Horizon and directed by Brian Gibson about the story of the two billion dollar insurance embezzlement scheme involving Equity Funding Corporation of America.

The Lana Sisters

They appeared on the BBC's Drumbeat with Adam Faith and John Barry, and later took part in a Christmas special "Tommy Steele’s Spectacular" with the song "Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat".

Theresa Poh Lin Chan

She is the subject of a 1964 BBC radio documentary, "Child of the Silent Night: The story of Chan Poh Lin" by Stephen Grenfell.

Therocephalia

A pack of unspecified therocephalians appeared in the third episode of the BBC series, Walking with Monsters (which look similar to the Thrinaxodons from Walking with Dinosaurs).

TVN Turbo

It broadcasts original programming as well as foreign series such as popular BBC series Top Gear and Motorvision.

Under Attack

On 11 December 1982, ABBA performed "Under Attack" on the BBC's Late Late Breakfast Show, in what was their last collective performance.

Utah Shakespearean Festival

Designed by Douglas N. Cook, it is world-renowned for its accuracy in duplicating Shakespeare's Globe; the BBC used it as a filming location in 1981 for a documentary series on Shakespeare.

Vladimir K. Zworykin

This electronic system was officially adopted by the BBC whose experimental public broadcasts began in England in November 1936 and initially included the Baird-system.

Volvo B8444S engine

As revealed in BBC's Top Gear show (Series 14 Episode 5) this basic engine is also used in the Noble M600, albeit longitudinally mounted, developing some 650 horsepower with the addition of 2 turbochargers.

Vorkuta uprising

According to inmate Leonid Markizov, Voice of America and the BBC broadcast regular news about the events in Rechlag, with correct names, ranks and numbers.

Wayne Grady

He owns a golf course design business and a golf tour company, and has worked as a commentator for the BBC's televised golf coverage since 2000.

Wilson's Bird-of-paradise

The first footage of the Wilson's Bird-of-paradise ever to be filmed was recorded in 1996 by David Attenborough for the BBC documentary Attenborough in Paradise.


...And Mother Makes Five

Mark Lewisohn, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003

2009 in Scottish television

28 August – At the Edinburgh International Television Festival News Corporation Chairman James Murdoch delivers the MacTaggart Memorial Lecture in which he launches an attack on the BBC and UK media regulator Ofcom.

2BD

After being appointed managing director of the BBC in 1922, John Reith instigated a programme of expansion of the radio network in the United Kingdom, increasing the number of local stations from three to twenty in a relatively short space of time.

Andrew Timothy

He was the father of actor Christopher Timothy, whose most notable role was the vet James Herriot in the BBC TV series All Creatures Great and Small.

Animal Hospital

Animal Hospital was a television show starring Rolf Harris that ran on the BBC from 1994 until 2004.

Big Book

The Big Read, a 2003 survey carried out by the BBC, with the goal of finding the "Nation's Best-loved Book" by way of a viewer vote via the Web, SMS and telephone

Carrie Davis

She left the BBC on Thursday 1 March 2012 after taking redundancy and stated on Twitter that she was unable to commit to the BBC Sport move to Salford, due to family reasons.

Charters and Caldicott

They proved popular with audiences and returned in the Gilliat-and-Launder films Night Train to Munich (1940, also starring Margaret Lockwood) and Millions Like Us (1943), and in the BBC radio serials Crook's Tour (1941, made into a film later that year) and Secret Mission 609 (1942).

City Tower, Manchester

The tower is one of Manchester's main broadcast transmission sites, hosting the antennas of local radio stations XFM, Rock Radio, Capital on FM and digital radio multiplexes Digital One, BBC, MXR North West and CE Manchester.

Corrinne Wicks

As well as playing her role in Emmerdale for ITV, Wicks acted in the BBC's adaptation of Nigel Slater's best selling memoir Toast (January 2011); she played young Nigel's lusty secondary school teacher.

Damon Scott

Following Damon’s success he was “spotted” when the head cameraman from the BBC attended the Southern Daily Echo Star Trail semi-final and he suggested to fellow programme makers that Damon would be a perfect subject for the BBC2 real life series which profiles the lives and careers of people aged 18–25.

Desmond Briscoe

Along with Daphne Oram, he worked on the BBC Radio production of Samuel Beckett’s All That Fall (Tx:13 January 1957), Giles Cooper's The Disagreeable Oyster (Tx:15 August 1957), and Frederick Bradnum's Private Dreams and Public Nightmares (Tx:7 October 1957).

Dublin Gospel Choir

The choir also featured (along with Chris de Burgh) on a special New Year's Day BBC Songs of Praise programme which was broadcast to over 35 million viewers worldwide.

EcoHealth Alliance

EcoHealth Alliance was founded in 1971 by British naturalist, author and television personality Gerald Durrell, who is perhaps best known for his many entertaining books based on his life’s work with animals, as well as a dozen series on the BBC.

Fred Basset

During mid 1976 a short-lived 5 minute television cartoon of Fred Basset was shown on the BBC, made by Bill Melendez Productions, voiced by actor Lionel Jeffries that was available on VHS.

George Lewith

A 2006 BBC documentary series, Alternative Medicine, was criticised by several people, including Lewith, in the Guardian over a controversial sequence in which acupuncture appeared to be used as a replacement for general anaesthesia during open heart surgery.

Harry Dodson

Harry James Dodson (11 September 1919 – 25 July 2005) was an English gardener who became a celebrity as a result of the BBC television documentary series The Victorian Kitchen Garden, which featured his professional expertise and his reminiscences.

Il Popolo del Blues

Il Popolo del Blues is an Italian radio program founded in 1995, created and led by the Italian journalist Ernesto De Pascale (RAI, Jam, La Nazione, Rolling Stone Italia, Record Collector, Popolare Network), named by the BBC “the Italian John Peel”.

James Honeyborne

James Honeyborne is the director of The Meerkats feature film and the producer and director of many award-winning BBC wildlife documentaries.

James Kenelm Clarke

In 1967 he joined BBC Television in London as a producer on the award-winning progmme Man Alive, edited by Desmond Wilcox.

James May's Top Toys

James May's Top Toys is a BBC documentary in which James May explored and celebrated his favourite toys, including Etch-A-Sketch, Airfix model aeroplanes, Lego, Meccano, Top Trumps, Scalextric, model cars, and Hornby model trains.

Jamie Reeves

When Reeves saw Bill Kazmaier win his third World's Strongest Man title in 1982, on BBC television, he decided that would be his aim, and took up weights.

Kathryn Tickell

She has also composed music for two productions by Newcastle's "Live Theatre", presented a series of programmes for "BBC Radio 2" and TV programmes on music composition for Channel 4 Schools, recorded with the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, The Chieftains, Beth Nielson Chapman, The Boys of the Lough, Jimmy Nail, Linda Thompson, Alan Parsons, Andy Sheppard and many others.

Kieran Prendiville

He was BBC television's choice for on-site commentator of the first space shuttle mission, reporting from Cape Canaveral and Edwards Air Force Base.

Lauderdale Mansions South

More recent former residents of Lauderdale Mansions South have included Kathryn Flett, Observer TV critic and star of the BBC’s ‘Grumpy Old Women’ series, and Mary McCartney, celebrity photographer and daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney.

Leofric, Earl of Mercia

On screen, Leofric has been portrayed by Roy Travers in the British silent short Lady Godiva (1928), George Nader in the film Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955), and Tony Steedman in the BBC TV series Hereward the Wake (1965).

Llanddewi Brefi

Llanddewi Brefi was made famous by the BBC television series Little Britain, where the character Daffyd Thomas (a variation of the original Welsh name Dafydd; played by Matt Lucas) lives in the fictional village of Llandewi Breffi.

Madge Hindle

Hindle's big break came when her good friend, playwright Alan Bennett, asked her to appear in his 1966 BBC comedy series On the Margin.

Media coverage of the Gulf War

In Britain, the BBC devoted the FM portion of its national speech radio station BBC Radio 4 to a 18h rolling news format creating Radio 4 News FM.

Mollie's Song

CD 2 included the b-side only track "Call Me", and both CD1 and CD2 included as a b-side the traditional lullaby Hush Little Baby, which was recorded for an episode of the BBC TV programme Challenge Anneka, aired September 23, 1992, in which Anneka Rice organized the release of an album (titled Tommy's Tape), whose royalties would be donated to Tommy's Campaign, for research into premature births at the Children's Intensive Care Unit in St Thomas' Hospital in London.

Realms of the Haunting

Notably, David Learner, who portrayed Belial, is better known for his role as Marvin the paranoid android from the BBC series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and also as Pickle in the cult children's TV program Knightmare.

Richard Gizbert

Martin Bell, former BBC correspondent and former member of UK parliament, testified on Gizbert's behalf at the tribunal.

Robert Banks Stewart

Stewart wrote two highly regarded serials for the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons (1975) (which was set in his native Scotland and drew on the Loch Ness Monster legend) and The Seeds of Doom (1976) (which was influenced by The Day of the Triffids).

Robert Hughes, Baron Hughes of Woodside

Under his chairmanship the Anti-Apartheid Movement campaigned against the Thatcher government’s refusal to impose sanctions against South Africa in the 1980s and organised the 1988 ‘Free Mandela’ concert at Wembley Stadium which was televised by the BBC and broadcast around the world.

Robert James Clayton

When the BBC resumed television service from Alexandra Palace after the war GEC won the important contract to implement the first link to another transmitter at Birmingham.

Rupert Penry-Jones

On BBC 1's Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast in August 2010, it was revealed that Penry-Jones's maternal grandfather, William, had served with the Indian Army Medical Corps at the Battle of Monte Cassino and that his earlier ancestors had a long-standing connection with the Indian Army.

Sheila Ruskin

She is possibly best known for playing Vipsania in the 1976 BBC adaptation of I, Claudius but is also remembered by fans of Doctor Who for her performance as Kassia in the 1981 serial The Keeper of Traken, and by Blake's 7 fans as Alta 1 in the 1979 episode "Redemption".

Suzanne Virdee

She returned to Central News West as a reporter, presenter & producer before joining the BBC's Midlands Today programme in April 2001, presenting late night bulletins before becoming a main presenter a year later, alongside Nick Owen.

The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion

In 2002, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, chose "The Hedgehog's Song" for his appearance on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs.

The Foxes

On 16 March 2009 the single 'Bill Hicks' (based on famous comedian) was released on CD, vinyl and digital download, which reached number 6 on the official UK Indie charts according to the BBC website.

The Omega Factor

Produced by BBC Scotland, the series was shot on location in Edinburgh (making use of a number of Edinburgh landmarks such as the Royal Mile, Holyrood Park, and Edinburgh Zoo), with studio production conducted in Glasgow.

Time's Champion

The BBC, who hold the copyright in Doctor Who and had rejected Hinton's original proposal in 2004, were not involved.

Trish Williamson

The daughter of journalist Harold Williamson, who notably worked on the BBC current affairs and documentary series Man Alive in the 1960s, Williamson was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and studied at Durham University.

Vjerujem u ljubav

Given the difference in age between the two singers, the effect appeared somewhat incongruous on camera, with the BBC commentary remarking on this fact at the end of the performance.

World Entertainment News Network

It began as the World Rock News Network (WRNN) and the company soon established a niche for itself, providing music news to subscribers including MTV, BBC, ABC and Russia's daily youth newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Wulfnoth Godwinson

On screen, Wulfnoth was portrayed by actor Michael Pennington in the two-part BBC TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625.

Zenith Productions

New Zenith programmes in this period included Two Thousand Acres of Sky (2001) and 55 Degrees North (2004) for the BBC, and children's programmes The Ghost Hunter (2000) for BBC and the animated King Arthur's Disasters (2005) for ITV.