1977 in British television

Events

January

• 1 January – BBC1 airs the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

  February

• 15 February – The first Aardman Animations character, Morph, is introduced with the launch of BBC Television children's series Take Hart with Tony Hart.
• 26 February – British television premiere of the James Bond film Thunderball on ITV.
• February – The Annan Committee on the future of broadcasting makes its recommendations. They include the establishment of a fourth independent television channel, the establishment of Broadcasting Complaints Commission and an increase in independent production.
• February – Michael Grade is appointed as Director of Programmes at London Weekend Television.

  March

• 27 March – Jesus of Nazareth, a British-Italian television miniseries dramatizing the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus based on the accounts in the four New Testament Gospels debuts on British television, starring Robert Powell as Jesus.
• 28 March – Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television launch a nine-week breakfast television experiment. It is credited as being the United Kingdom's first breakfast television programme, six years before the launch of TV-am and the BBC's Breakfast Time. Both programmes run at the same time, with Tyne Tees, Good Morning North, and Yorkshire's Good Morning Calendar. Both programmes finish on Friday 27 May.

  April

• 22 April – The original series of motoring programme Top Gear begins as a local magazine format produced by BBC Midlands from its Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, presented by Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne. In 1978 it is offered to BBC2 where it airs until 2001. In 2002 the series is relaunched in a new format.

  May

• 7 May – The 22nd Eurovision Song Contest is held in London. With Angela Rippon as the presenter, the contest is won by Marie Myriam representing France, with her song "L'oiseau et l'enfant". The British entry, "Rock Bottom" finishes in second place.

  June

• 6–9 June – Television viewers in Britain and around the world watch live coverage of the celebrations of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, while the soap opera Coronation Street features an elaborate Jubilee parade in the storyline, having Rovers' Return Inn manageress Annie Walker dress up in elaborate costume as Queen Elizabeth I. Ken Barlow and "Uncle Albert" play Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing respectively.
• 20 June – Anglia Television broadcasts the fake documentary Alternative 3. It enters into the conspiracy theory canon.

  July

• 7 July – The first episode of the BBC documentary series Brass Tacks is aired, featuring a debate as to whether Myra Hindley should be considered for parole from the life sentence she received for her role in the Moors murders in 1966.

  August

• No events.

  September

• 7 September – The Krypton Factor makes its debut on ITV.
• 12 September – Thames Television launches Thames at Six, a regional news programme that replaces the more light-hearted magazine programme Today.
• 18 September – The occasional ITV bloopers programme It'll Be Alright on the Night is first aired.
• 19 September – BBC Schools and Colleges changed to use the Dots ident with rotating text until 1978.

  October

• 1 October – Ian Trethowan succeeds Charles Curran as Director-General of the BBC.
• 19 October – The first edition of a new weekly magazine programme for Asian women, Gharbar, is broadcast. The programme had only been intended to run for 26 weeks but continued for around 500 weeks, finally ending in April 1987.

  November

• 13 November – BBC1 airs the final episode of Dad's Army.
• 19 November – Southern Television televises the US educational series for children Sesame Street for the first time.
• 20 November – British television premiere of the James Bond film You Only Live Twice.
• 26 November – Southern Television broadcast interruption: Just after 5.10pm in the Southern Television ITV region, a hoaxer hijacks the sound of Independent Television News from the IBA transmitter at Hannington, Hampshire, and broadcasts a message claiming to be a representative of the Ashtar Galactic Command. Thousands of viewers ring Southern, the IBA, ITN or the police for an explanation; the identity of the intruder is never confirmed.

  December

• 25 December – Both the Mike Yarwood Christmas Show and The Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show on BBC 1 attracts an audience of more than 28 million, one of the highest ever in British television history.
• 31 December – Bruce Forsyth steps down as presenter of The Generation Game after six years.

  Unknown

• Scum, an entry in BBC1's Play for Today anthology strand, is pulled from transmission due to controversy over its depiction of life in a Young Offenders' Institution. Two years later the director Alan Clarke makes a film version with most of the same cast, and the original play itself is eventually transmitted on Channel Four in 1991.
• Emmerdale Farm moves from daytime to a peaktime slot although five regions – Anglia Television, Thames Television, Westward Television/TSW, Grampian Television and Scottish Television – aired the programme at 5.15 pm, with the days sometime changing.

  Debuts

BBC1

• 2 January – Wings
• 5 January – Rosie
• 7 January – Mr. Big
• 13 February – Rob Roy
• 15 February – Take Hart
• 27 March – Nicholas Nickleby
• 27 March – Jubilee
• 5 April – A Roof Over My Head
• 8 April – Roots
• 12 April – Citizen Smith
• 2 May – The Mackinnons
• 10 June – No Appointment Necessary
• 11 June – Supernatural
• 15 June – Middlemen
• 7 July – Brass Tacks
• 4 September – The Eagle of the Ninth
• 7 September – Secret Army
• 9 September – Target
• 10 September – The Peppermint Pig
• 17 October – Des O'Connor Tonight
• 2 November – King Cinder
• 1 November – The Other One
• 13 December – Come Back Mrs. Noah

  BBC2

• 26 January – The Velvet Glove
• 7 February – Headmaster
• 20 February – Drama
• 8 March – Three Piece Suite
• 10 April – Esther Waters
• 18 April – Don't Forget to Write!
• 8 May –
• 13 June – Maidens' Trip
• 6 July – Brass Tacks
• 18 September – 1990
• 19 September – The Long Search
• 25 September – Anna Karenina
• 21 October – Kilvert's Diary
• 7 November – Who Pays the Ferryman?
• 30 November – Eustace and Hilda

  ITV

• 10 January – Children of the Stones
• 11 January – Robin's Nest
• 16 January – Holding On
• 6 February – Just William
• 9 February – Horse in the House
• 17 February – The Galton & Simpson Playhouse
• 25 February – Raffles
• 2 March – Romance
• 27 March – / Jesus of Nazareth
• 15 April – Backs to the Land
• 18 April – Miss Jones and Son
• 18 April – The Flockton Flyer
• 20 April – Dawson and Friends
• 21 April – Paradise Island
• 7 May – Dynomutt, Dog Wonder
• 8 May – King of the Castle
• 18 May – A Bunch of Fives
• 29 May – The Sunday Drama
• 13 June – Cottage to Let
• 6 July – I'm Bob, He's Dickie
• 8 July – The Foundation
• 15 July – Devenish
• 17 July – Hi Summer
• 28 July – A Sharp Intake of Breath
• 28 July – The Sound of Laughter
• 31 July – Here I Stand...
• 1 August – Lord Tramp
• 7 August – Took and Co.
• 24 August – The Paper Lads
• 6 September – London Belongs to Me
• 6 September – You're Only Young Twice
• 7 September – The Krypton Factor
• 8 September – The Fuzz
• 9 September – Love for Lydia
• 18 September – It'll Be Alright on the Night
• 25 September – The Cost of Loving
• 26 September – The Upchat Line
• 12 October – Midnight Is a Place
• 27 October – Odd Man Out
• 30 December – Mind Your Language
• 30 December – The Professionals

  Continuing television shows

1920s

• BBC Wimbledon

  1930s

• BBC Cricket

  1940s

• Come Dancing

  1950s

• The Good Old Days
• Panorama
• Crackerjack
• Opportunity Knocks
• This Week
• What the Papers Say
• The Sky at Night
• Blue Peter
• Grandstand

  1960s

• Coronation Street
• Songs of Praise
• Z-Cars
• Animal Magic
• Doctor Who
• World in Action
• Top of the Pops
• Match of the Day
• Crossroads
• Play School
• Mr. and Mrs.
• World of Sport
• Jackanory
• Sportsnight
• It's a Knockout
• The Money Programme
• ITV Playhouse
• Magpie
• The Big Match
• Nationwide
• Screen Test

  1970s

• The Goodies
• The Onedin Line
• The Old Grey Whistle Test
• The Two Ronnies
• Clapperboard
• Crown Court
• Pebble Mill at One
• Rainbow
• Are You Being Served?
• Emmerdale
• Newsround
• Weekend World
• Pipkins
• We Are the Champions
• Last of the Summer Wine
• That's Life!
• Happy Ever After
• Rising Damp
• Within These Walls
• It Ain't Half Hot Mum
• Tiswas
• Wish You Were Here...?
• The Good Life
• The Sweeney
• Celebrity Squares
• The Cuckoo Waltz
• Arena
• Jim'll Fix It
• The Muppet Show
• When the Boat Comes In
• Multi-Coloured Swap Shop
• Rentaghost
• One Man and His Dog

  Ending this year

• 23 February – The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club
• 25 March – Porridge
• 8 June – Survivors
• 24 August – The Adventures of Rupert Bear
• 13 November – Dad's Army
• 17 December – The New Avengers
• 24 December – The Duchess of Duke Street

  Births

• 1 January – Anna Acton, actress
• 13 January – Orlando Bloom, actor
• 10 March – Rita Simons, actress, singer and model
• 13 May – Samantha Morton, actress
• 24 May — Jo Joyner, actress
• 30 May – Rachael Stirling, actress
• 31 May – Debbie King, presenter
• 5 June – Emma Crosby, newsreader, presenter and journalist
• 22 August – Sarah Champion, presenter and disc jockey
• 1 September – Lucy Pargeter, actress
• 12 September – James McCartney, singer and songwriter
• 15 September – Tom Hardy, actor
• 25 September – Georgie Thompson, sports journalist
• 3 October – Shazia Mirza, comedian
• 3 December – Jennifer James, actress
• 23 December – Matt Baker, presenter

  Deaths

• 25 February – Patricia Haines, 45, actress
• 29 August – Edward Sinclair, 63, actor