This is a list of British television related events from 1985.

Events

January

*1 January **BBC1's New Year's Eve special ''Live Into 85'', broadcast from Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, ends broadcasting early after a series of disasters. **New Year's Day highlights on BBC1 include the World War II film '' The Guns of Navarone'' and the Alan Ayckbourne play ''

Absurd Person Singular ''Absurd Person Singular'' is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples. Each act takes place at a Christmas celebration at one of the couples' homes on successive Christma ...

''. **Channel 4 airs ''It Was Twenty Years Ago Today'', a theme night celebrating the 1960s. **''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

'' is moved from Wednesdays to Mondays which means the soap can now be seen on Mondays and Tuesdays. *2 January – Channel 4 begins airing the acclaimed series '' A Woman of Substance'', a miniseries based on the novel of the same name by

Barbara Taylor Bradford Barbara Taylor Bradford (born 10 May 1933) is a best-selling British-American novelist. Her debut novel, '' A Woman of Substance'', was published in 1979 and sold over 30 million copies worldwide. She wrote 39 novels, all bestsellers in Engla ...

. The series airs over three consecutive nights and garners the channel an audience of 13.8 million, its largest to date. *3–6 January – The UK's last VHF 405-line television transmitters close down with transmissions in 405-lines ending in Scotland on the 4th. *4 January **The network television premiere of the smash hit sequel ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the ''Superman'' film se ...

'' on ITV, starring

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film '' Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey ...

. **Channel 4 achieves its highest ever audience as 13.8 million viewers tune in for the final part of the mini-series '' A Woman of Substance''. *7 January – The BBC ends its experiment with afternoon broadcasting and from this date afternoon '' Pages from Ceefax'' is shown on BBC1 between the end of lunchtime programmes and the start of children's programmes and on BBC2 Ceefax pages are shown continuously between 9am and 5:25pm apart from when '' Daytime on Two'' is in season and when sporting events are being shown. *11 January **Debut of the comedy sketch show ''

Victoria Wood as Seen on TV ''Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' is a British comedy sketch series written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood, with appearances from Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge. The show was televised on B ...

'' on BBC2. ** The crime fighting duo ''

Dempsey and Makepeace ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' is a British television crime drama made by LWT for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham. Lead roles were played by Michael Brandon (Lieutenant Dempsey) and Glynis Barber (Detective Makepeace), who later married ...

'' make their debut on ITV. *17 January – Thames makes a deal with international distributors for US production company Lorimar to purchase the UK broadcasting rights for US drama ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', thus taking it from the BBC and breaking a gentlemen's agreement between the BBC and ITV not to poach each other's imported shows. Thames have paid £55,000 per episode compared to the £29,000 paid by the BBC. The deal is condemned by both the BBC and other ITV companies who fear the BBC will poach their imports in retaliation and push up prices. In response to the Thames deal, the BBC plan to delay transmission of the episodes they already have so that they will clash with the episodes being shown by Thames. Ultimately, however, pressure from several ITV companies, especially

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

to the Independent Broadcasting Authority forces Thames to sell the series back to the BBC at a loss. The controversy leads to the resignation of Thames managing director Bryan Cowgill who feels the board have not supported him, he leaves the company on 12 July. *18 January – Debut of ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in ...

'', a twice-weekly medical drama intended to become Granada's second soap produced for the ITV network. But viewing figures are not as healthy as had been hoped and the series first run ends in May. It returns for a second series in 1986 before being axed. *20 January – The US sitcom ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

'' makes its UK debut on Channel 4. *23 January – A debate in the House of Lords is televised for the first time.

February

*4 February – The US detective series ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...

'', starring

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

and

Philip Michael Thomas Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...

makes its UK debut on BBC1, with the feature-length episode '' Brother's Keeper''. *12 February – Debut of ''Television'', a 13-part Granada documentary series narrated by

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

that explores the history of television. *16 February – The network television premiere of

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978 ...

' 1981 horror comedy film '' An American Werewolf in London'' on BBC1, starring

David Naughton David Walsh Naughton (born February 13, 1951) is an American actor and singer known for his starring roles in the horror film '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) and the Disney comedy '' Midnight Madness'' (1980), as well as for a long-run ...

Griffin Dunne Thomas Griffin Dunne (; born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, film producer, and film director. Dunne studied acting at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He is kn ...

Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', ''Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television seria ...

John Woodvine John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Engla ...

and

Brian Glover Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and professional wrestler before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His ...

, with special appearances by

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

and

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

from ''

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

''. *18 February – **BBC1 undergoes a major relaunch. At 5:35pm, the legendary mechanical "mirror globe" ident, in use in varying forms since 1969, is seen for the last time on regular rotation on BBC1, although the regional versions were seen for the final time an hour later. Its replacement, the COW (Computer Originated World), a computer-generated globe makes its debut at 7pm. **Computer-generated graphics replace magnetic weather maps on all BBC forecasts. **

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...

's eponymous talk show is relaunched as a thrice-weekly live primetime programme. *19 February – Debut of the soap opera '' EastEnders'' on BBC1, set in the East End of London.

March

*17 March – BBC2 begins airing a two-part series of ''

The Executioner's Song ''The Executioner's Song'' (1979) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning true crime novel by Norman Mailer that depicts the events related to the execution of Gary Gilmore for murder by the state of Utah. The title of the book may be a play on "The Lord Hi ...

'', a film about the life of killer

Gary Gilmore Gary Mark Gilmore (born Faye Robert Coffman; December 4, 1940 – January 17, 1977) was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he had admitted to committing ...

who demanded the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he committed in Utah. The second part of the film is shown on 24 March. *19 March – BBC1 begins showing ''

The Day the Universe Changed ''The Day the Universe Changed: A Personal View by James Burke'' is a British documentary television series written and presented by science historian James Burke, originally broadcast on BBC1 from 19 March until 21 May 1985 by the BBC. The ser ...

'', a ten-part series in which science historian James Burke looks at how advances in science and technology have shaped western society over the last five centuries. *29 March – '' Play School'' is shown in the afternoon for the final time on BBC1. *30 March – '' Doctor Who'' goes on an unexpected hiatus following the broadcast of part 2 of ''

Revelation of the Daleks ''Revelation of the Daleks'' is the sixth and final serial of the 22nd season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 and 30 March 1985. This was the final serial t ...

'' due to a dispute between the show's staff and BBC controller

Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...

, a notorious detractor of the show, the long-running science fiction series would resume airing the following year. *31 March – BBC2 begins airing a season of films directed by Francis Ford Coppola, beginning with the network television premiere of the 1979 Vietnam War epic ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...

'', a film inspired by the Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness''.

April

*1 April **''

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

'', a new stop-motion animated series from

Woodland Animations Ivor Sydney Wood (4 May 1932 – 13 October 2004) was a prolific Anglo-French' animator, director, producer and writer. He was known for his work on children's television series. Born in Leeds to an English father and a French mother, his famil ...

, the team behind ''

Postman Pat ''Postman Pat'' is a British stop-motion animated television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendal ...

''), makes its debut on BBC1. **The final episode of the long-running sitcom ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...

'' is broadcast on BBC1. *4 April –

Max Headroom Max Headroom is a fictional artificial intelligence (AI) character portrayed by actor Matt Frewer. Advertised as "the first computer-generated TV presenter", Max was known for his biting commentary on a variety of topical issues, arrogant wit, ...

makes its UK debut on Channel 4, with the sci-fi television movie '' Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future''. *6 April – The network television premiere of the controversial

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

comedy western film '' Blazing Saddles'' on BBC1. *10 April – The network television premiere of the horror movie sequel '' Omen III: The Final Conflict'' on ITV. *19 April – The final episode of the game show '' Odd One Out'' is broadcast on BBC1. *28 April – The World Snooker Championship Final between

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...

and

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...

draws BBC2's highest ever rating of 18.5 million viewers. The final goes on past midnight and this broadcast remains a record for a post-midnight audience in the UK.

May

*5 May – As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of VE Day, ITV airs ''A Royal Celebration: 40 Years of Peace'', featuring the music of British artists such as

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scot ...

, Paul Jones, Brian Poole, Joe Brown,

Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s hit singles including " Endless Sl ...

and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

. *7 May – The US action series '' Street Hawk'' makes its UK debut on ITV. *8 May – The 40th anniversary of VE Day is marked by a service of remembrance at Westminster Abbey attended by politicians and members of the Royal family, the event is also broadcast on television. *11 May – A fire breaks out at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford during a football match between Bradford City and Lincoln City. The match is being recorded by

for transmission on their Sunday afternoon regional football show ''

The Big Match ''The Big Match'' was a British football television programme, screened on ITV between 1968 and 1992. ''The Big Match'' originally launched on London Weekend Television (LWT) – the ITV regional station that served London and the Home Countie ...

'' for the following day. Coverage of the fire is transmitted minutes after the event on the live ITV Saturday afternoon sports programme '' World of Sport''. BBC's '' Grandstand'' also transmits live coverage of the fire. *19 May – The long-running US crime detective series '' Murder, She Wrote'' makes its UK debut on ITV, starring

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

. *29 May – The Heysel Stadium Disaster is televised live by BBC1 at the European Cup final in Brussels, Belgium, between Liverpool and Juventus, 39 Juventus fans are killed when a wall collapses during a riot at the Heysel Stadium. *31 May **The network television premiere of Richard O'Brien's cult musical movie ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...

'' on Channel 4. **

Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...

presents his last episode of ''

Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, '' All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to ...

'' on ITV. It would then be put on hiatus until 1987. *May – TSW unveils a computerised version of its ident.

June

*3 June – ITV London and Southern regions begin showing '' "V": The Series'', the follow-up series to the cult US sci-fi alien visitors drama. Other ITV regions air the show shortly afterwards, with ITV Midlands on 26 August, however STV don't show it until 10 March 1986 following a repeat of the original miniseries. *5 June – The crime drama ''

Bulman ''Bulman'' is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith. It was first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1985. The series, featuring retired ex-cop George Bulman (Don Henderson) and his assistant Lucy Mc ...

'', a spin-off from '' Strangers'' makes its debut on ITV. *12 June – David Dundas who composed the Channel 4 theme, wins a legal battle to retain all rights to the music and £1000 a week in royalties. *21 June – Channel 4 airs ''Europe in Concert'', a three-and-a-half-hour sequence of classical performances presented by

Peter Sissons Peter George Sissons (17 July 1942 – 1 October 2019) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He was a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4, before becoming the presenter of the BBC's ''Question Time'' between 1989 ...

. * 28 June – The end of the 1984/85 school year sees the closure of the Daytime on Two information service and when Daytime on Two returns in September, the gaps are filled by interval captions and of for breaks of more than 10 minutes, the usual Ceefax miscellenary is shown.

July

*4 July **Debut of ''

Tandoori Nights ''Tandoori Nights'' is a television sitcom that was broadcast on Channel 4 between 1985 and 1987. It consisted of two series of six episodes each. The series was directed by Jon Amiel and written by Farrukh Dhondy. It is the story of two rival re ...

'', a sitcom about rival Indian restaurants in London's Brick Lane starring

Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor. His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies. During the 1980s and 1990s he wa ...

which is Channel 4's first Asian comedy. **

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the '' ...

makers her '' EastEnders'' debut as

Dot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

. *6 July – The US sitcom ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...

'', starring Michael J Fox makes its UK debut on Channel 4. *7 July – Debut of '' The Rock 'n' Roll Years'' on BBC1, a series that looks at the music and events of a particular year, starting with 1956. *13 July – The Live Aid pop concerts are held in Philadelphia and London are televised around the world. Over £50 million is raised for famine relief in Ethiopia. *14 July – ''

Watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet ...

'' launches as a stand-alone programme on BBC1, having previously been a segment within the teatime news magazine programmes '' Nationwide'' and ''

Sixty Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique sty ...

''. *27 July – BBC2 airs "Blues Night", an ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

'' special dedicated to the Blues and featuring artists from the genre, including Sonny Boy Williamson, B. B. King,

Blind John Davis Blind John Davis (December 7, 1913 – October 12, 1985) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. He is best remembered for his recordings, including "A Little Every Day" and "Everybody's Boogie". Biography Davis was born in ...

and

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

. *30 July – Debut of the pop music culture series '' No Limits'' on BBC2. *31 July **The BBC announces it has pulled ''At the Edge of the Troubles'', a documentary in the ''Real Lives'' strand in which filmmaker

Vincent Hanna :''This is also the name of a character played by Al Pacino in the 1995 film, Heat.'' Vincent Leo Martin Hanna (9 August 1939 – 22 July 1997) was a Northern Irish television journalist famed for his coverage of United Kingdom by-elections. Ea ...

secured an interview with Sinn Féin's

Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...

and his wife. The announcement leads to a one-day strike by members of the National Union of Journalists and the eventual overturning of the ban. A slightly edited version of the programme is shown in October. The controversy damages the Director-Generalship of Alasdair Milne who eventually resigns from the post in 1987. **''

The War Game ''The War Game'' is a 1966 British pseudo-documentary film that depicts a nuclear war and its aftermath. Written, directed and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC, it caused dismay within the BBC and also within government, and was subseque ...

'', made for the BBC's ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction ...

'' strand in 1965 but banned from broadcast at the time, is finally shown on television as part of BBC2's ''After the Bomb'' season.

August

*August – After a series of high-profile football hooliganism and a dispute between the Football League and the broadcasters over revenue, televised league football is missing from British TV screens until the second half of the season. The Charity Shield and international games are the only matches screened. *1 August – The nuclear war docudrama '' Threads'' is repeated on BBC2 as part of the ''After the Bomb'' series. *5 August **The popular US animated series ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms ...

'' makes its UK debut on ITV's TV-am morning programme. Each episode is split into 5 minute segments and shown over the course of the week. It is initially broadcast during Roland Rat's weekday morning slot, before moving to TV-am's subsequent children's weekday segment ''

Wacaday ''Wacaday'' is a children's television series in the United Kingdom that ran in TV-am's school-holidays slot from October 1985 until 1992, in an 8:50-9:25 a.m. slot, and was hosted by Timmy Mallett. History ''Wacaday'' was introduced w ...

'' in October 1985, also using the same format. TV-am would also go on to show the rival animated show ''

Gobots GoBots is a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Hasbro's Transformers. Although initially a separate and competing line of toys, Tonka's Gobots became the intellectual property of Hasbro after their b ...

'', several weeks later during the weekend slot '' Wide Awake Club''. **Central launches a new presentation package that sees its moon logo redesigned into a three-dimensional shape. *13 August – ITV airs the US intergalactic whodunnit ''

Murder in Space :''Murder in Space is also the title of a 1955 science fiction novel by David V. Reed and a 2007 mystery novel by Sydney J. Bounds.'' ''Murder in Space'' is a 1985 science fiction murder mystery television movie set in the near future. The cre ...

''. The film is shown without the ending and a competition held for viewers to identify the murderer(s). The film's concluding 30 minutes is shown a few weeks later, with a studio of contestants eliminated one by one until the winner correctly solves the mystery. There is a prize of £10,000. *24 August – S4C airs ''Helfa Drysor'', a pilot for a Welsh-language version of Channel 4's '' Treasure Hunt'', with Robin Jones and Sioned Maid taking on the roles of

Kenneth Kendall Kenneth Kendall (7 August 1924 – 14 December 2012) was a British broadcaster. He worked for many years as a newsreader for the BBC, where he was a contemporary of fellow newsreaders Richard Baker and Robert Dougall. He is also remembered as ...

and

Anneka Rice Anne Lucinda Hartley Rice (born 4 October 1958), known professionally as Anneka Rice, is a Welsh-born television and radio presenter, broadcaster, journalist and painter. Early life and education Rice was born in Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wale ...

. The show is not picked up for a series, making the programme a one-off special. *30 August **Debut of Granada's ill-fated "continuing drama series", ''

Albion Market ''Albion Market'' was a British soap opera, set in a covered market in Salford, in the northwest of England. It was intended as a companion to fellow ITV soap '' Coronation Street'', starting at 7:00 pm on Fridays and 7.15 pm on Sundays. Howe ...

''. The series, set in a market in Salford and intended as a companion for '' Coronation Street'', is panned by critics and suffers from poor ratings. It is axed a year later. **The weekday lunchtime ''Financial Report'', broadcast on BBC1 in London and the south east, is broadcast for the final time ahead of the launch of a lunchtime regional news bulletin for viewers in the BBC South East region. *31 August – Scottish Television launches a new computer-generated ident.

September

*1 September **Debut of the drama series ''

Howards' Way ''Howards' Way'' is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC1 between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the wealthy yachting and business comm ...

'' on BBC1. **Ealing Cable launches

Home Video Channel Home Video Channel (HVC) was a British cable television service devoted to broadcast low-budget movies (such as horror, action, adventure, science fiction and erotica) from 8.00pm to midnight, and the owners also operated The Adult Channel whi ...

which shows low-budget movies devoted to horror, action/adventure, science fiction and erotica are subsequently rolled out to other cable operators sending tapes and a copy of the programme schedule so that could be played out locally. *2 September – A regional news bulletin is broadcast after the '' Nine O'Clock News'' for the first time. ** She-Ra: Princess of Power made it's world premier on

Children's ITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...

. *3 September **BBC1's ''EastEnders'' moves from 7pm to 7:30pm to avoid clashing with ITV's ''Emmerdale Farm'' which airs in the 7pm timeslot on Tuesdays and Thursdays in many ITV regions. **Debut of the game show '' Telly Addicts'' on BBC1, presented by

Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...

. **Debut of the game show '' Crosswits'' on ITV, presented by

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...

and later Tom O'Connor. *7 September – The US sci-fi adventure series ''

Otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...

'' makes its UK debut in the HTV region. The series is aired by the Anglia, Border, Central, Grampian and Granada regions from 2 November with most other companies starting to show it in 1986, the exception being Thames/LWT which never aired it. *8 September – BBC1 'closes down', albeit since 1983 with broadcasts of ''Pages from Ceefax'' on Sunday mornings for the final time as from next year repeats are shown during the adult educational Sunday morning slot's annual Summer break. *9 September –

Children's BBC BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC (short for Chi ...

is launched on BBC1. *10 September – ITV airs the Wales vs Scotland World Cup qualifier from Cardiff's Ninian Park. The match, played against the backdrop of escalating football hooliganism is notable for the death of Scotland manager

Jock Stein John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...

who collapses shortly before Scotland secure their place in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. *15 September – ITV airs ''Murder in Space: The Solution'' in which the puzzle of the sci-fi murder mystery is finally solved. *22 September – Channel 4 celebrates 30 years of ITV with an evening of classic programmes from them. *27 September – '' EastEnders'' begins airing on TVNZ in New Zealand, making it the first country outside of the UK to air the soap. *28 September – After 20 years on the air, ITV's Saturday afternoon sports programme '' World of Sport'' is broadcast for the last time.

October

* 1 October – ORACLE revamps its service. The pages on ITV become more news focused and more regional pages are added and the content on Channel 4 becomes more magazine focussed. The changes also see the end of duplicate pages on both channels. *2 October – The Times reports that Thames Television have paid the BBC £300,000 in compensation to make up for the additional costs it paid for new episodes of ''Dallas''. *3 October –

Roland Rat Roland Rat is a British television puppet character. He was created, operated and voiced by David Claridge, who had previously designed and operated Mooncat, a puppet in the Children's ITV television programme '' Get Up and Go!'' Claridge work ...

, the puppet rodent who saved an ailing TV-am in 1983 transfers to the BBC. Commenting on the move, he says, "I saved TV-am and now I'm here to save the BBC." *5 October – The first weekend of horse racing is shown on Channel 4. *6 October – The final episode of the classic sitcom ''

Open All Hours ''Open All Hours'' is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronn ...

'' is broadcast on BBC1, although it would be rebooted in 2013 as ''

Still Open All Hours ''Still Open All Hours'' is a British sitcom created for the BBC by Roy Clarke, and starring David Jason and James Baxter. It is the sequel to the sitcom ''Open All Hours'', which both Clarke and Jason worked on throughout its 26-episode run ...

''. *23 October – The sitcom '' Girls on Top'' makes its debut on ITV, starring Dawn French,

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...

and

Ruby Wax Ruby Wax (; born 19 April 1953) is an American-British actress, comedian, writer, television personality, and mental health campaigner. A classically-trained actress, Wax was with the Royal Shakespeare Company for five years and co-starred on t ...

. *28 October – An edition of ITV's ''

World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...

'' series casts doubt on evidence used to convict the Birmingham Six of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. *29–30 October – Thames broadcasts its second Telethon. *30 October – Children's ITV show the US animated special '' Garfield's Halloween Adventure''.

November

*11 November – The 1000th episode of ''

Emmerdale Farm ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' which airs the following day, is celebrated with a special lunch attended by

Princess Michael of Kent Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz, 15 January 1945) is a member of the British royal family of German, Austrian, Czech and Hungarian descent. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, ...

. Not recognising any of the cast members, she later admits that she never watches the show. *14 November – A special edition of ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'' examines how effective the proposed Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) might be at destroying any nuclear weapons launched at the United States. *30 November – Debut of the dating game show ''

Blind Date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

'' on ITV, presented by Cilla Black.

December

*4 December – Due to a clash with ITV morning broadcaster TV-AM for a 0900 UK time kick off, Scottish Television production ''

Scotsport ''Scotsport'' is a Scotland, Scottish sports television programme, broadcast on STV (TV channel), STV in northern and central Scotland between 1957 and 2008, as well as on ITV Border in southern Scotland. It was first broadcast in 1957 as ''S ...

'' is screened on Channel 4 for the only time, broadcasting Australia v Scotland in a 1986 Football World Cup Qualifier. *6 December – BBC1 airs ''John Lennon: A Journey in the Life'', an ''

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

'' special marking the fifth anniversary of the murder of John Lennon. The programme includes archive footage of Lennon, dramatisations of parts of his life and contributions from some of his friends. *9 December – 25th anniversary of the first episode of '' Coronation Street''. *22 December – Having been broadcast every Sunday teatime since the launch of BBC2 in 1964, ''News Review'' is broadcast for the final time. It is replaced in the new year by ''NewsView'', a Saturday early evening bulletin which combines the day's news with a look back at the week's news. *24 December – The network television premiere of the

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

comedy film ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

'' on ITV. *25 December **Christmas Day highlights on BBC1 include the premiere of

's '' Muppet Babies'' and a ''

Wogan ''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1992, presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcas ...

'' special in which

travels to Denver to meet the actors who portray members of the Carrington family from the US soap ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

''.

also appears in the Christmas Day schedule with ''Roland's Yuletide Binge'', a general entertainment programme featuring guests including

Russell Grant Russell John Dammerall Grant (born 5 February 1951) is a British astrologer and media personality. He has written several books on astrology, provides syndicated newspaper horoscopes and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 2 ...

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

Jan Leeming Jan Leeming (born Janet Dorothy Atkins; 5 January 1942) is an English TV presenter and newsreader. Early life and personal life Leeming was born in Barnehurst, Kent, and educated at the Assumption Convent, Charlton and St Joseph's Convent Gr ...

Ian McCaskill Ian McCaskill (born John Robertson McCaskill; 28 July 1938 – 10 December 2016) was a BBC weather forecaster. Early life McCaskill attended Queen's Park Secondary in Glasgow, and then the University of Glasgow, where he studied geology and c ...

Beryl Reid Beryl Elizabeth Reid, (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996), was a British actress of stage and screen. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performan ...

and

Valerie Singleton Valerie Singleton (born 9 April 1937) is an English television and radio presenter best known as a regular presenter of the popular children's series ''Blue Peter'' from 1962 to 1972. She also presented the BBC Radio 4 '' PM'' programme for t ...

. **''

Minder on the Orient Express ''Minder on the Orient Express'' is a comedy/thriller television film made in 1985 as a spin-off from the successful television series ''Minder''. It was first broadcast on Christmas Day 1985, as the highlight of that year's ITV Christmas sche ...

'', a feature-length episode of the series ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' is first broadcast as the highlight of ITV's Christmas Day schedule. ** The network television premiere of romantic comedy film ''

Gregory's Girl ''Gregory's Girl'' is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhil ...

'' on ITV. *26 December **Boxing Day highlights on BBC1 include '' Tenko Reunion'', a feature-length episode of '' Tenko'' that reunites the cast in a story set five years after the original series. **Boxing Day highlights on ITV include the network television premiere of the 1982 political thriller ''

Who Dares Wins ''Who Dares Wins'' (Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur''; el, Ο Τολμών Νικά, ''O tolmón niká''; french: Qui ose gagne; it, Chi osa vince; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt'') is a motto made popular in the ...

'', starring

Lewis Collins Lewis Collins (27 May 1946 – 27 November 2013)"Happy Birthday Richard Hastilow, 65", ''The Times'', 26 May 2010 was an English actor, best known for his career-defining role playing 'Bodie' in the late 1970s – early 1980s British television ...

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...

Edward Woodward Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions ...

and

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, ''Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...

. *29 December – The network television premiere of Richard Attenborough's eight-time Oscar-winning biopic ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

'' on BBC1, starring

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

. *30 December – Channel 4 celebrates Granada's 30th birthday with an evening of programmes from the 1960s, including ''

Bootsie and Snudge ''Bootsie and Snudge'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV for three series from 1960 to 1963, with a fourth in 1974. The show is a spin-off of '' The Army Game'', a sitcom about soldiers undertaking national service, and follows two of the m ...

'' and a compilation of ''From the North''. *31 December – New Year's Eve highlights on BBC1 include ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'', ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film ''Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...

'' and a version of

Terence Ratigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

's '' The Browning Version'' with

while

welcomes in 1986 from BBC Television Centre.

Unknown

*London Weekend Television comes to an agreement with TVS to help to fill its schedules with domestically produced programming while not having to increase its budget. This helps TVS to get more of its programmes onto the ITV network. *Swindon's cable service is rebranded as

Swindon Cable Swindon Cable was the UK's first commercial Cable TV franchise. It was originally set up by Thorn Ltd as Radio Rentals Cable Television; the local company name was later changed to Swindon Cable. As well as relaying satellite channels it operate ...

and its news programme is renamed as part of this move and becomes ''Focus on Swindon''. The channel increased the programme's frequency from twice a week to three times a week.

Debuts

BBC1

*2 January – '' Wynne and Penkovsky'' *3 January – ''

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds ''Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds'' (Spanish: ''D'Artacán y los Tres Mosqueperros''; Japanese: ''ワンワン三銃士 Wan Wan Sanjuushi'', lit., ''Woof Woof Three Musketeers'') is a children's animated television series that adapts the cl ...

'' (1981–1982) *6 January – ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

'' (1985) *10 January – ''

Charters and Caldicott Charters and Caldicott started out as two supporting characters in the 1938 Alfred Hitchcock film '' The Lady Vanishes''. The pair of cricket-obsessed characters were played by Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford. The characters were created by F ...

'' (1985) *15 January – ''Bird Fancier'' (1985) *4 February – ''

'' (1984–1989) *5 February – ''

Maelstrom Maelstrom may refer to: * Maelstrom (whirlpool), a powerful whirlpool ** originally the Moskstraumen in English Amusement rides * Maelstrom (ride), a former log flume dark ride attraction in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort ...

'' (1985) *19 February – '' EastEnders'' (1985–present) *12 March – '' Who Sir? Me Sir?'' (1985) *15 March – ''

Late Starter ''Late Starter'' is the fourth solo album by Mike Harrison, best known as a principal lead vocalist of Spooky Tooth. Released in 2006, it is Harrison's first solo album in over thirty years, following the release of '' Rainbow Rider'' in 1975. ...

'' (1985) *19 March – ''

'' (1985) *21 March – ''

I Woke Up One Morning ''I Woke Up One Morning'' is a British television sitcom which aired on BBC One in two series from 1985 to 1986.Newcomb p.1313 Main cast * Michael Angelis as Max * Peter Caffrey as Danny * Robert Gillespie as Zero * Frederick Jaeger as Derek ...

'' (1985–1986) *1 April – '' Bertha the Machine'' (1985–1986) *3 April – ''

The Biskitts ''The Biskitts'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1983 to 1984 and aired on CBS. The series lasted for only one season; only 13 episodes were produced. '' Shirt Tales'' replaced the show in its ...

'' (1983–1984) *7 April – ''

Time and the Conways ''Time and the Conways'' is a British play written by J. B. Priestley in 1937 illustrating J. W. Dunne's Theory of Time through the experience of a moneyed Yorkshire family, the Conways, over a period of nineteen years from 1919 to 1937. Wide ...

'' (1985) *15 April – '' Three Up, Two Down'' (1985–1989) *10 May – '' The Detective'' (1985) *17 May – ''

Catchword A catchword is a word placed at the foot of a handwritten or printed page that is meant to be bound along with other pages in a book. The word anticipates the first word of the following page. It was meant to help the bookbinder or printer make ...

'' (1985–1995) *10 June – '' Up Our Street'' (1985–1986) *14 July – ''We'll Support You Evermore'' (1985) *24 July – '' Fell Tiger'' (1985) *28 July – ''Honeymoon'' (1985) *11 August – ''Queen of Hearts'' (1985) *1 September **''

'' (1985–1990) **''

In Sickness and In Health ''In Sickness and in Health'' is a BBC television sitcom that ran between 1 September 1985 and 3 April 1992. It is a sequel to the successful '' Till Death Us Do Part'', which ran between 1966 and 1975, and '' Till Death...'', which ran for on ...

'' (1985–1992) *3 September – '' Telly Addicts'' (1985–1998) *9 September – '' CBBC on BBC One'' (1985–2012) *15 September – ''Stookie'' (1985) *27 September – ''

Friday Film Special The ''Friday Film Special'' was a slot for children on the UK television network BBC1, shown between 1985 and 1989. Every Friday during each season, they showed a children's film, made by the Children's Film Foundation. The films were mostly from ...

'' (1985–1989) *1 October – '' Galloping Galaxies!'' (1985–1986) *13 October – '' Oliver Twist'' (1985) *17 October – ''

Happy Families Happy Families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete fami ...

'' (1985) *21 October – ''

Masterteam ''Masterteam'' was a BBC Television daytime quiz programme that aired on BBC One from 21 October 1985 until 21 December 1987. The programme was hosted by Angela Rippon Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944)"Angela Rippon," ''Contemporary A ...

'' (1985–1987) *4 November – ''

Fingermouse ''Fingermouse'' is a British children's television programme created by Michael Cole for the BBC in 1985. It is a spin-off of the earlier series '' Fingerbobs''. The first episode was broadcast on 25 September 1985 on BBC1. The eponymous star ...

'' (1985) *7 November – ''

Ulysses 31 (french: link=no, Ulysse 31) is an anime series (1981) that updates the Greek mythology of Odysseus (known as "Ulixes" or "Ulysses" in Latin) to the 31st century. The show comprises 26 half-hour episodes as a co-production between DIC Audiovis ...

'' (1981–1982) *11 November – ''

Jonny Briggs ''Jonny Briggs'' is a Children's BBC kitchen sink realism television programme first broadcast in 1985. It revolves around the exploits of a young boy, the eponymous hero (played by Richard Holian), his pet dog, Razzle, and his eccentric fami ...

'' (1985–1987) *12 November – '' Hold the Back Page'' (1985–1986) *22 December – '' Shadowlands'' (1985) *25 December – '' Muppet Babies'' (1985–1991) *30 December – ''

Silas Marner ''Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe'' is the third novel by George Eliot. It was published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ...

'' (1985)

BBC2

*6 January – ''

Screen Two ''Screen Two'' was a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1985 to 1998 (not to be confused with a run of films shown on BBC2 under the billing ''Screen 2'' between April 1977 and March ...

'' (1985–1998) *9 January – ''

Anna of the Five Towns ''Anna of the Five Towns'' is a novel by Arnold Bennett, first published in 1902 and one of his best-known works. Plot background The plot centres on Anna Tellwright, daughter of a wealthy but miserly and dictatorial father, living in the St ...

'' (1985) *11 January – ''

'' (1985–1987) *17 January – '' The Mistress'' (1985–1987) *6 February – ''

Blott on the Landscape ''Blott on the Landscape'' is a novel by Tom Sharpe which was first published in 1975. The book was adapted into a 6-part Blott on the Landscape (TV series), television series of the same name for BBC television in 1985. Plot The story revolves ...

'' (1985) *12 February – '' Inside Out'' (1985) *26 March – ''

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

'' (1985) *10 April – ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...

'' (1985) *11 June – '' Summer Season'' (1985) *30 July – '' No Limits'' (1985–1987) *12 August – ''

My Brother Jonathan ''My Brother Jonathan'' is a 1948 British drama film directed by Harold French and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Ronald Howard and Beatrice Campbell. It is adapted from the 1930 novel '' My Brother Jonathan'' by Francis Brett Young, ...

'' (1985) *30 August – '' Cool It'' (1985–1990) *15 September – ''

Theatre Night ''Theatre Night'' is the umbrella title under which adaptations of classic and contemporary stage plays were usually broadcast on BBC 2 between 15 September 1985 and 21 July 1990. List of episodes The main source for compiling this list was th ...

'' (1985–1990) *23 September – ''

Tender Is the Night ''Tender Is the Night'' is the fourth and final novel completed by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in French Riviera during the twilight of the Jazz Age, the 1934 novel chronicles the rise and fall of Dick Diver, a promising young p ...

'' (1985) *4 November – ''

Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...

'' (1985) *7 November – ''

Black Silk ''Black Silk'' ( th, แพรดำ or ''Prae dum'') is a 1961 Thai crime drama film written and directed by Rattana Pestonji. Considered the first Thai film noir, ''Black Silk'' was also among the first Thai films to be exhibited at overseas ...

'' (1985) *12 November – '' The Ties of Blood'' (1985)

BBC Alba

*17 October – ''

Dòtaman ''Dòtaman'' (Scottish Gaelic for "spinning top") is the longest running Scottish Gaelic children's TV programme for pre-schoolers. It began 17 October 1985 starring Donnie Macleod, formerly of Na h-Òganaich, whose appearances made him a cult ...

'' (1985–present)

ITV

*2 January – ''

Gems Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals. Gems or GEMS may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988 * ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994 * ''Gems'' (Michael Bolton album), 2011 * Gems TV, ...

'' (1985–1988) *3 January ** '' The Little Green Man'' (1985) ** '' Night Train to Murder'' (1985) *6 January – ''

The Beiderbecke Affair ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' is a television series produced in the United Kingdom by ITV during 1985, written by the prolific Alan Plater, whose lengthy credits in British television since the 1960s included the four-part mini series ''Get Lost! ...

'' (1985) *7 January **'' Chocky's Children'' (1985) **''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television Situation comedy, sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best ...

'' (1985–1986) **'' Moving'' (1985) *9 January – ''

Lytton's Diary ''Lytton's Diary'' is a drama TV series made by Thames Television for the ITV network about the life of a newspaper gossip columnist. Cast Episodes ''Storyboard'' Lytton's Diary (30 August 1983) – director Brian Parker Series One #Rabid D ...

'' (1985–1986) *11 January – ''

'' (1985–1986) *18 January ** '' The Last Place on Earth'' (1985) ** ''

'' (1985–1986) *20 January – ''Supergran'' (1985–1987) *17 February – ''Cover Her Face'' (1985) *18 February – ''Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest'' (1985–1986) *20 February – ''There Comes a Time (TV series), There Comes a Time'' (1985) *25 February – ''Roll Over Beethoven (TV series), Roll Over Beethoven'' (1985) *26 February – ''Busman's Holiday'' (1985–1993) *28 February – '' Street Hawk'' (1985) *23 March – ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1985) *3 April – ''Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers'' (1985) *4 April **''Fox Tales (TV series), Fox Tales'' (1985) **''T-Bag'' (1985–1992) *6 April – ''Love Song'' (1985) *12 April – ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' (1985–1987) *16 April – ''The Wall Game'' (1985) *19 April – ''Home to Roost'' (1985–1990) *21 April – ''Travellers by Night'' (1985) *1 May – ''Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden'' (1985–1987) *13 May – ''Connections (game show), Connections'' (1985–1990) *19 May – '' Murder, She Wrote'' (1984–1996) *26 May – ''Connie (TV series), Connie'' (1985) *26 May – ''Mog (TV series), Mog'' (1985–1986) *3 June – ''Jenny's War'' (1985) *5 June – ''

'' (1985–1987) *28 June – ''Marjorie and Men'' (1985) *28 June – ''And There's More'' (1985–1988) *10 July – ''The Funny Side (1985 TV series), The Funny Side'' (1985) *2 August – ''High & Dry (1987 TV series), High & Dry'' (1985–1987) *5 August – ''

'' (1984-1987) *6 August – ''Murder of a Moderate Man'' (1985) *13 August – ''

'' (1985) *30 August **''

'' (1985–1986) **''Drummonds (TV series), Drummonds'' (1985–1987) **''South of the Border (TV series), South of the Border'' (1985) *2 September – '' She-Ra: Princess of Power'' (1985–1986) *3 September – '' Crosswits'' (1985–1998) *4 September – ''The Brothers McGregor'' (1985–1988) *5 September – ''Children of the Dog Star'' (1984) *7 September – ''

'' (1985) *8 September – ''The Key to Rebecca (TV series), The Key to Rebecca'' (1985) *14 September – ''Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, The Gummi Bears'' (1985–1991) *16 September **''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (TV series), The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole'' (1985) **''The Winning Streak'' (1985) *19 September – ''The Giddy Game Show'' (1985–1987) *23 September – ''From the Top'' (1985–1986) *26 September – ''Them and Us (TV series), Them and Us'' (1985) *3 October – ''Puddle Lane'' (1985–1989) *5 October – ''Saint and Greavsie'' (1985–1992) *21 October – ''

'' (1985–1992) *23 October – ''Girls on Top (UK TV series), Girls on Top'' (1985–1986) *1 November – ''Your Mother Wouldn't Like It'' (1985–1988) *4 November – ''Operation Julie (TV series), Operation Julie'' (1985) *8 November - ''The Black Tower (miniseries)'' (1985) *10 November – ''Golden Pennies'' (1985) *11 November – ''Troubles and Strife'' (1985–1986) *12 November – ''Heart of the High Country'' (1985) *13 November – ''Alias the Jester'' (1985–1986) *17 November – ''Romance on the Orient Express'' (1985) *24 November – ''Dutch Girls'' (1985) *30 November ** ''Time for Murder'' (1985) **''Copy Cats (TV series), Copy Cats'' (1985–1987) **''

'' (1985–2003, 2017–2019) *26 December – ''The Joke Machine'' (1985–1986) *30 December – ''All in Good Faith'' (1985–1988) *Unknown **''Highway to Heaven'' (1984–1989) **''

'' (1984-1985) **''Cover Up (TV series), Cover Up'' (1984–1985) **''Off Peak'' (1985)

Channel 4

* 2 January **'' A Woman of Substance'' (1985) ** ''Princess Sarah'' (1985) * 10 January – ''The Price (TV series), The Price'' (1985) * 12 January – ''Saturday Live (British TV programme), Saturday Live'' (1985–1988) * 14 January – ''Relative Strangers (TV series), Relative Strangers'' (1985–1987) * 17 January – ''Assaulted Nuts (TV series), Assaulted Nuts'' (1985) * 20 January – ''

'' (1984–1992) * 4 April –

(1985–1987) * 6 April – ''God Rot Tunbridge Wells!'' (1985) * 12 April – ''ECT (TV programme), ECT'' (1985) * 14 April – ''Mapp and Lucia (1985 TV series), Mapp and Lucia'' (1985–1986) * 15 April – ''Mann's Best Friends'' (1985) * 9 May – ''The Bright Side (TV series), The Bright Side'' (1985) * 16 May – ''Sacred Hearts'' (1985) * June – ''Honour, Profit and Pleasure'' (1985) * 4 July – ''

'' (1985–1987) * 6 July – ''

'' (1982–1989) * 6 October – ''Pob's Programme'' (1985–1988) * 22 December – ''The Mysteries'' (1985–1986)

The Children's Channel

* Unknown ** ''Voltron: Defender of the Universe'' (1984–1985) ** ''Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats'' (1984–1986) ** ''Rocky Hollow'' (1985)

Sky Channel

* Unknown – ''Fun Factory (TV series), Fun Factory'' (1985–1994)

Channels

New channels

Defunct channels

Television shows

Changes of network affiliation

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

*''The Jetsons'' (1962–1963, 1985–1987) *''

'' (BBC2 1976, BBC1 1981–1982, 1985, 2013) *''Sorry! (TV series), Sorry!'' (1981–1982, 1985–1988)

Continuing television shows

1920s

*''BBC Wimbledon'' (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present)

1930s

*The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019) *''BBC Cricket'' (1939, 1946–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s

*''Come Dancing'' (1949–1998)

1950s

*''Panorama (British TV programme), Panorama'' (1953–present) *''What the Papers Say'' (1956–2008) *''The Sky at Night'' (1957–present) *''Blue Peter'' (1958–present) *''Grandstand (TV programme), Grandstand'' (1958–2007)

1960s

*'' Coronation Street'' (1960–present) *''Songs of Praise'' (1961–present) *'' Doctor Who'' (1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present) *''

'' (1963–1998) *''Top of the Pops'' (1964–2006) *''Match of the Day'' (1964–present) *''Crossroads (British TV series), Crossroads'' (1964–1988, 2001–2003) *''Play School (British TV series), Play School'' (1964–1988) *''Mr and Mrs (TV series), Mr. and Mrs.'' (1965–1999) *''Jackanory'' (1965–1996, 2006) *''Sportsnight'' (1965–1997) *''Call My Bluff'' (1965–2005) *''The Money Programme'' (1966–2010) *''

'' (1968–2002)

1970s

*''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (1971–1987) *''The Two Ronnies'' (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005) *''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'' (1972–1980, 1984–1987) *''Pebble Mill at One'' (1972–1986) *''Rainbow (TV series), Rainbow'' (1972–1992, 1994–1997) *''Emmerdale'' (1972–present) *''Newsround'' (1972–present) *''Weekend World'' (1972–1988) *''We Are the Champions (British TV series), We Are the Champions'' (1973–1987) *''Last of the Summer Wine'' (1973–2010) *''That's Life!'' (1973–1994) *''Wish You Were Here...?'' (1974–2003) *''Arena (British TV series), Arena'' (1975–present) *''Jim'll Fix It'' (1975–1994) *''One Man and His Dog'' (1976–present) *''3-2-1'' (1978–1988) *''Grange Hill'' (1978–2008) *''Terry and June'' (1979–1987) *''The Book Tower'' (1979–1989) *''Blankety Blank'' (1979–1990, 1997–2002) *''The Paul Daniels Magic Show'' (1979–1994) *''Antiques Roadshow'' (1979–present) *''Question Time (TV programme), Question Time'' (1979–present)

1980s

*''Cockleshell Bay'' (1980–1986) *''Play Your Cards Right'' (1980–1987, 1994–1999, 2002–2003) *''

'' (1980–2002, 2006–2015, 2020–present) *''Children in Need'' (1980–present) *''That's My Boy (1981 TV series), That's My Boy'' (1981–1986) *''Razzmatazz (British TV series), Razzamatazz'' (1981–1987) *''Bergerac (TV series), Bergerac'' (1981–1991) *'''Allo 'Allo!'' (1982–1992) *''

'' (1982–1992) *''Saturday Superstore'' (1982–1987) *''The Tube (TV series), The Tube'' (1982–1987) *''Brookside (TV series), Brookside'' (1982–2003) *''Countdown (game show), Countdown'' (1982–present) *''Let's Pretend (TV series), Let's Pretend'' (1982–1988) *''No. 73'' (1982–1988) *''Timewatch'' (1982–present) *''Right to Reply'' (1982–2001) *''Inspector Gadget (1983 TV series), Inspector Gadget'' (1983–1986) *''Bananaman'' (1983–1986) *''Just Good Friends'' (1983–1986) *''Breadwinners'' (1983–1986) *''Philip Marlowe, Private Eye'' (1983–1986) *''Breakfast Time (British TV programme), Breakfast Time'' (1983–1989) *''Dramarama (TV series), Dramarama'' (1983–1989) *''Don't Wait Up (TV series), Don't Wait Up'' (1983–1990) *''Good Morning Britain (1983 TV programme), Good Morning Britain'' (1983–1992, 2014–present) *''First Tuesday (documentary strand), First Tuesday'' (1983–1993) *''Highway (TV series), Highway'' (1983–1993) *''Blockbusters (British game show), Blockbusters'' (1983–93, 1994–95, 1997, 2000–01, 2012, 2019) *''Robin of Sherwood'' (1984–1986) *''The Trap Door'' (1984–1986) *''We Love TV'' (1984–1986) *''How Dare You (TV series), How Dare You'' (1984–1987) *''The Snorks'' (1984–1988) *''Ever Decreasing Circles'' (1984–1989) *''Wide Awake Club (TV-am), Wide Awake Club'' (1984–1992) *''Bob's Full House'' (1984–1990) *''Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) *''Surprise Surprise (British TV series), Surprise Surprise'' (1984–2001, 2012–2015) *''The Bill'' (1984–2010) *''Thomas & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' (1984–2021) *''Channel 4 Racing'' (1984–2016)

Ending this year

* 26 January – ''The Saturday Starship'' (1984–1985) * 1 March – ''Finders Keepers (1981 British game show), Finders Keepers'' (1981–1985) * 1 April – ''

'' (1972–1985) * 19 April – '' Odd One Out'' (1982–1985) * 24 June – ''Jenny's War'' (1985) * 13 July – ''The Comedians (1971 TV series), The Comedians'' (1971–1985) * 24 August – ''Bottle Boys'' (1984–1985) * 28 August – ''Freetime (TV series), Freetime'' (1981–1985) * 28 September – ''World of Sport (British TV programme), World of Sport'' (1965–1985) * 6 October – ''

'' (1976, 1981–1982, 1985, 2013) * 21 October – ''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (TV series), The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole'' (1985) * 7 November – ''Up the Elephant and Round the Castle'' (1983–1985) * 23 November – ''Game for a Laugh'' (1981–1985) * 19 December – ''Murphy's Mob'' (1982–1985) * 26 December – '' Tenko'' (1981–1985) * 31 December **''Juliet Bravo'' (1980–1985) **''Princess Sarah'' (1985)

Births

* 24 January – Josie Gibson, English personal trainer and television host * 31 January – Rasmus Hardiker, actor and voice actor * 19 March – Gemma Cairney, television and radio presenter and fashion stylist * 26 March – Keira Knightley, actress * 2 May – Lily Allen, singer * 28 May – Carey Mulligan, actress * 7 June – Adam Nagaitis, actor * 8 June – Joel Dommett, English actor, author, comedian and television presenter * 15 July – Sarah-Jane Crawford, radio and television presenter * 22 July – Blake Harrison, actor * 1 October – Emerald Fennell, screen actress and director * 8 November – Jack Osbourne, actor * 10 December – Scarlett Bowman, actress

Deaths

References

{{Years in TV by country, 1985 1985 in British television,