''Starlight'' is an early British

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programme, one of the first regular series to be broadcast by the

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during the 1930s. Its first edition was broadcast on 3 November 1936 – the day after the service had officially begun – and it continued to be broadcast until the suspension of television for the duration of the

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during 1939. After the resumption of BBC television during 1946, ''Starlight'' was one of the few pre-war programmes to be reinstated, and it was broadcast for a further three years until 1949. A

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

, the programmes would feature comedians, singers, dancers and various other entertainment acts. One notable edition of the 1930s gave popular singer

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

her first ever television appearance. As with all other

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programmes of the time, ''Starlight'' was transmitted

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from the studios at

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. The shows were not recorded, and no material other than still photographs exists for the series now.

References

*Vahimagi, Tise. ''British Television: An Illustrated Guide''.

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. 1994. . 1936 British television series debuts 1949 British television series endings 1930s British television series 1940s British television series BBC Television shows Lost BBC episodes 1936 establishments in the United Kingdom Black-and-white British television shows {{BBC-tv-prog-stub