''How'' (currently stylised as ''HOW'') is a British educational television programme created by

Jack Hargreaves Jack Hargreaves OBE (1911–1994) was an English television presenter and writer whose enduring interest was to comment without nostalgia or sentimentality on accelerating distortions in relations between the city and the countryside, seeking ...

. It was produced from 1966 by

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...

, for whom Hargreaves was a

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

and deputy programme controller. It lasted until 1981, when the company lost its franchise to TVS.

History

''How'' was originally devised by Hargreaves for an audience of adults returning home from the pub. Its aim would be to give facts and demonstrations that could settle arguments or be used as pub tricks. A one-off

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

was broadcast at 11.15pm on 22 March 1966, to viewers in the

area only. Following the pilot, Hargreaves felt the show might work better in an afternoon slot, aimed at making facts fun for children. Thus, at 5.25pm on 25 April 1966, Southern began live transmission of the first programme in the series of ''How'', which would continue in a similar format for the next 15 years. Produced in Southern's

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

studios, it provided answers to questions beginning with the word "How". Each episode began with the presenters all raising one hand and saying "How" simultaneously (mimicking the stereotypical Native American

greeting Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indiv ...

). Topics commonly covered included science, history, mathematics and simple puzzles. The formula proved so successful that it was soon broadcast to the whole

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

network and given two slots per week. The show was originally presented by Hargreaves alone. He was joined by

Fred Dinenage Frederick Edgar Dinenage MBE (born 8 June 1942) is an English author and retired broadcaster and television presenter. His television career spanned nearly 60 years, including the long-running children's programme '' How'' and ITV's regional p ...

(1966–1981),

Jon Miller Jon Miller (born October 11, 1951) is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. Since 1997 he has been employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball annou ...

(1966–1981), Bunty James (1966–1969 and 1970–1976), Dr Tom Gaskell (1969), Jill Graham (1969–1970) and Marian Davies (1977–1981). Occasional stand-ins for Hargreaves included

Barry Bucknell Robert "Barry" Barraby Bucknell (26 January 1912, Hampstead, London – 21 February 2003, St Mawes, Cornwall, aged 91) was an English TV presenter who popularised Do It Yourself (DIY) in the United Kingdom. Bucknell was educated at the Wi ...

. The series came to an end in 1981 when

lost its

franchise. The majority of episodes no longer exist.

Transmission guide

Original ''How'' (1966–1981)

*Series 1: 33 editions from 10 November 1966 – 29 June 1967 *Series 2: 27 editions from 28 September 1967 – 27 March 1968 *Series 3: 29 editions from 18 November 1968 – 23 June 1969 *Series 4: 12 editions from 16 January 1970 – 3 April 1970 *Series 5: 7 editions from 9 July 1970 – 20 August 1970 *Series 6: 15 editions from 8 July 1971 – 26 August 1971 *Series 7: 10 editions from 22 June 1972 – 24 August 1972 *Series 8: 10 editions from 24 April 1973 – 26 June 1973 *Series 9: 10 editions from 23 April 1974 – 25 June 1974 *Special: Christmas 1974: 16 December 1974 *Series 10: 7 editions from 8 January 1975 – 19 February 1975 *Series 11: 11 editions 22 April 1975 – 1 July 1975 *Series 12: 13 editions from 31 December 1975 – 24 March 1976 *Series 13: 13 editions from 5 January 1977 – 30 March 1977 *Series 14: 13 editions from 1 March 1978 – 24 May 1978 *Series 15: 13 editions from 3 January 1979 – 28 March 1979 *Series 16: 13 editions from 25 June 1980 – 24 September 1980 *Series 17: 13 editions from 13 May 1981 – 19 August 1981

''How 2'' (1990–2006)

*Series 18: 10 editions from 21 September – 23 November 1990 *Series 19: 10 editions from 23 September – 25 November 1991 *Series 20: 10 editions from 7 September – 9 November 1992 *Series 21: 15 editions from 6 September – 13 December 1993 *Series 22: 15 editions from 5 September – 12 December 1994 *Series 23: 14 editions from 4 September – 11 December 1995 *Series 24: 15 editions from 9 September – 16 December 1996 *Series 25: 16 editions from 1 September – 15 December 1997 *Series 26: 13 editions from 5 January – 6 April 1999 *Series 27: 13 editions from 10 January – 11 April 2000 *Series 28: 20 editions from 22 January – 16 February 2001 *Series 29: 10 editions from 11 – 22 February 2002 *Series 30: 10 editions from 10 January – 14 March 2003 *Series 31: 13 editions from 4 June – 27 August 2004 *Series 32: 13 editions from 5 May – 1 September 2006

''HOW'' (revival) (2020–present)

*Series 33: 10 editions from 15 November – 25 December 2020 *Series 34: 10 editions from 25 April to 6 May 2022

Revival

In 1990, the series was revived as ''

How 2 ''How 2'' is an informative educational programme produced by TVS between 1990 and 1991, and STV Studios (Scottish Television) from 1992 to 2006. The original show ('' How)'' was produced by Southern Television from 1966 up until 1981 when the ...

'' by TVS. Presenter

made a return with Gareth Jones,

Carol Vorderman Carol Jean Vorderman, HonFIET (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh media personality, best known for appearing on the game show ''Countdown'' for 26 years from 1982 until 2008, as a newspaper columnist and nominal author of educational and diet ...

Gail McKenna Gail McKenna (born 30 December 1968) is an English former glamour model, former theatre and television actress, and former television presenter. She worked as a ''Page 3'' girl and glamour model from 1986 until 1990, before becoming a sports pre ...

and Sian Lloyd. The show aired on Children's ITV, known as CiTV and it ran for 16 years — until 2006. In 2019 ''

'' was made available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK. Also in 2019, the CITV channel commissioned a further revival of the format. Due for air November 2020, with

making his second return to the series franchise, alongside a new team of

Vick Hope Victoria Nwayawu Nwosu-Hope (born 25 September 1989) is a British TV and radio presenter, journalist and published author. Vick hosts three shows a week across BBC Radio 1 "Going Home with Vick and Jordan", "Life Hacks" and "Official Chart: F ...

, Sam Homewood and Frankie Vu.

References

External links

How, A Television Heaven Review
* {{DEFAULTSORT:How (Tv Series) 1966 British television series debuts 1981 British television series endings 1960s British children's television series 1970s British children's television series 1980s British children's television series British children's education television series ITV children's television shows English-language television shows Television shows produced by Southern Television