''Tonight'' is a British current affairs television programme, presented by Cliff Michelmore, that was broadcast on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

live on weekday evenings from 18 February 1957 to 18 June 1965. The producers were the future Controller of

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

Donald Baverstock and the future

Director-General of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the ...

Alasdair Milne. The audience was typically seven million viewers.

Background

''Tonight'' like ''

Six-Five Special ''Six-Five Special'' is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. Description ''Six-Five Special'' was the BBC's first attempt at a rock-and-roll programme. ...

'', was created by the BBC to fill in the " Toddlers' Truce" closed period between 6.00pm and 7.00pm (the "Truce" was officially abolished only a few days before ''Tonight'' was first broadcast). ''Tonight'' began broadcasting from the Viking studio in Kensington, known by the BBC as "studio M". It eventually transferred to one of the main studios in Lime Grove,

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

, west London.History of TV Studios - Lime Grove
retrieved 18 February 2010.

Content and style

The programme covered the arts and sciences as well as topical matters and current affairs. There was a mixture of incisive and light-hearted items: unscripted studio interviews, by Derek Hart,

Geoffrey Johnson-Smith Sir Geoffrey Johnson-Smith, (16 April 1924 – 11 August 2010) was a British Conservative politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1959 to 2001, with only a brief interruption in the 1960s. He was also a television presenter. Ear ...

and Michelmore himself; and filmed reports. Reporters included

Alan Whicker Donald Alan Whicker (2 August 1921 – 12 July 2013) was a British journalist and television presenter and broadcaster. His career spanned almost 60 years, during which time he presented the documentary television programme '' Whick ...

, Fyfe Robertson, Kenneth Allsop,

Chris Brasher Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, Olympic champion, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon. Early life and education Born in Georgetown, British Gui ...

, Julian Pettifer, Brian Redhead and Polly Elwes. The style was informal with no attempt to hide studio equipment. Michelmore gave a very relaxed performance, sometimes perching on the edge of his desk, seemingly unfazed by the ringing of his desk telephone letting him know about technical problems. There were regular appearances by Rory McEwen, Cy Grant, singing a "topical calypso", and folk singers Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor. Michelmore became known for his catchphrase when closing the show, "That's all for tonight, the next 'Tonight' will be tomorrow night. Until then, good night!"Tonight
whirligig-tv.co.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2009. It was during an edition of ''Tonight'' broadcast on the evening of Friday 22 November 1963 that BBC television broke the news of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy to UK viewers, although

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

had already broadcast the news in its northern ITV region. In 1964,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

appeared on the programme and sang With God on Our Side.

Accolades

The programme received the Guild of Television Producers and Directors Awards (now BAFTA) for Best Factual Programme in 1957 and 1958.

''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme)

A new programme under the name, presented by Sue Lawley, Denis Tuohy and Donald MacCormick, was launched on

in September 1975, in a late evening slot. When Lawley left to have a baby, Valerie Singleton replaced her on the show, which continued until July 1979.BBC Genome Project - BBC1 listings 5 July 1979
/ref> '' Newsnight'', which was intended to launch two months later but ended up launching six months later in January 1980 on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

, was its replacement.

References

External links

BBC History of TV news in the 1950s

* {{BBC News British television news shows BAFTA winners (television series) BBC Television Service (TV network) original programming BBC One original programming