The six-part series is a sequence of television plays written by six writers.
1 January – The first episode of The Six Wives of Henry VIII is broadcast with Keith Michell in the lead.24 March – Debut of the surreal comedy sketch show Q, written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand, and starring Milligan.23 February – First episode of Civilisation, written and presented by the art historian Sir Kenneth Clark, is broadcast.The comedy duo had contracted to the BBC to be able to broadcast in colour. 2 September 1968 – The Morecambe & Wise Show debuts.2 December – Colour television is officially launched on BBC2 which coincided with a new ident known as Cube 2.23 October – BBC2 broadcasts the BBC's first bulletin of Service Information.The colour service is launched with live coverage from the Wimbledon Championships.
1 July – BBC2 becomes Europe's first colour TV broadcaster.1 January – Debut of the BBC's adaptation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga on BBC2.īBC2's second and first colour logo from 1967 to 1972 Two of the leads were Judi Dench and Maurice Denham. 2 October – The four-part drama Talking to a Stranger by John Hopkins, recounts a weekend's tragic events from the perspectives of each of the four main participants, begins transmission in the Theatre 625 series.9 July – BBC2 Scotland goes on the air, although much of England and some parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland still cannot receive the channel.11 June – BBC2 Northern Ireland goes on the air.5 April – The Money Programme debuts on BBC2.15 January – BBC2 goes on air in the South and West of England.1 January – The first edition of Rugby Special is broadcast, showing weekly highlights of rugby union matches.31 October – BBC2 in the North of England goes on the air.To introduce the service, BBC2 airs a programme titled BBC-2 Comes to Wales, featuring the Secretary of State for Wales James Griffiths, the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, the Deputy Mayor of Newport, Chairman of the Broadcasting Council for Wales Professor Glanmor Williams, David Attenborough, and BBC2 Wales Controller Alun Oldfield-Davies. 12 September – BBC2 Wales goes on the air.
The programme, which runs throughout the afternoon on BBC2, features full coverage of a match "played under knock-out rules". 2 May – Sunday Cricket is broadcast for the first time.Attenborough remains in the post until 1968. 4 March – David Attenborough becomes the channel's new Controller in succession to Michael Peacock, who becomes Controller of BBC1.16 December - First episode of The Likely Lads is broadcast.6 December - The channel goes on air in the Midlands and East Anglia, because the Sutton Coldfield transmitter initially could not relay BBC2 beyond an area reception to the Midlands region, resulting in a staggered signal.22 August – The first Match of the Day airs on BBC2.21 April – The power had been restored to the Television Centre and programming began with Play School, at 11:00am and the launch schedule postponed from the night before, was successfully shown that evening at 7:20pm, also in reference to the power cut, the transmission opened with a shot of a candle which was then blown out by presenter Denis Tuohy.20 April – BBC2 starts broadcasting at 7:20pm, however, a power cut blighted its launch night.4 January – Test transmissions begin for BBC2.Peacock is to assume his post on 4 February. The designation of the new channel as BBC2 is also announced. 14 January – Michael Peacock is appointed the first Controller of the BBC's (forthcoming) second television channel.It therefore decided that Britain's third television station should be awarded to the BBC. The Pilkington Report on the future of broadcasting observed that ITV lacked any culturally relevant programming.