Television History, Told Through the Archive
Explore existing articles and archive material tracing the programmes and people remembered on screen.
Archive Articles
Television Programmes
People on Screen
A Guide to the Past
Explore Television History
This page brings together existing articles and archive material about television history. Browse writing on classic British and American television, revisit programmes, and discover the people featured in the archive. Follow the subjects that interest you, then explore related articles for a closer look at television remembered.
Browse the History Archive
British Television
American Television
Classic Programmes
Actors and Performers
Explore Television History
British Television
Articles and archive material
Browse existing writing on British television history and the programmes and people featured in the archive.
American Television
Articles and archive material
Discover published articles and archive material relating to American television.
People and Programmes
Stories from the archive
Read existing features about the actors and programmes that shaped television viewing.
Search Television History
Use the search bar to find published articles and related archive material by programme, performer, or subject.
In-Depth Television History
The Good Life: Two Neighbouring Couples and a Suburban Dream
Explore The Good Life, the BBC comedy about Tom and Barbara Good’s experiment in self-sufficiency and their friendship with neighbours Margo and Jerry Leadbetter.
Dad’s Army: The Walmington Platoon and the Comedy of Trying to Serve
Meet the Home Guard platoon of Dad’s Army and discover how Jimmy Perry and David Croft turned wartime duty, rivalry and friendship into enduring comedy.
Fawlty Towers: The Hotel Comedy Built on Basil’s Impossible Standards
Explore Fawlty Towers, the 1970s BBC sitcom created by John Cleese and Connie Booth, and the hotel staff whose clashing goals made its farce last.
Follow the Story Beyond History
Continue exploring television’s past through our British TV and American TV collections, browse programmes in Shows A–Z, discover the people behind them in Actors, or read more in Articles.