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
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.
The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling’s Imaginative American Television Classic
Explore the original Twilight Zone: Rod Serling’s anthology of science fiction, fantasy and suspense, its writers, memorable performers and enduring human questions.
The Professionals: Bodie, Doyle and the Appeal of ITV’s Action Classic
Discover The Professionals, Brian Clemens’s ITV action series, with Lewis Collins as Bodie, Martin Shaw as Doyle and Gordon Jackson as their formidable CI5 chief.
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.