59-616: Dark Towers is a 1981 educational production by the BBC in the Look and Read series. The series remains highly popular in primary schools to this day. Parts of the film were shot at Sutton Court , Somerset. The show involves two main characters; Tracy and Edward. They go about their mission to stop a group, led by Miss Hawk, from stealing the treasures of Dark Towers. Part One (Dark Towers in Danger!): A loner named Tracey Brown and her dog Towser venture into
118-410: A contemporary typewriter of the age , with letters on his body, the character featured in the teaching section of the programme, introducing himself as Mr. Watchword, or "Wordy" for short. The character, voiced by actor Charles Collingwood , knew all about grammar and words and taught how to use and recognise them. With a high-pitched voice and distinctive appearance the character has since become one of
177-502: A television licence fee which TV viewers are required to pay annually. This includes viewers who watch real-time streams or catch up services of the BBC's channels online or via their mobile phone. The BBC's international television channels are funded by advertisements and subscription. These channels are also available outside the UK in neighbouring countries e.g. Belgium, the Netherlands and
236-508: A British television set. The service was reaching an estimated 25,000–40,000 homes before the outbreak of World War II which caused the BBC Television service to be suspended on 1 September 1939 with little warning. On 1 September 1939, the station went off the air; the government was concerned that the VHF transmissions would act as a beacon to enemy aircraft homing in on London. Also, many of
295-579: A boy, a girl, and a dog, and he vanishes. Luckily, Tracey and Towser are still hanging around, and they meet up with Edward after Towser drags her to the folly. The Tall Knight appears again, and instructs them to "go to the old library, and a gold key you will see, inside the inside of the Dark tree". While trying to crack the Tall Knight's riddle, Edward realises that he meant the Dark Family Tree, and they find
354-427: A garden where Tracey meets Lord Edward Dark, who agrees to help her look for Towser. Tracey's search leads her into Dark Towers where she meets Edward's father, Lord Dark. Tracey eventually finds Towser barking at a picture on the wall. The picture comes to life and cries out that the house is in danger, and that the girl (Tracey) will save the house, but Edward and his father do not hear the voice. Part Two (The Man in
413-466: A range of programmes intended to be eclectic and diverse (although if a programme has high audience ratings it is often eventually repositioned to BBC One). The different remit of BBC2 allowed its first controller, David Attenborough to commission the first heavyweight documentaries and documentary series such as Civilisation , The Ascent of Man and Horizon . Attenborough was later granted sabbatical leave from his job as Controller to work with
472-466: A result, the BBC Television division is now known internally as BBC Content and "BBC Television" as an entity has ceased to exist. On 8 December 2020, Moore announced a new leadership structure for BBC Content taking effect in April 2021, which will prioritise iPlayer in order to compete with commercial streaming services. The role of Controller for BBC One, Two, and Four will be scrapped, in favour of giving
531-479: A vertically scanned image of 30 lines, which is just enough resolution for a close-up of one person, and a bandwidth low enough to use existing radio transmitters. The simultaneous transmission of sound and pictures was achieved on 30 March 1930, by using the BBC's new twin transmitter at Brookmans Park . By late 1930, thirty minutes of morning programmes were broadcast from Monday to Friday, and thirty minutes at midnight on Tuesdays and Fridays after BBC radio went off
590-613: Is also in Part Eight of the later Look and Read story Badger Girl, also by Andrew Davies, where the protagonists are taken away in a van) Part Nine (Who Can Help?): Bunce abandons his van and runs back to Dark Towers. Meanwhile, Miss Hawk has her own ghostly encounter in the Red Bedroom where she is keeping Edward, who now knows Miss Hawk wants the Golden Book of the Tall Knight for herself. The Friendly Ghost appears, and Miss Hawk runs from
649-416: Is dated to 2 November 1936. The BBC's domestic television channels have no commercial advertising and collectively they accounted for more than 30% of all UK viewing in 2013. The services are funded by a television licence . As a result of the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, the BBC Television division was split, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios and
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#1732852051409708-571: Is literally framed by Benger and Bunce (they stuffed a little gold picture into her pocket at the end of the previous episode), and she is sent away by Lord Dark. Edward finds a torn piece of paper in the Old Coach House. He seeks help from the Friendly Ghost, and learns that Benger and Bunce were the "two B's" the ghost warned him about. Reading the clue, Edward and the Ghost come to the conclusion that
767-656: Is split up into fifteen regions (such as South West and East), which exist mainly to produce local news programming, but also occasionally opt out of the network to show programmes of local importance (such as major local events). The other nations of the United Kingdom (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) have been granted more autonomy from the English network; for example, programmes are mostly introduced by local announcers, rather than by those in London. BBC One and BBC Two schedules in
826-601: The BBC Radiophonic Workshop and most of the songs were sung by Derek Griffiths . Among the most popular were: A retro revival of the programme has made Look and Read the focus of some dedicated websites. Older serials (From Joe and the Sheep Rustlers onwards-) were repeated on the BBC children's channel CBBC as part of the Class TV strand until 2008, when the channel's obligation to show educational programmes
885-557: The BBC Studios Natural History Unit which had existed since the 1950s. This unit is now famed throughout the world for producing high quality programmes with Attenborough such as Life on Earth , The Private Life of Plants , The Blue Planet , The Life of Mammals , Planet Earth and Frozen Planet . National and regional variations also occur within the BBC One and BBC Two schedules. England's BBC One output
944-459: The Sky Digital platform, such as Scottish Premier League and Scottish Cup football , while on other platforms such broadcasts were not disrupted. Later, when rights contracts were renewed, this problem was resolved. The BBC Television department headed by Jana Bennett was absorbed into a new, much larger group; BBC Vision, in late 2006. The new group was part of larger restructuring within
1003-408: The 90s as well as the character Wordy (see below). In the 1980s and early 1990s the plots also started to contain contemporary issues such as pollution. Towards the latter part of the 1990s the programme began to steer away from some of the elements of the past by, in some cases, removing songs and combining teaching elements with the story segment of the programme. The producers also began making use of
1062-447: The BBC announced plans to merge BBC News (for UK audiences) and BBC World News (for international audiences) as one international news network, under the name BBC News, covering news from both the UK and around the world. The merger took effect in April 2023. In November 2024, six BBC FAST channels were added to Australia's 9Now platform. The BBC domestic television channels do not broadcast advertisements; they are instead funded by
1121-522: The BBC announced that from the end of May 2003 (subsequently deferred to 14 July) it intended to transmit all eight of its domestic television channels (including the 15 regional variations of BBC1) unencrypted from the Astra 2D satellite. This move was estimated to save the BBC £85 million over the next five years. While the "footprint" of the Astra 2D satellite was smaller than that of Astra 2A , from which it
1180-453: The BBC to allow her to produce two experimental serials for their schools programme Merry-Go-Round . Each episode of the serials would contain a limited vocabulary allowing teachers, who were given notes for the series, to present specific lessons with each episode in mind. The story in each episode was divided into two instalments by a teaching segment which gave the children material to read and animated instructions on how to read it. Following
1239-456: The BBC with the onset of new media outlets and technology. In 2008, the BBC began experimenting with live streaming of certain channels in the UK, and in November 2008, all standard BBC television channels were made available to watch online via BBC iPlayer . When Tony Hall became Director General in April 2013, he reverted the division to its original name of BBC Television. As Television it
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#17328520514091298-421: The BBC's genre heads autonomy in commissioning programmes without the requirement for a channel controller to provide secondary approval. A team of "portfolio editors" will select from these commissions for carriage on BBC television channels and iPlayer, with iPlayer Controller Dan McGolpin will becoming Portfolio Director for iPlayer and channels. McGolpin and the genre heads will report to Moore. In July 2022,
1357-695: The BBC. Programmes have also been imported mainly from English-speaking countries: notable—though no longer shown—examples include The Simpsons from the United States and Neighbours from Australia. Programming from countries outside the English-speaking world consisted of feature films, shown in the original language with subtitles instead of being dubbed , with dubbing only used for cartoons and children's programmes. These included programmes from Eastern Europe , including The Singing Ringing Tree from East Germany , although voice-over translation
1416-620: The Bird with the brown feather". Part Four (The Clue in the Book): After the Friendly Ghost disappears, a woman named Miss Hawk walks into the Red Bedroom, and offers to help Tracey and Edward look for the treasure. Tracey and Edward find a clue which tells them to "Go where old wheels go round". Part Five (The Old Coach House): Following the clue, Tracey searches the Old Coach House where she discovers Benger and Bunce are crooks, and overhears their plans. Part Six (The Tall Knight's Folly): Tracey
1475-635: The Fat , and BBC Northern Ireland's talk show Patrick Kielty Almost Live . During the 1980s, the BBC came under pressure to commission more programmes from independent British production companies, and following the Broadcasting Act 1990 it was legally required to source 25% of its output from such companies by the terms of the Act. This eventually led to the creation of the "WoCC" (Window of Creative Competition) for independent production companies to pitch programmes to
1534-419: The Golden Book of the Tall Knight and splits as all of Dark Towers plunges into darkness. Benger and Bunce go after her. As Tracey, Towser, Edward, and Lord Dark emerge from Dark Towers, the Tall Knight arrives, and scares the bad guys witless. As Benger, Bunce, and Miss Hawk are arrested, and the darkness lifts, Tracey gives Lord Dark the Golden Book of the Tall Knight. The Tall Knight has vanished, but throughout
1593-497: The Picture): Tracey and Edward encounter two men, Benger and Bunce, and soon become suspicious of the two. When they follow Towser to the Red Bedroom, they meet the Friendly Ghost, who is the man in the picture that spoke. Part Three (The Old Legend): The Friendly Ghost tells Tracey and Edward the legend of Dark Towers, of the Tall Knight, his treasure, and gives them this warning: "Beware of Two B's Buzzing Together. Beware of
1652-403: The Red Bedroom screaming. The baddies all discover the Golden Book of the Tall Knight hidden inside the lid of the studded chest, and the Friendly Ghost tries to summon the Tall Knight. Part Ten (The Last Laugh): Tracey arrives back at Dark Towers as darkness falls, meaning that the Tall Knight will soon appear. She convinces Lord Dark she is innocent, and he calls the police. Miss Hawk snatches
1711-546: The Republic of Ireland. For BBC News, CBBC and Cbeebies see national & international channels On 3 April 2023, the BBC merged the BBC News and BBC World News channels into a single networked news channel, but there are opt-outs for both the domestic and international versions. The BBC's wholly owned commercial subsidiary, BBC Studios , also operates several international television channels under BBC branding: The BBC also owns
1770-520: The United Kingdom. The series remains popular among school children. Episodes of Look and Read were sometimes repeated on the CBBC Channel . The first programmes for schools in Britain were broadcast in 1957. Early material was mostly aimed at secondary school pupils and seen as a convenient method of demonstration in subjects such as science and geography. In the early 1960s, there was a lot of interest in
1829-506: The air. Baird's broadcasts via the BBC continued until June 1932. The BBC began its own regular television programming from the basement of Broadcasting House , London, on 22 August 1932. The studio moved to larger quarters in 16 Portland Place , London, in February 1934, and continued broadcasting the 30-line images, carried by telephone line to the medium wave transmitter at Brookmans Park , until 11 September 1935, by which time advances in
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1888-535: The all-electronic 405-line television system made electromechanical broadcasts and systems obsolete. Following a series of test transmissions and special broadcasts that began in August 1936, the BBC Television Service officially launched on 2 November 1936 from a converted wing of Alexandra Palace in London. "Ally Pally" housed two studios, various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and
1947-496: The brown feather", adding, "the hawk who hunts treasure". Edward now knows Miss Hawk is the bird with the brown feather, and rushes off to find Tracey. They head up to the Old Tower, opening the chest with the key that came with the last clue. It's empty. Benger and Bunce suddenly arrive with Miss Hawk. Bunce puts Tracey in the back of his and Benger's van, and drives off, but the Tall Knight comes to Tracey's rescue. (A similar plot later
2006-570: The existing VHF 405-line television system . On 1 July 1967, BBC Two became the first television channel in Europe to broadcast regularly in colour, using the West German PAL system that was used for decades until it was gradually superseded by digital systems. ( BBC One and ITV began 625-line colour broadcasts simultaneously on 15 November 1969). Unlike other terrestrial channels, BBC Two does not have soap opera or standard news programming, but
2065-411: The final clue, which falls out of the spine of the book. The clue reads: "The knight's treasure will rest inside the inside of a studded chest". Part Eight (Beware of the Bird!): Edward asks his father if they have a studded chest, and he says there is one in the Old Tower. Miss Hawk overhears. Edward looks at the picture of the Friendly Ghost, and the ghost repeats his warning: "Beware of the bird with
2124-659: The first ever, on a dedicated TV channel – was "Opening of the BBC Television Service" at 15:00. The first major outside broadcast was the coronation of George VI and Elizabeth in May 1937. The two systems were to run on a trial basis for six months; early television sets supported both resolutions. However, the Baird system, which used a mechanical camera for filmed programming and Farnsworth image dissector cameras for live programming, proved too cumbersome and visually inferior, and ended with closedown (at 22:00) on Saturday 30 January 1937. It
2183-452: The house are strange sounds like laughter. The ghosts of Dark Towers are having the last laugh. Look and Read Look and Read is a BBC Television programme for primary schools , aimed at improving children's literacy skills. The programme presents fictional stories in a serial format, the first of which was broadcast in 1967 and the most recent in 2004, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast programme for schools in
2242-401: The internet as a teaching aid for the programme, allowing children to access games and material through a dedicated website, although the BBC have since removed the sites due to dwindling use, to the dismay of some teachers. For the 1974 serial " Cloud Burst ", the new producer Sue Weeks created the character Wordy. A large orange character, vaguely resembling a ' golfball ' type element from
2301-560: The medium as a way of educating children with certain learning difficulties, and in 1962, the BBC produced Television Club which presented stories in a drama serial format. The success of this format made some look into the possibilities of using the technique on programmes for primary school children. Claire Chovil, a former teacher and children's radio producer, began to research the possibility of bringing stories to television which would meet teachers' requirements to assist them in providing children with word recognition skills. She persuaded
2360-412: The middle to teach children the relevant material. Teachers were also provided with story books, or "pupil pamphlets", for each serial, from which they could provide their pupils the story as well as exercises and games. The plots of the stories were written to appeal to children, initially inspired by adventure serials, and often featured puzzles for the characters to solve using their reading skills, which
2419-459: The most remembered aspects of the programme, and last appeared in the 1992 story "Sky Hunter II". In 2002 to 2003, Spell It Out & Spelling with the Spellits , several animated characters named mostly after their looks. Some of the most memorable moments of the programme were its educational songs. Each story had its own individual theme tune, many of which are well remembered among fans of
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2478-468: The newly acquired Lime Grove Studios . Postwar broadcast coverage was extended to Birmingham in 1949, with the opening of the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station , and by the mid-1950s most of the country was covered, transmitting a 405-line interlaced video image on VHF . BBC TV was split into BBC1 and BBC2 in 1964, with BBC2 having a remit to provide more niche programming. The channel
2537-403: The next clue ("think of a knight so tall, haunting the end of a wall") is at the Tall Knight's Folly at the end of the old wall. Edward goes there, and meets the Tall Knight who demands to know "Who comes to the Tall Knight's Folly?". Part Seven (The Dark Tree): Edward asks the Tall Knight for his help, but he says he can't help unless Tracey and Towser are there, because the old legend involves
2596-524: The other UK nations can vary immensely from BBC One and BBC Two in England. Programmes, such as the politically fuelled Give My Head Peace (produced by BBC Northern Ireland) and the soap opera River City (produced by BBC Scotland), have been created specifically to cater for some viewers in their respective nations. BBC Scotland produces daily programmes for its Gaelic -speaking viewers, including current affairs, political and children's programming such as
2655-478: The popular Eòrpa and Dè a-nis? . BBC Wales also produces a large amount of Welsh language programming for S4C , particularly news, sport and other programmes, especially the soap opera Pobol y Cwm ('People of the Valley') briefly shown on BBC2 across the UK with subtitles in the 1990s. The UK nations also produce a number of programmes that are shown across the UK, such as BBC Scotland's comedy series Chewin'
2714-547: The programme. Each teaching segment also featured many songs with animations, featuring characters like Dog Detective, which were used regularly over the show's history. Many of the lyrics, such as the 'Clue Song' with Dog Detective, the Karate Chopper and 'Bill the Brickie', were written by Patricia Farrington , who also created the characters. Music for the songs were composed by Paddy Kingsland , Roger Limb and Peter Howell of
2773-522: The remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed BBC Content . The BBC operates several television networks, television stations (although there is generally very little distinction between the two terms in the UK), and related programming services in the United Kingdom. As well as being a broadcaster, the corporation also produces a large number of its own outsourcing programmes and thereby ranks as one of
2832-476: The success of the two serials, "Fishing For Fivers" (1965) and "Tom, Pat and Friday" (1966), Look and Read began production in 1966. Although originally produced for the series Merry-Go-Round , " Bob and Carol Look for Treasure " was broadcast as the first Look and Read story in the spring of 1967. The serial took the format, which the programme would continue for many years, of each episode's story being divided into two instalments with an educational section in
2891-546: The television service's technical staff and engineers would be needed for the war effort, in particular on the radar programme. The last programme transmitted was a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Mickey's Gala Premier (1933), which was followed by test transmissions; this account refuted the popular memory according to which broadcasting was suspended before the end of the cartoon. According to figures from Britain's Radio Manufacturers Association, 18,999 television sets had been manufactured from 1936 to September 1939, when production
2950-509: The transmitter itself, which then broadcast on the VHF band. BBC television initially used two systems on alternate weeks: the 240-line Baird intermediate film system and the Marconi-EMI 405-line television system . The use of both formats made the BBC's service the world's first regular high-definition television service; it broadcast from Monday to Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00, and 21:00 and 22:00. The first programme broadcast – and thus
3009-591: The world's largest television production companies. John Logie Baird set up the Baird Television Development Company in 1926; on 30 September 1929, he made the first experimental television broadcast for the BBC from its studio in Long Acre in the Covent Garden area of London via the BBC's London radio transmitter propagating an analog signal . Baird used his electromechanical system with
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#17328520514093068-618: Was advertised in Radio Times for two weeks later but the decision to end the Baird system was made too late for it be changed in the printed Radio Times . Initially, the station's range was officially a 40 kilometres radius of the Alexandra Palace transmitter—in practice, however, transmissions could be picked up a good deal further away, and on one occasion in 1938 were picked up by engineers at RCA in New York, who were experimenting with
3127-467: Was also reflected in the material given to pupils. Each serial was also written with a limited vocabulary in mind, each of the keywords paced through the piece a certain number of times so they held a certain relevance above other words. They used Alphakids mostly when words appeared. During the 1970s the programme began to bring in many new elements for a new generation of viewers. Popular new educational songs were introduced which would remain until into
3186-553: Was dropped. A fan account celebrating its success and nostalgic value was set up on Twitter in 2017. BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC . The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom , under the terms of a royal charter , since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts
3245-479: Was due to launch on 20 April 1964, but this was postponed after a fire at Battersea Power Station resulted in most of west London, including Television Centre , losing power. A videotape made on the opening night was rediscovered in 2003 by a BBC technician. The launch went ahead the following night, beginning with host Denis Tuohy sarcastically blowing out a candle. BBC2 was the first British channel to use UHF and 625-line pictures, giving higher definition than
3304-423: Was halted by the war. BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at 15:00. Jasmine Bligh , one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, 'Good afternoon everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh?'. The Mickey Mouse cartoon of 1939 was repeated twenty minutes later. Alexandra Palace was the home base of the channel until the early 1950s, when the majority of production moved into
3363-429: Was previously broadcast encrypted, it meant that viewers with appropriate equipment were able to receive BBC channels "free-to-air" over much of Western Europe. Consequently, some rights concerns have needed to be resolved with programme providers such as Hollywood studios and sporting organisations, which have expressed concern about the unencrypted signal leaking out. This led to some broadcasts being made unavailable on
3422-552: Was responsible for the commissioning, scheduling and broadcasting of all programming on the BBC's television channels and online, as well as producing content for broadcast. Following the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, BBC Television was split into two divisions, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios controlled by Mark Linsey and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed as BBC Content, controlled by Charlotte Moore . As
3481-448: Was used instead of dubbing for budgetary reasons. Ceefax , the first teletext service, launched on 23 September 1974. This service allowed BBC viewers to view textual information such as the latest news on their television. CEEFAX did not make a full transition to digital television, instead being gradually replaced, from late onwards, by the new interactive BBCi service before being fully closed down on 22 October 2012. In March 2003
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