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 channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events.
117-505: Victor Meldrew is a fictional character in the BBC One sitcom One Foot in the Grave , created by David Renwick and portrayed by Richard Wilson . The character epitomised the archetypal grumpy old man. Meldrew is a foil for the bothersome aspects of children, cars, animals, power cuts and next-door neighbours. The character was created specifically for Wilson, with whom Renwick had worked on
234-583: A Lecocq -inspired company based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, created a modern version of the play from the point of view of the servants working for Duke Orsino and Lady Olivia, entitled Grottesco's 12 th Night (2008). The adaptation takes a much deeper look at the issues of classism, and society without leadership. In New York City, Turn to Flesh Productions, a theatre company that specializes in creating "new Shakespeare shows", developed two plays focused on Malvolio : A Comedy of Heirors, or The Imposters by verse playwright, Emily C. A. Snyder , which imagined
351-413: A 1980s-inspired twist on the play at Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool , swapping lords and ladies of stately homes for rowdy Benidorm bars and booze-fuelled escapades, as an introduction to Shakespeare for audiences unfamiliar with his work. Due to its themes such as young women seeking independence in a "man's world", "gender bending" and "same sex attraction", there have been a number of re-workings for
468-419: A box"). The series follows Meldrew as he tries to fill his new-found leisure with odd jobs and unusual idiosyncrasies, or to get a new job. However, he regularly finds himself mistreated, misunderstood or simply the victim of bad luck, and consequently leads to his complaining heartily. Meldrew is famous for his catchphrase , "I don't believe it!!" (copied exactly from Trevor Baxter playing Professor Litefoot in
585-627: A converted wing of the Alexandra Palace in London. On 1 September 1939, two days before Britain declared war on Germany, the station was taken off air with little warning, with the last programme to be shown being a Mickey Mouse cartoon (the 1933 short Mickey's Gala Premier ); the government was concerned that the VHF transmissions would act as a beacon to enemy aircraft that could bomb London. BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at three o'clock in
702-729: A disgraced Malvolio chasing down two pairs of female twins in Syracuse and Ephesus, and Malvolio's Revenge by verse playwright, Duncan Pflaster , a queer sequel to Twelfth Night . Both plays were originally written for submission to the American Shakespeare Center 's call for plays in conversation with the Bard through the Shakespeare's New Contemporaries program. On 14 May 1937, the BBC Television Service in London broadcast
819-527: A highlight of their 2002 season was Twelfth Night , with the Globe's artistic director Mark Rylance playing Olivia. This season was preceded, in February, by a performance of the play by the same company at Middle Temple Hall, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the play's première, at the same venue. Stephen Fry played Malvolio when the same production was revived in 2012–13, later transferring to sell-out runs in
936-415: A household name and award-winning comedy performer." In addition, "So popular was his character that 'Victor Meldrew' has endured as a cultural reference for any grumpy old man." And finally and more loosely, "many viewers identified with his rages at the irritants of modern life: litter, junk mail, traffic, rudeness, streetlamps and car mechanics and to some, Victor Meldrew was a champion of the people, albeit
1053-625: A lot of help from my friends", with the channel still under criticism, following the start of new programming which Alan introduced a year earlier, and the number of summer repeats. £175 million was spent on 80 hours of original drama produced, enchantment to the arts with an extended 26-week run for Omnibus , and documentaries with The Downing Street Years , new wildlife series and an eight-month look at Sheffield's Children's hospital, while Goodnight Sweetheart , Grace & Favour and The Danny Baker Show were new comedy series. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman included in
1170-551: A peaceable tyme (1581), which in turn derives from a story by Matteo Bandello . "Twelfth Night" is a reference to the twelfth night after Christmas Day , also called the Eve of the Feast of Epiphany . It was originally a Catholic holiday, and these were sometimes occasions for revelry, like other Christian feast days. Servants often dressed up as their masters, men as women, and so forth. This history of festive ritual and carnivalesque reversal
1287-628: A play called "Twelve Night, or What You Will", much like " The Comedy of Errors " or " Menaechmi " in Plautus , but most like and near to that in Italian called " Inganni ". A good practice in it to make the steward believe his lady-widow was in love with him, by counterfeiting a letter as from his lady, in general terms telling him what she liked best in him and prescribing his gesture in smiling, his apparel, etc. and then, when he came to practice, making him believe they took him for mad. Clearly, Manningham enjoyed
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#17331223995951404-589: A position vacated by BBC Three , which had been switched to internet-only six weeks earlier. Changes in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were also scheduled but delayed for 'technical reasons'. On 22 November 2022, the BBC announced that BBC One will finally be regionalised on their HD channels. This move started on Sky Glass, followed by Virgin Cable, and then in the 2023 new year, HD programmes are launched on satellite. With
1521-579: A post she took up on 1 November 2000. She had previously been sounded out about the job in 1997 after Michael Jackson 's departure, but had turned down the opportunity as she felt she was then not yet experienced enough. During Heggessey's five years in charge, BBC One's audience share fell by 19.9%, to 23%, although this was in the context of declining audience figures across all British television channels due to increased competition from multichannel digital television . However, in 2001 BBC One overtook its main rival ITV in terms of annual audience share for
1638-634: A priest. Meanwhile, Viola's twin, Sebastian, has been rescued by Antonio, a sea captain who previously fought Orsino, yet who accompanies Sebastian to Illyria, despite the danger, because of his admiration for Sebastian. With their love for practical jokes, Sir Toby and Fabian convince Sir Andrew to challenge Cesario to a duel, knowing that neither of them can fight. Their initial duel is interrupted by Antonio, who believes Cesario to be Sebastian. Orsino's officers then arrest Antonio. Emboldened by this, Sir Andrew mistakes Sebastian for Cesario and slaps him, prompting Sebastian to beat up Sir Andrew. Olivia witnesses
1755-598: A result. His future was deemed uncertain following critical comments from Sir Michael Lyons , Chairman of the BBC Trust , and he resigned on 5 October 2007. In 2009, a report published by the BBC Trust found scheduling changes had led to a decrease in viewers. This was especially noticeable for Blue Peter and Newsround , two of CBBC's flagship programmes; Blue Peter which recorded its lowest viewing numbers since it started in 1958, and Newsround with fewer than 100,000 viewers compared to 225,000 in 2007. As part of
1872-450: A sense of unification; for example, a 1947 production concentrated on showing a post-World War II community reuniting at the end of the play, led by a robust hero / heroine in Viola, played by Beatrix Lehmann , then 44 years old. The 1966 Royal Shakespeare Company production played on gender transgressions more obviously, with Diana Rigg as Viola showing much more physical attraction towards
1989-541: A song sung by Feste. Illyria , the exotic setting of Twelfth Night , is important to the play's romantic atmosphere. Illyria was an ancient region of the Western Balkans whose coast (the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, the only part of ancient Illyria relevant to the play) covered (from north to south) the coasts of modern-day Slovenia , Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , and Albania . It included
2106-802: A stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction". In Act IV, Scene ii, Feste (The Fool) plays both parts in the "play" for Malvolio's benefit, alternating between adopting the voice of the local curate , Sir Topas, and his own voice. He finishes by likening himself to "the old Vice" of English Morality plays. Other influences of the English folk tradition can be seen in Feste's songs and dialogue, such as his final song in Act V. The last line of this song, "And we'll strive to please you every day", echoes similar lines from several English folk plays. Some scholars argue that Twelfth Night, or What You Will (the play's full title)
2223-508: A station clock, and perceived lack of a 'serious ident', also put the BBC in an embarrassing situation just one day into the new look with the death of the Queen Mother . One of Heggessey's most notable decisions and last major success at the channel was the recommissioning of the science-fiction drama series Doctor Who , which had been a popular hit in previous decades but ceased production in 1989 . Heggessey and Jane Tranter recommissioned
2340-455: A thirty-minute excerpt of the play, the first known instance of a work of Shakespeare being performed on television. Produced for the new medium by George More O'Ferrall , the production is also notable for having featured a young actress who would later go on to win an Academy Award – Greer Garson . As the performance was transmitted live from the BBC's studios at Alexandra Palace and the technology to record television programmes did not at
2457-515: A very grumpy one." Meldrew's persona is so powerful that Richard Wilson is perceived as "99 per cent Meldrew" by at least one critic, and when taking on a serious role as Malvolio in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night , another critic felt that Wilson's "performance was overly influenced by his desire to 'shed the Victor Meldrew stereotype'". In the modern series of Doctor Who , after the debut of
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#17331223995952574-416: A year was spent on narrowing the gap on ITV's ratings lead, since a few months prior to this the channel had been criticised for its Autumn schedule, having tired formats, uninspiring scheduling of new programmes and poor scripts. Wogan was replaced with Eldorado , in early July 1992, but this was itself cancelled a year later. Alan Yentob launched the 1993 Autumn schedule calling it "My first try with
2691-547: Is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare , believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian , who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola (disguised as Cesario) falls in love with the Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her, thinking she
2808-416: Is a man. The play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder expected of the occasion, with plot elements drawn from Barnabe Rich 's short story "Of Apollonius and Silla", based on a story by Matteo Bandello . The first documented public performance was on 2 February 1602, at Candlemas , the formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar. The play was not published until its inclusion in
2925-484: Is the cultural origin of the play's gender-confusion-driven plot. Puritans often opposed Epiphany celebrations, much as Malvolio opposes the revelry in the play. The actual Elizabethan festival of Twelfth Night involved the antics of a Lord of Misrule , who, before leaving his temporary position of authority, called for entertainment, songs, and mummery ; the play has been regarded as preserving this festive and traditional atmosphere of licensed disorder. This leads to
3042-502: The Nine O'Clock News had been moved to the later time of 22:00 and Panorama moved from Monday night prime time slot to a later slot on Sunday nights. The moving of Panorama attracted criticism that BBC One was sidelining serious programming in favour of more populist output. Heggessey publicly defended the decision, despite it not being hers, claiming that Panorama 's ratings would have "dwindled" in its previous slot. Heggessey and
3159-461: The Elizabethan era , and though some editors place The Merchant of Venice ' s alternative title, The Jew of Venice , as a subtitle, this is the only Shakespeare play to bear one when first published. The play was probably finished between 1600 and 1601, a period suggested by the play's referencing of events that happened during that time. A law student, John Manningham , who was studying in
3276-572: The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in 1984 was set in the context of an archetypal circus world, emphasising the play's convivial, carnivalesque tone. When the play was first performed, all female parts were played by men or boys, but it has been the practice for some centuries now to cast women or girls in the female parts in all plays. The company of Shakespeare's Globe , London, has produced many notable, highly popular all-male performances, and
3393-678: The London Blitz in 1941) with a memorable production starring Peggy Ashcroft as Viola. Gielgud directed a production at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre with Laurence Olivier as Malvolio and Vivien Leigh playing both Viola and Sebastian in 1955. The longest-running Broadway production by far was Margaret Webster 's 1940 staging starring Maurice Evans as Malvolio and Helen Hayes as Viola. It ran for 129 performances, more than twice as long as any other Broadway production. A memorable production directed by Liviu Ciulei at
3510-478: The NICAM digital stereo sound format began on BBC1 in late 1987, to coincide with the sale of the first consumer NICAM-enabled equipment, a year after BBC2, and were gradually phased in across BBC TV output, although it took until 31 August 1991 for the service to begin officially on both channels. During this time, both commercial analogue broadcasters, ITV and Channel 4 had officially begun stereo transmissions using
3627-529: The Populus polling organisation found BBC One to be rated the highest-quality TV channel in the world, with BBC Two coming in third place. BBC One is available via most major television providers in the United Kingdom. The BBC began its own regular television programming from the basement of Broadcasting House , London, on 22 August 1932. The channel officially began regular broadcasts on 2 November 1936 from
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3744-708: The Public Theatre workshopped and premiered a musical adaptation of Twelfth Night with original music by Shaina Taub , who also played the role of Feste . In 1999, the play was adapted as Epiphany by the Takarazuka Revue , adding more overt commentary on the role of theatre and actors, as well as gender as applied to the stage (made more layered by the fact that all roles in this production were played by women). There are many new modern plays but mostly still played in Early Modern English. Theatre Grottesco,
3861-739: The Royal National Theatre 's production of Twelfth Night changed some of the roles from male to female, including Feste, Fabian (who became Fabia), and, most notably, Malvolio – who became Malvolia – played by Tamsin Greig to largely positive reviews. As a result, the production played with sexuality as well as gender. In 2017–18, the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a production directed by Christopher Luscombe; Adrian Edmondson played Malvolio, Kara Tointon Olivia, and Dinita Gohil Viola. In 2022, Old Fruit Jar Productions staged
3978-641: The Twelfth Doctor , as portrayed by Peter Capaldi , Alison Graham of the Radio Times compared Capaldi's Doctor to Meldrew, as both were "abrasive, acerbic and [have] no truck with modern life". The third series of the Channel 4 comedy Father Ted features Wilson playing a fictional version of himself, and the Meldrew character's catchphrase is repeated several times during one episode. BBC One The channel
4095-452: The West End and Broadway ; it ran in repertory with Richard III . Many renowned actresses have played Viola in the latter half of the 20th century, and their performances been interpreted in the light of how far they allow the audience to experience the transgression of stereotypical gender roles. This has sometimes correlated with how far productions of the play go towards reaffirming
4212-442: The "Balloon" idents (and the traditional "Globe" idents the channel had used in a variety of forms since 1963). They were replaced by a new style of on-air identity for the channel, the "Rhythm & Movement" idents . The new idents attracted criticism for going against the traditions of the channel and pandering to " political correctness ", as they featured activities performed by people of various ethnicities. The abandonment of
4329-514: The 1623 First Folio . Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and comes ashore with a captain's help. She has lost contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, who she believes has drowned, and with the aid of the Captain, she disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino has convinced himself he is in love with Olivia, who is mourning her brother's recent death. Olivia refuses to see entertainments, be in
4446-488: The 18:20 slot, but this was dismissed. The Miss Great Britain contest was dropped, being described as verging on the too offensive after the January 1985 contest, with World's Strongest Man and International Superstar also being cancelled. BBC1 was relaunched on 18 February 1985 with a new look , new programming including Wogan and EastEnders , and a revised schedule to help streamline and maintain viewers throughout
4563-509: The BBC announced plans to launch a one-hour time shift of the channel, named BBC One +1. The channel would have replaced BBC Three in 2016. However, on 30 June 2015, the BBC Trust rejected the plans for a BBC One +1 channel as they stated that it would be at the expense of commercial rivals. BBC One HD , a simulcast of BBC One in 1080i high definition (HD), launched on 3 November 2010 at 19:00 with The One Show . The channel simulcasts
4680-531: The BBC's Controller of Drama Commissioning, Jane Tranter , took advantage of the weekday 21:00 slot opening up by moving the news to commission new popular drama output, such as the successful Waking the Dead (2000–2011) and Spooks (2002–2011). Celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing (2004–present) was also a popular success on Saturday nights, although another Saturday night entertainment series, Fame Academy , faced accusations of being too derivative of
4797-429: The BBC's television output be out-sourced to independent production companies. By 2004, many popular BBC One shows were made for the channel by independents, but the in-house production departments continued to contribute heavily to the schedule. In March 1991, as part of the £63 million programme package for spring and summer line up on BBC1, it was announced an extra £20 million was to be spent on rejuvenating
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4914-505: The BBC, and set about overhauling BBC1, which had been slated with poor home grown shows, its heavy reliance on US imports, with Dallas and The Thorn Birds being BBC1's highest rated programmes and ratings being over 20% behind ITV. Cotton recruited Michael Grade to become Controller of BBC1 from 1 September 1984 the first time the corporation had recruited someone outside of the BBC, replacing Alan Hart, who had been criticised for his lack of knowledge in general entertainment, as he
5031-597: The BBC-developed NICAM system. Widescreen programming was introduced on digital platforms in 1998. For the first 50 years of its existence, with the exception of films and programmes purchased from the United States and elsewhere, almost all the channel's output were produced by the BBC's in-house production departments. This changed following the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990 , which required that 25% of
5148-656: The Delivering Quality First proposals submitted by the BBC in October 2011 and approved by the BBC Trust in May 2012, all children's programming on BBC One and Two would be moved permanently to the CBBC and CBeebies channels following the digital switchover. It was found that the majority of child viewers watched the programmes on these channels already and that only 7% of these children watched CBBC programmes on BBC One and Two only, it
5265-736: The Globe Theatre). The play is believed to have drawn extensively on the Italian production Gl'ingannati ( The Deceived Ones ), collectively written by the Accademia degli Intronati of Siena in 1531. It is conjectured that the name of its male lead, Orsino, was suggested by Virginio Orsini, Duke of Bracciano , an Italian nobleman who visited London in the winter of 1600–01. Another source story, "Of Apollonius and Silla", appeared in Barnabe Riche 's collection Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession conteining verie pleasaunt discourses fit for
5382-790: The Grave ) would not be surprised that hostility contributes to mortality in grumpy old men." Similarly, The Daily Telegraph uses Richard Wilson's Meldrew to refer to people who enjoy "a good moan", while Jenny Turner in the London Review of Books can observe that "the timing and rhythm (of Geoff Dyer's Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi ) have the flippancy of stand-up comedy. The voice has Eeyore in it, and Morrissey and Victor Meldrew, and could only be English and from that postwar, post-punk generation". The BBC recalls first that "the role of Victor Meldrew transformed Scottish TV-actor Richard Wilson into
5499-595: The Malvolio story most of all, and noted the play's similarity to Shakespeare's earlier play, as well as its relationship with one of its sources, the Inganni plays. The play was one of the earliest Shakespearean works acted at the start of the Restoration ; Sir William Davenant 's adaptation was staged in 1661, with Thomas Betterton as Sir Toby Belch. Samuel Pepys thought it "a silly play", but saw it three times anyway during
5616-655: The Middle Temple in London, described the performance on 2 February 1602 ( Candlemas ) which took place in the hall of the Middle Temple at the formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar, and to which students were invited. This was the first recorded public performance of the play. The play was not published until its inclusion in the First Folio in 1623. Viola is not alone among Shakespeare's cross-dressing heroines; in Shakespeare's theatre, convention dictated that adolescent boys play female characters, creating humour in
5733-517: The Queen which was shown to journalists during a press conference. It apparently showed the Queen storming out of a session with American photographer Annie Leibovitz over a disagreement about what she should wear, but the BBC subsequently admitted that the scenes used in the trailer had been edited out of their correct order, meaning that a false impression was given. Fincham admitted the error, but rejected calls that he should resign from his position as
5850-468: The Saturday night line up to increase variety. Following the public disapproval of filling its schedule with 25% of repeats during the summer months of 1993, BBC1 agreed to broadcast an extra 110 hours worth of original programming over the same period during the summer in 1994, which included giving EastEnders an additional episode per week. Efficiency savings of £25 million were found and redeployed to
5967-459: The afternoon. Jasmine Bligh , one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, "Good afternoon everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh?". Twenty minutes later, BBC Television again aired the Mickey Mouse cartoon that they had broadcast in 1939. The BBC held a statutory monopoly on television broadcasting in the United Kingdom until Associated-Rediffusion ,
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#17331223995956084-601: The almost indistinguishable differences between the sexes reflected in the play's casting and characters. At Olivia's first meeting with "Cesario" (Viola) in Act I, Scene v she asks her "Are you a comedian?" (an Elizabethan term for "actor"). Viola's reply, "I am not that I play", epitomising her adoption of the role of "Cesario" (Viola), is regarded as one of the play's several references to theatricality and "playing". The plot against Malvolio revolves around these ideas, and Fabian remarks in Act III, Scene iv: "If this were play'd upon
6201-401: The cases of mistaken identity are resolved. Orsino and Viola marry (Orsino to Viola: "But when in other habits you are seen, Orsino's mistress, and his fancy's queen" ), and Antonio is released. Fabian confesses the plot against Malvolio, and reveals that Sir Toby has married Maria. Malvolio swears revenge on his tormentors and stalks off, but Orsino sends Fabian to placate him. The plays end with
6318-458: The caveat that the new show would not launch until at least November 1981, whereupon new licence fee income could finance the necessary extension of broadcasting hours. On 17 January 1983, one year after originally planned, the first edition of Breakfast Time was shown on BBC1, becoming the first UK wide breakfast television service and continued to lead in the ratings until 1984. In 1984, Bill Cotton become managing director of Television at
6435-475: The channel after the BBC's contract to show the programme ended on 8 February 2008, and moved to Channel 5 on 11 February 2008. The Weakest Link was moved from BBC Two to fill the gap, with the afternoon CBBC slot moving 20 minutes earlier. There was further controversy in July 2007 when Fincham was accused of misleading BBC One viewers. The incident involved a clip from forthcoming documentary A Year with
6552-440: The channels drama and comedy output during peak times, to keep the channel in a healthy state once the new Channel 3 licences were awarded. In December 1991 Wogan was to be cancelled, due to falling ratings against a number of ITV shows, in which Wogan only managed six million viewers compared to double that for This Is Your Life , The Krypton Factor and The $ 64,000 Question . Additionally an extra £40 million
6669-530: The city-state of the Republic of Ragusa , which has been proposed as the setting, and which is today known as Dubrovnik , Croatia . Illyria may have been suggested by the Roman comedy Menaechmi , the plot of which also involves twins who are mistaken for each other. Illyria is also referred to as a site of pirates in Shakespeare's earlier play, Henry VI, Part 2 . Most of the characters' names are Italian but some of
6786-457: The comic characters have English names. Oddly, the "Illyrian" lady Olivia has an English uncle, Sir Toby Belch. It has been noted that the play's setting has other English allusions, such as Viola's use of "Westward ho!", a typical cry of 16th-century London boatmen, and Antonio's recommendation to Sebastian of "The Elephant" as the best place to lodge in Illyria ( The Elephant was a pub not far from
6903-439: The comic subplot, several characters conspire to make Olivia's pompous steward, Malvolio, believe that she has fallen for him. This involves Olivia's riotous uncle, Sir Toby Belch; another would-be suitor, the silly squire Sir Andrew Aguecheek; Olivia's servants Maria and Fabian; and Olivia's witty fool, Feste. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew engage themselves in drinking and revelry, disrupting the peace of Olivia's household until late into
7020-560: The commissioning of several successful BBC One programmes including Robin Hood (2006–2009), Jane Eyre (2006) and How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? , which was followed by similar shows Any Dream Will Do and I'd Do Anything because of its success. His first full year in charge of the channel saw a year-on-year growth in the audience share, with a rise from 22.2% in August 2005 to 23.6% in August 2006. Fincham also directly initiated
7137-459: The company of men, or accept love or marriage proposals from anyone, including Orsino, until seven years have passed. Orsino then uses 'Cesario' as an intermediary to profess his passionate love for Olivia. But Olivia falls in love with 'Cesario', setting her at odds with her professed duty. Meanwhile, Viola has fallen in love with Orsino, creating a love triangle: Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Viola disguised as Cesario. In
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#17331223995957254-518: The corporation strengthened its drama output costing £30 million, with eight new series, including Howards' Way , All Creatures Great and Small , Hold the Back Page , and Bluebill , along with the return of Bergerac and Big Deal . The increase in the drama department was achieved by switching the money away from the administrative service over a three-year period, after BBC1 was criticised for failing to match ITV's output in drama. EastEnders
7371-449: The course of the evening. Grade started to gear most programmes to either on the hour or half past the hour, while Panorama and Omnibus were both moved after the Nine O'Clock News . Grade was also determined to end the dated and inept BBC1 scheduling which was hampering the channel and holding back good programmes. Grade said "When I took over BBC1, I discovered there were wonderful things, it
7488-426: The creation of both The One Show (2006–present), an early evening, current-affairs and lifestyle magazine programme, which now runs all but two weeks of the year, and Davina (2006), a prime time chat show , the latter hosted by Davina McCall , who presented Big Brother . However, Davina was a critical and ratings disaster, which Fincham subsequently admitted was personally his fault, although he defended
7605-689: The duke than previously seen, and the court in general being a more physically demonstrative place, particularly between males. John Barton 's 1969 production starred Donald Sinden as Malvolio and Judi Dench as Viola; their performances were highly acclaimed and the production as a whole was said to show a society crumbling into decay. Malvolio is a popular character choice among stage actors; he has been portrayed by Ian Holm many times, Simon Russell Beale ( Donmar Warehouse , 2002), Richard Cordery (2005), Patrick Stewart , ( Chichester , 2007), Derek Jacobi (Donmar Warehouse, 2009), Richard Wilson (2009), and Stephen Fry (The Globe, 2012). In 2017,
7722-400: The end of analogue broadcasting. Between 1973 and 1977, BBC1 achieved an average audience share of 45% under Bryan Cowgill . This was the channel's most successful period in terms of audience share. On 30 December 1980, the BBC announced plans to introduce a new breakfast television service to compete with TV-am . They stated that the new show would be broadcast before TV-am but included
7839-418: The final episode of The Talons of Weng-Chiang ). Other frequently used expressions of exasperation are "Unbe-lieeeve-able!", "What in the name of bloody hell ?!" and "In the name of sanity!" Victor is something of a hypochondriac , keeping a medical dictionary with him to look up every ailment he believes has befallen him (Margaret describes it as "browsing through to see what he can die of next"). The series
7956-470: The first Independent Television (ITV) station, began to broadcast on 22 September 1955. The competition quickly forced the channel to change its identity and priorities, following a large reduction in its audience, as noted in the 1962 Pilkington Report on the future of broadcasting. Simultaneously, the Pilkington Report decided to award an additional television station to the BBC on the basis that ITV
8073-446: The first time and had a live in-vision presenter, similar to rival ITV's Children's ITV block which had been running since January 1983. Previously the BBC had broadcast children's programming using BBC1's team of regular duty announcers. The launch presenter for this block, and thus the first Children's BBC presenter of the current format, was Phillip Schofield . On 23 May 1986, long-running lunchtime magazine show Pebble Mill at One
8190-519: The first time since the rival channel had launched in 1955, although much of this was down to the success of the channel's daytime television line-up, which had its own Controller: Jane Lush . When Heggessey arrived at the channel in November 2000, she inherited two controversial schedule changes which had been implemented the previous month, at the behest of Director-General of the BBC Greg Dyke ;
8307-476: The first variation. A Scottish variation launched on 14 January 2013, followed by a Welsh variation on 29 January 2013. On 16 July 2013, the BBC indicated that it also wants to launch regional variants of BBC One HD across England; however, this would require the approval of the BBC Trust, with a proposal due to be presented within six months. On 18 November 2013, the Northern Irish regional variant of BBC One HD
8424-475: The general inversion of the order of things, most notably gender roles. The embittered and isolated Malvolio can be regarded as an adversary of festive enjoyment and community. That community is led by Sir Toby Belch, "the vice-regent spokesman for cakes and ale", and his partner in a comic stock duo, the simple and constantly exploited Sir Andrew Aguecheek. The full title of the play is Twelfth Night, or What You Will . Subtitles for plays were fashionable in
8541-645: The launch of the HD channels, this also means the closure of the SD channels. SD channels are shut on satellite 24 hours after the launch of the HD channel, and are moved up to the Channel 1/Channel 101 slot on the EPG. Viewers with older standard definition set-top boxes will no longer be able to receive BBC One. All BBC satellite channels in standard definition have closed on 8 January 2024. Twelfth Night Twelfth Night, or What You Will
8658-409: The letter and is surprised and delighted. He starts following the letter's instructions to show Olivia his feelings. Olivia is shocked by the changes in him and, agreeing that he seems mad, leaves him to be cared for by his tormentors. Pretending that Malvolio is insane, the tormentors lock him in a dark chamber. Feste visits Malvolio to mock Malvolio's professed insanity, both as himself and disguised as
8775-552: The lowest common denominator to increase viewership. Reliance on docusoaps and the dropping of the vilified Noel's House Party were chastened by the hoax guests on The Vanessa Show . Alan Yentob said "The spring package is to remind people of what the BBC is here for, range and ambition you won't find anywhere else at peak time". The changes helped the channel distinguish itself from (as one BBC executive said) "its down-market rival and would not compete for viewers on ITV's terms." Lorraine Heggessey became Controller of BBC One,
8892-594: The multiplicity of disguise found in a female character who for a while pretended at masculinity. Her cross-dressing enables Viola to fulfil usually male roles, such as acting as a messenger between Orsino and Olivia or serving as Orsino's confidant. But she does not use her disguise to intervene directly in the plot (unlike other Shakespearean heroines, such as Rosalind in As You Like It and Portia in The Merchant of Venice ), remaining someone who allows "Time" to untangle
9009-605: The name "Victor" is ironic, since he almost always ends up as the loser. In the final episode, " Things Aren't Simple Any More ", Meldrew is killed by a hit-and-run driver. This eliminated any realistic possibility of a seventh series. Passers-by left bouquets of flowers in homage at the filming location, a railway bridge in Shawford , a small village in Hampshire . Phil Wickham of the University of Exeter observed that "the whole point of
9126-518: The national version of BBC One in High Definition, with HD versions of programmes including Doctor Who , Holby City , The One Show , Strictly Come Dancing and The Apprentice . EastEnders was also made available in HD from Christmas Day 2010. All programmes still made in standard definition were upscaled on the channel, with the intention that by 2012 the vast majority of the channel's output would be in high definition. On 30 May 2012,
9243-460: The new productions. The savings were seen as a vindication for Producer Choice, the controversial internal market introduced in April 1993. By March 1999, the channel admitted defeat in its ratings war with ITV, with its spring line up emphasising more on serious factual and educational programmes, and drama. This change in strategy came about after continuing complaints that the channel was appealing to
9360-565: The night, prompting Malvolio to chastise them. Sir Toby famously retorts, Maria suggests taking revenge on Malvolio by convincing him that Olivia is secretly in love with him. She forges a love letter, mimicking Olivia's handwriting, and plants it in the garden. The letter asks Malvolio to wear yellow stockings cross-gartered—a colour and fashion that Olivia hates, to be rude to the rest of the servants, and to smile constantly in Olivia's presence. Watched by Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian, Malvolio finds
9477-490: The one hand it is inevitable. But it is dismissive of children. There is a certain amount of overlooking of the fact that children's programmes do get a wider audience than people are aware of ... I have frequently had letters from older people who have enjoyed my programmes as much as children do. A lot of the reason older people like to watch children's programming is because it is life-enhancing." Head of BBC Children's, Joe Godwin said: "Our young viewers are our priority and
9594-454: The output of commercial rivals, and during Heggessey's era the channel frequently came under attack for being too populist and not providing enough serious programming. Immediately after her arrival, Heggessey ordered a review of the "Balloon" idents the channel had been using for its between-programme idents since 1997. In her opinion, the balloon was "slow and distant" and so, on 29 March 2002, after much speculation, she decided to abandon
9711-455: The period of his diary on 11 September 1661, 6 January 1663, and 20 January 1669. Another adaptation, Love Betray'd, or, The Agreeable Disappointment , was acted at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1703. After holding the stage only in the adaptations in the late 17th century and early 18th century, the original Shakespearean text of Twelfth Night was revived in 1741, in a production at Drury Lane . In 1820 an operatic version by Frederic Reynolds
9828-497: The plot. As Twelfth Night explores gender identity and sexual attraction, having a male actor play Viola enhanced the impression of androgyny and sexual ambiguity. Some modern scholars believe that Twelfth Night , with the added confusion of male actors and Viola's deception, addresses gender issues "with particular immediacy". They also accept that its depiction of gender stems from the era's prevalent scientific theory that females are simply imperfect males. This belief explains
9945-564: The rights to broadcast the show in the UK for two years. The Voice UK achieved good ratings for the BBC but ratings dropped towards the end of the first series and the second series. In 2013, The Voice UK was rescheduled to avoid a clash, and as a result, ratings have improved. In November 2015, it was announced that The Voice UK would be moving to ITV from 2017, especially because of the ITV plc ownership of franchise owner, Talpa Media . On 8 October 2013,
10062-545: The satellite and terrestrial resolution was increased to full HD . BBC One HD at launch did not offer regional variations, and therefore the channel could not broadcast during regional programming slots, most noticeably the local news programmes. The BBC Trust admitted that this was due to technical and financial constraints, but the BBC announced on 6 June 2011 that the national variations of BBC One Northern Ireland, BBC One Scotland and BBC One Wales, would become available from 2012. On 24 October 2012, Northern Ireland received
10179-434: The series Hot Metal , though Wilson initially turned the part down as at 53, he felt he was too young to play the 60-year-old Meldrew. Renwick considered Les Dawson for the part before Wilson changed his mind. In the first episode, Meldrew, aged 60, is forced into early retirement from his job as a security guard when the office where he worked installs an automatic security system (which he describes as "being replaced by
10296-555: The series as "a joyful, exuberant reinvention and a fine legacy from Ms Heggessey." Heggessey did later concede in a 2005 interview with The Independent newspaper that arts programming had suffered a cutback under her control of BBC One. However, she did respond to this omission following criticism from the Board of Governors of the BBC by commissioning programmes such as the arts documentary series Imagine... (2003–present) and A Picture of Britain (2005). On 14 February 2005 it
10413-464: The series in September 2003, after Heggessey had spent two years persuading the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide , to abandon their attempts to make a feature film version of the programme and allow it to instead return it to BBC One. The new version of Doctor Who (2005–present) debuted on 26 March 2005 and became a critical and popular hit, with Paul Hoggart of The Times newspaper describing
10530-495: The series is that Meldrew is the only sane voice in a mad world". Jonathan Bignell in his book Media Semiotics observes that the reason people laugh at Victor Meldrew is not simply that his behaviour is excessive, but that it contrasts with how all the other characters in the TV series are behaving. Meldrew's name is associated with aggression or grumpiness; the journal Age and Ageing notes that "Viewers of Victor Meldrew ( One Foot in
10647-429: The skirmish and chastises Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian. Taking Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are secretly married in a church. Finally, when 'Cesario' and Sebastian appear in the presence of both Olivia and Orsino, there is more wonder and confusion at their physical similarity. At this point, Viola reveals her identity and is reunited with her brother. Sebastian and Viola reunite, and
10764-402: The stage, particularly in musical theatre, among them Your Own Thing (1968), Music Is (1977), All Shook Up (2005), and Play On ! (1997), the last two jukebox musicals featuring the music of Elvis Presley and Duke Ellington , respectively. Another adaptation is Illyria (2002) by composer Pete Mills , which continues to perform regularly throughout the United States. In 2018,
10881-479: The strategy of experimenting with the BBC One schedule. This he continued in January 2007, when he moved the current affairs series Panorama from its Sunday night slot back to the prime time Monday evening slot from which it had been removed in 2000, most likely in response to a demand from the Board of Governors of the BBC for the channel to show more current affairs programming in prime time. Fincham's judgement
10998-467: The time Michael Grade and Jonathan Powell were blamed for the decision (Grade was the target of death threats ) but it was later revealed that the decision was taken due to the series running out of creative inspiration, making it impossible to find anyone (at the time) who knew what to do with the series. On 9 September 1985, the long-standing children's programming block was overhauled and rebranded as Children's BBC , which gave it dedicated idents for
11115-462: The time exist, no visual record survives other than still photographs. The entire play was produced for television in 1939, directed by Michel Saint-Denis and starring another future Oscar-winner, Peggy Ashcroft . The part of Sir Toby Belch was taken by a young George Devine . In 1957, another adaptation of the play was presented by NBC on U.S. television's Hallmark Hall of Fame , with Maurice Evans recreating his performance as Malvolio. This
11232-442: The vast majority of children in the UK already tune in to CBeebies and CBBC to find their favourite BBC children's programmes. Far from being a 'cynical' move, we're just following where our audience has already gone." As part of the review in 2012 other changes were brought in, including: In 2012, the BBC out-bid ITV for the rights to air a British version of Dutch TV talent show The Voice . The BBC paid £22 million for
11349-534: The very diplomat attending the performance, and that it is more likely that Shakespeare used the name from the 1601 diplomatic visit when writing his play, which premiered the next winter. It was again performed at Court on Easter Monday in 1618 and on Candlemas night in 1623. The earliest public performance took place at Middle Temple Hall , one of the Inns of Court , on 2 February (Candlemas night) 1602. The lawyer John Manningham wrote in his diary: At our feast we had
11466-433: The weeks leading up to 15 November 1969, BBC1 unofficially transmitted the occasional programme in its new colour system in order to test it. At midnight on 15 November, simultaneously with ITV and two years after BBC2 had done so, BBC1 officially began 625-line PAL colour programming on UHF with a broadcast of a concert by Petula Clark . Colour transmissions could be received in monochrome via monochrome 625-line sets until
11583-546: The word "The" and moved into the BBC logo. Each new campaign incorporating the theme retained the same animated sequence. In May 2007, Fincham decided to drop Neighbours , an Australian soap opera, from BBC One after 21 years on the channel, when its producers, FremantleMedia significantly raised the price they wanted the BBC to pay for it in a bidding war. Fincham commented that it was 'a big loss', but that BBC One would not pay 'the best part of £300 million'. Neighbours left
11700-502: The £18 million salary that the BBC paid Jonathan Ross in 2006, although Ross's BBC One work—primarily consisting of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross —formed only part of his overall BBC commitment. The channel was named Channel of the Year at the 2007 Broadcast Awards. Following its rebrand in March 2002, BBC One launched The One to Watch campaign, during which animated blocks created
11817-438: Was again called into question, this time by The Telegraph , for his decision to spend £1.2 million replacing the channel's 'Rhythm and Movement' idents , which had been introduced by his predecessor Lorraine Heggessey several years earlier, with the 'Circle' idents , a set of eight ten-second films, some of which were shot abroad in locations such as Mexico and Croatia. Fincham later found himself having to publicly defend
11934-518: Was announced that Lorraine Heggessey was to leave the BBC to take up the post of Chief Executive at production company Talkback Thames . She left on 15 April. Five months after her departure, BBC One was named "Channel of the Year" at the Edinburgh Television Festival , primarily on the strength of Heggessey's commissions such as Strictly Come Dancing and Doctor Who . Joining the channel as Controller in 2005, Peter Fincham oversaw
12051-430: Was broadcast for the last time after being on air for 14 years. On 27 October 1986, BBC1 launched its daytime television schedules. In a statement, BBC Daytime head Roger Laughton said: It was the natural extension of the corporation's commitment to public service broadcasting, since half the population had access to television during the day mainly the retired, unemployed and housewives. Stereo audio transmissions, using
12168-547: Was broadcast on PBS Live From Lincoln Center. It starred Helen Hunt as Viola, Paul Rudd as Orsino, Kyra Sedgwick as Olivia, Philip Bosco as Malvolio, Brian Murray as Sir Toby, Max Wright as Sir Andrew, and David Patrick Kelly as Feste. A 2003 tele-movie adapted and directed by Tim Supple is set in the present day. It features David Troughton as Sir Toby, and is notable for its multi-ethnic cast including Parminder Nagra as Viola and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Orsino. Its portrayal of Viola and Sebastian's arrival in Illyria
12285-505: Was head of BBC Sport prior to 1981. The first major overhaul was to axe the unpopular Sixty Minutes current affairs programme: this was a replacement for the news and magazine show Nationwide . Its replacement was the BBC Six O'Clock News , a straight news programme in a bid to shore up its failing early evening slot. It was believed the BBC were planning to cut short the evening news and move more light entertainment programming in from
12402-601: Was in comparison lacking in serious programming. BBC Television became BBC1 when BBC2 launched on 20 April 1964, transmitting an incompatible 625-line image on UHF . The only way to receive all channels was to use a complex "dual-standard" 405- and 625-line receiver with both a VHF and a UHF aerial (405-line-only sets became obsolete in 1985 when VHF transmissions ended). BBC1 moved to purpose-built facilities at Television Centre on 20 September 1969. Television News continued to use Alexandra Palace as its base and by early 1968 had even converted one of its studios to colour. In
12519-487: Was just a case of where to put them." Wogan had been scheduled for a 10 pm slot, but Grade moved it to a 7 pm slot as he believed the show had potential. From February to August 1985, a high number of American mini-series were broadcast while filming took place of a number of new home grown programmes, including 'Allo 'Allo! , In Sickness and in Health , and Open All Hours . Further improvement came about when
12636-434: Was launched on 2 November 1936 under the name BBC Television Service , which was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution . It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until the launch of the second BBC channel, BBC2 , in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997. The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013
12753-418: Was made clear "Children's programmes are absolutely fundamental to the BBC and that is why we have protected investment in them in the light of cuts elsewhere." Children's programming on BBC One ended on 21 December 2012. The move was criticised by Teletubbies co-creator Anne Wood , who described the changes as "ghettoising children's programmes" and believe it was merely a cost-cutting measure. Wood said "On
12870-485: Was moved to a 19:30 slot, where it managed to soar to 20 million, helping the BBC1 audience share increase to nearly 50% for the first time since 1982. On 27 February 1985, Doctor Who was placed on an 18-month hiatus. The BBC originally planned to axe the series as they wished to spend its budgets on new programming for the channel, but was forced to back down from public pressure and Doctor Who returned in September 1986. At
12987-578: Was part of the BBC Television Shakespeare series and featured Felicity Kendal in the role of Viola, Sinéad Cusack as Olivia, Alec McCowen as Malvolio, and Robert Hardy as Sir Toby Belch. In 1988, Kenneth Branagh 's stage production of the play, starring Frances Barber as Viola and Richard Briers as Malvolio, was adapted for Thames Television . In 1998 the Lincoln Center Theater production directed by Nicholas Hytner
13104-503: Was probably commissioned for performance as part of the Twelfth Night celebrations held by Queen Elizabeth I at Whitehall Palace on 6 January 1601 to mark the end of the embassy of the Italian diplomat, the Duke of Orsino. Others dispute this, arguing that the "rigid etiquette of Queen Elizabeth's court" would have made it "impossible" for Shakespeare to name a main character in a comedy for
13221-418: Was so successful that in the United Kingdom, "Victor Meldrew" has become a byword for a bitter and complaining elderly man. However, both Renwick and Wilson himself have disagreed that Victor is an example of this stereotype and he is shown to be more of a tragicomedy character, not bitter and grumpy by nature, but driven to it due to his habit of attracting trouble. Renwick once pointed out in an interview that
13338-462: Was staged, with music by Henry Bishop . Influential productions were staged in 1912, by Harley Granville-Barker , and in 1916, at the Old Vic . Lilian Baylis reopened the long-dormant Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1931 with a notable production of the play starring Ralph Richardson as Sir Toby and John Gielgud as Malvolio. The Old Vic Theatre was reopened in 1950 (after suffering severe damage in
13455-605: Was swapped with the SD channel on Sky's EPG for HD subscribers. This was followed by the Welsh and Scottish variants on 10 December. On 24 March 2014, BBC One Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland HD launched on Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media outside the regions they were originally seen in. On 31 March 2016, BBC One HD in England moved from channel 141 on the Sky electronic programme guide to channel 115,
13572-621: Was the first colour version ever produced on TV. Dennis King , Rosemary Harris , and Frances Hyland co-starred. In 1964, there was a Canadian TV version directed by George McCowan with Martha Henry as Viola , then in 1966 there was an Australian TV version . Another version for UK television was produced in 1969, directed by John Sichel and John Dexter . The production featured Joan Plowright as Viola and Sebastian, Alec Guinness as Malvolio, Ralph Richardson as Sir Toby Belch, and Tommy Steele as an unusually prominent Feste. Yet another TV adaptation followed in 1980. This version
13689-409: Was £1.14 billion. It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. The television channel had the highest reach share of any broadcaster in the United Kingdom as at 2019, ahead of its traditional rival for ratings leadership ITV . In 2013, a major global study of the BBC by
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