Turn on, tu game afte Une in.. still er 100 years
Presenter gives quick tour through century of BBC history in Scotland
Four months after the BBC’s first transmission from London, public service broadcasting in Scotland began on March 6, 1923.
The tiny studio with one microphone in the attic of 202 Bath Street, Glasgow, was the birthplace of a powerful institution that is still going strong 100 years on.
Over the years the BBC in Scotland has faced changing attitudes, political whirlwinds and vast social changes in order to broadcast to the nation.
But it has weathered the storms and produced some of the most memorable programmes in broadcasting history, from The White Heather Club and The Wednesday Play to Naked Video, City Lights and Still Game.
Tonight , to mark the centenary, BBC Scotland is put t i n g out a special documentary – Tuned In: 100 years Of Scottish Broadcasting – hosted by Kaye Adams.
The archive-rich look at 10 decades of programming is on at 9pm and was researched by BBC radio and TV news presenter Graham Stewart.
Here, he takes us on a whistle-stop tour through a century of the BBC’s broadcasting history in Scotland.
1920s
Where it all began
It started as a very small operation. The station manager was Herbert Carruthers – an organist from Glasgow’s Park Church. Back then live music was a big part of the broadcast.
He was a conductor and knew f reelance musicians he brought in to play.
The studio was a tiny room draped in curtains with a felt f loor to help with the sound and there was one microphone on top of a box which was wheeled about. As well as the music shows, there were lectures and talks given by professors and teachers and plays performed by local rep players. Variety acts made an appearance in the 30s.
1939-1945 The war years
When World War II began, for reasons of national security, they had to close down the Scottish station and there was just one UK-wide service. The BBC in Scotland still contributed and made programmes.
During the war the controller in Scotland wanted to uplift the nation both physically and spiritually. He introduced Thought For The Day, which is still going strong, and the exercise programme Up In The Morning Early, which featured instructors Mae Brown and Jack Coleman Smith and went out every day throughout the war and came out of the Queen Margaret Drive Studios.
Comedy and class- based soap opera The McFlannels became the most popular post-war radio show. It was set in a Glasgow tenement and each of the families was named after a type of fabric.
1950s
Rise of radio comedy and Scotland’s first TV transmitter
Variety show It’s All Yours was the big hit of the 50s. It ran from 1949 to 1953 and made household names of Jimmy Logan and Stanley Baxter. This show inspired Billy Connolly to become a comedian as it was the f irst time he had heard working- class voices and working- class humour on the radio.
On March 14, 1952, Scotland got its first transmitter at Kirk o’ Shotts – half way between Edinburgh and Glasgow – which brought TV to central Scotland. The major programmes were piped up from London but there were Scottish programmes too.
1960s
The White Heather Club
The programme started in 1958 and went out right up to 1967. It is one of those programmes everybody remembers. In 1961, it started to be shown across the UK. It filled the afterteatime slot and the legendary Andy Stewart was the host. It showcased Scottish country dancing, music and a bit of comedy.
It was much maligned at the time as it projected a heather and haggis vision of Scotland but, despite being criticised, it was hugely popular.
1970s
Play For Today and the birth of Radio Scotland
The 70s saw the rise of gritty dramas. The Wednesday Play kickstarted the careers of a multitude of actors, including Jonathan
Watson, and then
City Lights led to R C Nesbitt and Chew The Fat and out that came Still Gam
Play For Today took drama to a whole new level. Playwright Peter McDougall came into his own with works including E lephant ’ s Graveyard starring Billy Connolly and Just Another Saturday about an Orange walk in Glasgow. Thi s pa r t i cula r play about sectarianism caused controversy as councillors did not like the way the city was being portrayed.
In 1970, colour TV was introduced and in 1978 Radio Scotland was launched. Before thi s , Radio Scotland was really an amalgamat ion of Radio 4 with Scottish
programmesprogrammes. For the first time ththe nation had its own entity.
1980s
The rise of Scottish comedy
Scotland’s great comedy history can be traced back to 1981 and Naked Radio. The controller at the time wanted to find new writing g talent so he created the weekly series ies which allowed writers to develop p to the stage they were ready to create TV content.
Naked Video led to the first Scottish sitcom City Lights, which led to Rab C Nesbitt and Chewin’ The Fat and out of that came Still Game. There was also Bob b Servant, who lent a comedy voice oice from another part of Scotland – Broughty oughty Ferry, Dundee.
A hundred years later BBC Scotland are still blazing a trail with Two Doors Down, Scot Squad and The Scotts.
1980s and 1990s Tragic news stories and Hogmanay hysteria
In 1988, Scotland became the focus of the world’s attention for tragic reasons – Lockerbie and the Piper Alpha disaster – then in 1996 the Dunblane mas s a c r e s ent shockwaves around the globe.
I n the past , reporters would have been brought up from London to cover big events but the majority of these stories were told by Scottish reporters and
their stories went out across the nation.
Scotland’s great tradition of seeing in the New Year, which had its origins in The White Heather Club, got taken to a whole new level in the 90s with the f irst Hogmanay Live show.
There
Bob was also who Servant, y lent a comed voice from Broughty Ferry
2000s 20
River City, The Co Commonwealth Games Ga and the Independence Ind Referendum Re
BBBBC Scotland’s first soap, RiveRiver City, launched in 2003 and iis still going strong 20 years on.on Everyone has fallen in love with ShieldinchSh and its residents. And 2014 will go down in history as one of the biggest, with the world’s media flocking to Glasgow to cover the Commonwealth Games and IndyRef. Most of the Beeb decamped to the banks of the Clyde and these two events showed what powerhouses Radio Scotland and BBC Scotland are.
2019
BBC Scotland Channel
People had been demanding a channel dedicated to Scotland for a long time. BBC Alba arrived in 2008 followed by BBC Scotland in 2019.
Now with two channels dedicated to Scotland, viewers have a much bigger choice and can watch programmes which shine a light on diverse Scottish communities and subjects.
Broadcasting in Scotland has managed to ride the wave of change and deserves to have reached the milestone of its 100th birthday.
It’s a special moment.