1980 in British television

List of years in British television (table)
... 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 ... 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 ... 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 ...
Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Philosophy Science +...

This is a list of British television related events from 1980.

Events

• 20 January – The British record TV audience for a film is set when some 23,500,000 viewers tune in for the ITV showing of the James Bond film Live and Let Die, released in 1973 and starring Roger Moore who is now in the process of filming his fifth film as the spy.
• 24 January – The IBA reappoints most ITV franchises.
• 25 February – The first episode of the popular political sitcom Yes Minister, "Open Government", is broadcast by the BBC.
• 4 April – Violet Carson makes her last appearance as Ena Sharples on Coronation Street.
• 9 April – ATV airs the critically acclaimed Death of a Princess, a drama documentary about a young princess from a fictitious Middle-Eastern Islamic nation and her lover who are publicly executed for adultery. The drama is believed to be based on the true story of Princess Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud and its showing causes a great deal of controversy, provoking an angry response from the Government of Saudi Arabia.
• 5 May – Both the BBC and ITV interrupt their scheduled programming to broadcast the SAS assault during the Iranian Embassy siege. The coverage launches the careers of several journalists, such as the BBC's Kate Adie, while cameraman David Goldsmith and his team receive a BAFTA for their coverage.
• 6 May – The BBC's five-year-old Ceefax service is rebranded as Orbit.
• 21 November
  • The first annual Children in Need charity appeal organised by the BBC.
  • 21.5 million viewers tune in to watch the 1980–81 season premier of Dallas, which answers the question of Who shot J.R.?. At the time the audience figures are a record for a soap in Britain.
• 9 December
  • The single drama The Flipside of Dominick Hide is first broadcast as part of the Play for Today series on BBC1.
  • 20th anniversary of the first episode of Coronation Street.
• 28 December – A shake-up of broadcasting franchises paves the way for the launch of breakfast television. TV-am is awarded the contract to begin transmission in 1983. Also, it is announced that TSW will replace Westward and TVS will replace Southern. ATV must restructure the company to create a separate East and West Midlands service, and reduce the shareholding of its parent body to 51% by February 1981.
• 30 December – The BBC announce their intention to launch their own breakfast television service to compete with TV-am, announced two days earlier. Breakfast Time is launched on BBC1 on 17 January 1983, two weeks before TV-am.
• BBC2 and Yorkshire Television air their computer generated clocks.

Debuts

BBC1

• 1 January – Hi-de-Hi! (1980–1988)
• 14 July – Watchdog (1980–present)
• 30 August – Juliet Bravo (1980–1985)
• 21 November – Children in Need (1980–present)

BBC2

• 7 January – Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way (1980)
• 30 January – Newsnight (1980–present)
• 25 February – Yes Minister (1980–1988)
• 1 November – Did You See...? (1980–1993)

ITV

• 6 January – Family Fortunes (1980–1985, 1987–2002, 2006–present)
• 1 February – Play Your Cards Right (1980–1987, 1994–1999, 2002–2003)
• 19 February – Take the High Road (1980–2003)
• 11 April – The Gentle Touch (1980–1984)
• 6 May – Cockleshell Bay (1980–1986)
• 13 May – Into the Labyrinth (1980–1982)
• 8 December – Button Moon (1980–1988)

Television shows

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• The Good Old Days (1953–1983)
• Panorama (1953–present)
• Crackerjack (1955–1984)
• What the Papers Say (1956–2008)
• The Sky at Night (1957–present)
• Blue Peter (1958–present)
• Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street (1960–present)
• Songs of Praise (1961–present)
• Animal Magic (1962–1983)
• Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005–present)
• World in Action (1963–1998)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Match of the Day (1964–present)
• Crossroads (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
• Play School (1964–1988)
• Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999, 2008–2010, 2012–present)
• World of Sport (1965–1985)
• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006–present)
• Sportsnight (1965–1997)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• It's a Knockout (1966–1982, 1999–2001)
• The Money Programme (1966–present)
• ITV Playhouse (1967–1982)
• The Big Match (1968–2002)
• Nationwide (1969–1983)

1970s

• The Goodies (1970–1982)
• The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–1987)
• The Two Ronnies (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)
• Clapperboard (1972–1982)
• Crown Court (1972–1984)
• Pebble Mill at One (1972–1986)
• Rainbow (1972–1992, 1994–1995)
• Emmerdale (1972–present)
• Newsround (1972–present)
• Weekend World (1972–1988)
• Pipkins (1973–1981)
• We Are the Champions (1973–1987)
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)
• That's Life! (1973–1994)
• It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981)
• Tiswas (1974–1982)
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)
• Arena (1975–present)
• Jim'll Fix It (1975–1994)
• The Muppet Show (1976–1981)
• When the Boat Comes In (1976–1981)
• Multi-Coloured Swap Shop (1976–1982)
• Rentaghost (1976–1984)
• One Man and His Dog (1976–present)
• Robin's Nest (1977–1981)
• You’re Only Young Twice (1977–1981)
• The Professionals (1977–1983)
• Blake's 7 (1978–1981)
• Strangers (1978–1982)
• Butterflies (1978–1983, 2000)
• 3-2-1 (1978–1988)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008)
• Agony (1979–1981)
• Something Else (1979–1981)
• To the Manor Born (1979–1981, 2007)
• Worzel Gummidge (1979–1981)
• Dick Turpin (1979–1982)
• Friday Night, Saturday Morning (1979–1982)
• Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)
• Only When I Laugh (1979–1982)
• Sapphire & Steel (1979–1982)
• Terry and June (1979–1987)
• The Book Tower (1979–1989)
• Blankety Blank (1979–1990, 1997–2002)
• The Paul Daniels Magic Show (1979–1994)
• Antiques Roadshow (1979–present)
• Question Time (1979–present)

Ending this year

• 6 June – Magpie (1968–1980)
• 7 August – The Cuckoo Waltz (1975–1980)
• 26 October – The Onedin Line (1971–1980)
• 21 December – Shoestring (1979–1980)
• 31 December – Citizen Smith (1977–1980)

Births

• 24 March — Amanda Davies, BBC sportscaster
• 8 April – Ben Freeman, actor
• 6 May – Jo Blythe, weather presenter
• 22 May – Lucy Gordon, actress and model (died 2009)
• 1 June – Oliver James, actor
• 4 June – Philip Olivier, actor
• 18 July – Tasmin Lucia-Khan, journalist and news presenter
• 23 August – Joanne Froggatt, actress
• 1 September – Lara Pulver, actress
• 6 September – Kerry Katona, television presenter, actress and singer
• 4 November – Amy Cole, reporter and presenter
• 19 November – Adele Silva, actress
• 5 December – Cherry Healey, television presenter
• 25 December – Laura Sadler, television actress (died 2003)

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Cinematic Credibility
14 May	Hugh Griffith	67	film, stage and television actor
26 April	Cicely Courtneidge	87	actress
23 June	John Laurie	83	actor (Dad's Army)
24 July	Peter Sellers	54	comedian and actor (Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther)
24 August	Yootha Joyce	53	actor (Man About the House, George and Mildred)
6 October	Hattie Jacques	58	actress
8 December	John Lennon	40	singer (The Beatles)