TV by the Decade :: February 20•26

BBC One

The last full week of February was the second week in a row that featured no new series debuts in the US (mainly because February is a sweeps month and the networks are bulking up on original episodes of already established series, special and special events like the Olympics and various awards shows like the Grammys and Oscars (delayed this year due to the pandemic). So with nothing new hitting the airwaves in the US, let’s take a trip across the pond to the UK to see what new shows made their debuts in the month of February. UK telly is much different than in the US with many a ‘one-off’ series coming and going, some never to be seen again (quite a few of the early series have gone missing). Many are also not well-known in the US, if at all, but a couple were Americanized … but not very successfully, and some were exported to the US. So have yourself a cuppa and check out what the UK had to offer viewers over the last 70 years. If you’ve seen any of these shows, tell us what you thought in the comments below!

1952

February 19 – Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School

• Cast: Gerald Campion, Jack Melford, Julian Yardley, Kynaston Reeves, Anthony Valentine, Brian Roper, John Charlesworth, Keith Faulkner, David Coote, Laurence Harrington, Alaric Cotter, Jeremy Bulloch
• Notable Guests: John Woodnutt, Michael Crawford, Colin Campbell, Jack Rutherford, Edward Lexy, David Hemmings, Frank Thornton, John Quayle, Patricia Leventon
• Synopsis: The misadventures of student Billy Bunter.
• Network: BBC
• Broadcast History: Seven series, 52 episodes, last broadcast on July 22 1961
• Trivia: Only 9 of the series’ episodes are known to exist. Based on the Greyfriars School stories, written by author Charles Hamilton under the pen name Frank Richards. Hamilton wrote all of the scripts for the television show. Gerald Campion was 29 when cast as a schoolboy half his age. Campion had to wear padding to make him appear heavier than he was in order to match the description of Bunter in the stories. As actual child actors played Billy’s classmates, they had to be recast over the run of the series after aging out of their roles.

1962

February 2 – Corrigan Blake

• Cast: John Turner, Paul Daneman, Tutte Lemkow, Robert Mill, Yvonne Howard
• Notable Guests: Angela Douglas, Jane Merrow, Bryan Pringle, Jan Holden, Yootha Joyce, Waris Hussein
• Synopsis: The comic adventures of Corrigan Blake, habitual womaniser and rogue, with his aristocrat sidekick ‘Wally’ Smith.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 5 June 1963
• Trivia: All episodes of this series are believed to be lost.

February 19 – Barbara in Black

• Cast: Tracey Lloyd, Anthony Newlands, John Cairney, John Gill, Edward Evans, Douglas Blackwell, Dilys Davies, Hubert Rees, Ieuan Rhys Williams, Neil McCarthy, Jack Rodney
• Notable Guests: Marshall Jones, Neville Becker, Margaret John
• Synopsis: Barbara Griffiths found herself caught up in a mystery when her miner father went missing.
• Network: BBC
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 26 March 1962
• Trivia: All six episodes are believed to be lost.

1972

February 3 – Six with Rix

• Cast: Brian Rix, Peter Bland, Leo Franklyn, George Little, Sheila Mercier, Derek Royle, Stephanie Voss
• Notable Guests: Anna Dawson, John Quayle
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 9 March 1972

February 11 – The Scobie Man

• Cast: Maurice Roëves, Claire Nielson, John Grieve, Michael Hawkins, Leonard Maguire, Calum Mill, Alexandra Bastedo, Victor Carin, Ian Halliburton
• Notable Guests: Ian Ireland, Michael Angelis, Mary McCusker
• Synopsis: Scobie becomes caught up in an arson attack on an art gallery.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 4 episodes, last broadcast on 3 March 1972
• Trivia: Three of the four episodes are currently missing from the BBC Archives.

February 14 – Fingerbobs

• Cast: Rick Jones
• Synopsis: Charming finger puppet series with Yoffy telling stories featuring Fingermouse, Scampi, Gulliver the Seagull, and other animal characters.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 13 episodes, last broadcast on 15 May 1972
• Trivia: The first episode was broadcast on February 14, 1972 on BBC1 as part of Watch with Mother. The 13 episodes were regularly repeated until December 1984. After filming the last episode, Jones destroyed the mouse puppet while the camera was still rolling. Fingermouse gained his own series in 1985. In this series, the focus was more on musical instruments.

February 14 – Home and Away

• Cast: Rosalind Ayres, Tony Melody, Gillian Raine, George Sewell, Stephen Temperley, Bernard Wrigley
• Synopsis: The series focused on middle aged Brenda, married to Godfrey and with four growing children (the eldest at Uni in York) who feels that life is passing her by.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 7 episodes, last broadcast on 27 March 1972

ITV

February 15 – Romany Jones

• Cast: Arthur Mullard, Queenie Watts, James Beck, Jo Rowbottom, Kevin Brennan, Maureen Sweeney, Jonathan Cecil, Gay Soper, Alan Ford
• Notable Guests: John Barron, Harry Littlewood, Joan Benham, Geoffrey Keen
• Synopsis: The comic misadventures of two layabout families living on a caravan site.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: Four series, 27 episodes, last broadcast on 11 July 1975
• Trivia: Originally conceived as a star vehicle for James Beck, Beck died in 1973 and the characters of Bert and Betty Jones were written out. Arthur Mullard & Queenie Watts reprised their roles as Wally and Lily in Holiday on the Buses. Chris Boucher, who would go on to write for Doctor Who, Blake’s 7 and Star Cops, wrote the Series 1 episode ‘Run Rabbit Run’.

February 18 – Clochemerle

• Cast: Roy Dotrice, Wendy Hiller, Cyril Cusack, Kenneth Griffith, Cyd Hayman, Bernard Bresslaw, Hugh Griffith, Micheline Presle, Madeline Smith, Christian Roberts, Nigel Green, Wolfe Morris, Gordon Rollings
• Notable Guests: Georgina Moon, Elspeth MacNaughton, Dennis Price
• Synopsis: A rural French town attempts to erect a public urinal.
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: One series, 7 episodes, last broadcast on 14 April 1972
• Trivia: Based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Gabriel Chevallier. A co-production between the BBC and West Germany’s Bavaria Film. Peter Ustinov was the narrator. Filmed on location in France.

February 19 – The Befrienders

• Cast: Megs Jenkins, Michael Culver, Peter Armitage, Jane Wellow, Jenny Till
• Notable Guests: Peter Halliday, Gillian Bailey, Anthony Bate, Joan Benham, Jeremy Clyde, Jean Marsh, Patrick Troughton
• Synopsis: The series dealt with the work of the Samaritans organisation, and the individual cases its staff came across.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 11 episodes, last broadcast on 29 April 1972
• Trivia: The Befrienders was first aired as a single play as part of the Drama Playhouse strand in 1970. Two episodes are missing from the BBC Archives.

February 19 – Both Ends Meet

• Cast: Dora Bryan, Ivor Dean, Wendy Richard, Pat Ashton, Deddie Davies, Timothy Bateson, Fanny Carby, Meadows White, Paddy Ward, Joan Benham, John Lyons, David Howe, Peter Vaughan-Clarke
• Notable Guests: John Junkin, Ricardo Montez, Patricia Hamilton
• Synopsis: British TV sitcom for London Weekend Television set around women workers in a sausage factory, and Dora Page a working class widow raising her son alone.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: Two series, 13 episodes, last broadcast on 10 November 1972
• Trivia: The second series of 6 episodes was simply titled Dora. Guest actress Patricia Hamilton was the real live wife of lead actor Ivor Dean.

February 20 – Anne of Green Gables

• Cast: Kim Braden, Elliott Sullivan, Barbara Hamilton, Avis Bunnage, Jan Francis, Robin Halstead, Kim Hardy, Zuleika Robson, Angela Savy
• Notable Guests: Larry Cross, Freddie Earlle, Edmond Bennett, Helen Horton, Joy Harington
• Synopsis: Orphan Anne Shirley is adopted by the Cuthbert siblings.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 5 episodes, last broadcast on 19 March 1972.
• Trivia: Based upon the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This programme is considered lost. A sequel was produced in 1975, also starring Kim Braden.

February 21 – The Regiment

• Cast: Christopher Cazenove, Denis Lill, Wendy Allnutt, Bernard Brown, Michael Brennan
• Notable Guests: Frederick Treves, Maria Aitken, Roy Herrick, Shirley Dixon, Richard Wordsworth, David Troughton, Tim Pigott-Smith, Christopher Neame, Joy Harington, Susan Penhaligon
• Synopsis: The series followed the Cotswold Regiment from 1895 to 1904, and in particular the Gaunt and Bright families.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: Two series, 23 episodes, last broadcast on 4 May 1973
• Trivia: Based on a single play broadcast in 1970 as part of the BBC Drama Playhouse series. It once received a brief review in the Glasgow Weekly News ‘The Regiment: ought to be disbanded’. The theme music to the series was the finale of the Triumphal March from ‘Caractacus’ by Sir Edward Elgar.

ITV

February 24 – My Good Woman

• Cast: Leslie Crowther, Sylvia Syms, Keith Barron, Glyn Houston, Richard Wilson
• Notable Guests: Bryan Pringle, Harold Bennett, Peter Jones
• Synopsis: Clive Gibbons believes his life is falling apart but his wife, Sylvia, is the champion do-gooder of the parish and does not share his views. If only he could persuade her that charity begins at home.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: Five series, 39 episodes, last broadcast on 15 October 1974
• Trivia: Two episodes are missing from the ITV Archives. Though produced in colour, a large number of episodes only exist in black-and-white.

February 27 – Pretenders

• Cast: Frederick Jaeger, Curtis Arden, Elizabeth Robillard, James Cossins
• Notable Guests: Jonathan Newth, Constance Chapman, Maurice Good, John Thaw, George Waring
• Synopsis: In England in 1685, two children are caught up in the Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion against King James II.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 13 episodes, last broadcast on 21 May 1972
• Trivia: Filmed in Somerset, England and Wales. The series was broadcast after the death of Hamilton Dyce on 8 January 1972. He appeared in six episodes as Colonel Kirke.

1982

February 10 – Nancy Astor

• Cast: Lisa Harrow, Lise Hilboldt, James Fox, Dan O’Herlihy, Nigel Havers, Pierce Brosnan, David Warner
• Notable Guests: Sylvia Syms, Neil McCarthy, Julian Glover, Mary Healey, Robert Raglan, Charles Dance, Jon Glover, Michael Troughton, Pat Gorman
• Synopsis: Portrays the career of Nancy Astor, the American-born socialite and Conservative Party politician who pioneered the role of women in the House of Commons.
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: One series, 9 episodes, last broadcast on 7 April 1982
• Trivia: While the series aired in the UK in nine parts, it aired in the US on PBS Masterpiece in 1984 in eight parts.

February 12 – We’ll Meet Again

• Cast: Susannah York, Michael J. Shannon, Patrick O’Connell, Lynne Pearson, James Saxon, Lou Hirsch, Patrick Pearson, Kathryn Pogson, Ray Smith, June Barry, Lise Ann McLaughlin, Ed Devereaux, Gavan O’Herlihy, Ronald Hines, Natalie Ogle, Carolyn Pickles, Christopher Malcolm
• Notable Guests: Holly Watson, Stuart Milligan, Danny Webb, Martin Friend
• Synopsis: Set around the clandestine and illicit love affair between civilian doctor Helen Dereham, whose husband was away fighting in Africa, and the commanding officer of the nearby USAAF base, Major Jim Kiley.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 13 episodes, last broadcast on 14 May 1982
• Trivia: The show’s title was based on the popular wartime song ‘We’ll Meet Again’ performed by Dame Vera Lynn. Writer David Butler produced a novel called We’ll Meet Again: The End of an Era that continued the story beyond the TV series.

February 15 – Dead Ernest

• Cast: Andrew Sachs, Ken Jones, Harry Fowler, Janet Rawson
• Notable Guests: Zena Walker, Gretchen Franklin, George Waring
• Synopsis: Ernest dies after getting hit between the eyes by a flying champagne cork. Goes to heaven, and that’s where the fun really starts.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 7 episodes, last broadcast on 29 March 1982
• Trivia: First sitcom made by the newly formed Central Television.

February 16 – Legacy of Murder

• Cast: Dick Emery, Richard Vernon, Barry Evans
• Notable Guests: Thomas Baptiste, Lee Whitlock, Patsy Rowlands, Roy Kinnear, Alfie Curtis
• Synopsis: A struggling London private detective and his assistant are hired by a lawyer to locate six people concerned with the inheritance of an eccentric aristocrat.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 23 March 1982
• Trivia: Also known as Emery Presents: Legacy of Murder. Dick Emery played several different characters.

February 16 – On Safari

• Presenters: Christopher Biggins, Gillian Taylforth
• Notable Guests: Melvyn Hayes, Roy Kinnear, Barbara Windsor, Suzi Quatro, Gareth Hunt, Hazel O’Connor
• Synopsis: Children partnered with celebrities to compete against each other in a safari-themed game show.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: Four series, 54 episodes, last broadcast on 11 December 1984
• Trivia: A Christmas special was broadcast on 22 December 1982.

February 18 – County Hall

• Cast: Andrew Byatt, Roger Walker, Moira Brooker, Ian Thompson, Gordon Gostelow, Helen Bourne, Ian Redford, Gillian Bailey, Jamie Cresswell
• Notable Guests: Walter Gotell, Jeremy Wilkin, Peter Halliday, Tim Faulkner
• Synopsis: As a result of recent county council elections, the balance of power at County Hall is extremely delicate. The Liberals can only retain control by forming a coalition with Eddie Morgan’s Ratepayers Alliance. Among the permanent administrative staff the mood is one of anxiety as their masters jockey for position.
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: One series, 12 episodes, last broadcast on 6 May 1982

February 26 – The Haunting of Cassie Palmer

• Cast: Helen Probyn, Elizabeth Spriggs, Ruth Adcock, Stephen Bint, Geoffrey Rose
• Notable Guests: Harold Gasnier, Joy Harington, David Shaughnessy
• Synopsis: 13 year old Cassie, the daughter of a psychic medium, decides to see if she has inherited her mothers powers. She tries to conjure up a spirit, with unexpected results.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 2 April 1982
• Trivia: Based on a novel by Vivien Alcock. Broadcast in the US on Nickelodeon as part of the series The Third Eye. The master recordings have been destroyed and the show is considered lost by the archive TV preservation group Kaleidoscope, although recordings have appeared on YouTube.

February 28 – Father Charlie

• Cast: Lionel Jeffries, Anna Quayle, Denyse Alexander, Jean Bulk Morton, Deddie Davies, Jamila Massey, Annet Peters, Gillian Royale, Wendy Smith
• Notable Guests: John Savident, Christopher Good,Harry Landis
• Synopsis: Sitcom about a troublesome vicar who is sent to convent to be kept watch over.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 11 April 1982
• Trivia: ITV accidentally broadcast the second episode first, confusing viewers when the first episode that set up the events of the series was broadcast the following week. This seemed to have doomed the show to failure right from the start.

1992

ITV

February 9 – Maigret

• Cast: Michael Gambon, Geoffrey Hutchings, Jack Galloway, James Larkin
• Notable Guests: John Moffatt, Ciaran Madden, Barbara Flynn, James Clyde, Gareth Thomas, Minnie Driver, Brenda Blethyn, Harold Innocent, Pip Torrens, Michael Sheen, Jon Finch, Michael J. Shannon, Toyah Willcox, Michael Billington
• Synopsis: From Montmartre to the remote French countryside, Maigret encounters the dark side of the human psyche. Yet, he manages to maintain both compassion and a sense of humor as he explores the complex motives that lie behind every crime.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: Two series, 12 episodes, last broadcast on 18 April 1993
• Trivia: An adaptation of the books by Georges Simenon. Each of the episodes was based on a single book. The program aired in the United States on Mystery! Filmed in Budapest, which doubled for post-WWII France. Richard Harris played the role of Maigret in 1988. Michael Gambon took over the role for the 1992 series, and Gambon also took over the role of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films after Harris’ death.

February 16 – The Old Boy Network

• Cast: Tom Conti, John Standing, Robert Lang, Georgia Allen, Jayne Brook
• Notable Guests: Annie Lambert, Richard Syms, Eamonn Walker
• Synopsis: Two very different former MI6 spies partner up and open a private spy agency together.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 7 episodes, last broadcast on 29 March 1992
• Trivia: The character of Lucas Frye was based on James Bond, while Peter Duckham was based on George Smiley.

February 17 – Underbelly

• Cast: David Hayman, Tom Wilkinson, John McArdle, Christine Kavanagh, Michael Feast, Penny Downie, Lee Nicolls, Fred Pearson, David Coatsworth, Ray Winstone
• Notable Guests: Tony Doyle, Jackie Morrison, Frederick Treves
• Synopsis: A successful property developer stands trial for corruption, while his best friend, Minister for Prisons, struggles to keep a rooftop protest from becoming another Strangeways. Just when both men seem destined to win, fate takes a hand and their lives are changed for ever.
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: One series, 4 episodes, last broadcast on 9 March 1992
• Trivia: Winner of the BAFTA TV Award for Best Sound (Fiction).

February 18 – Men Behaving Badly

• Cast: Martin Clunes, Caroline Quentin, Leslie Ash, Neil Morrissey, Ian Lindsay, Valerie Minifie
• Notable Guests: Harry Enfield, Robin Kermode, Richard Strange, Tamzin Outhwaite, Richard Dillane, Hugo Speer, Catherine Tate,Kylie Minogue
• Synopsis: Two early thirties best friends live together while having completely different personalities. While their girlfriends try to help them take on more responsibilities the boys seldom respond well and usually end up drinking together.
• Network: ITV / BBC One
• Broadcast History: Six series, 42 episodes, last broadcast on 28 December 1998
• Trivia: Based on Simon Nye’s 1989 book of the same title. The series became a success after moving to BBC One, earning the first Comedy Awards’ National Television Award for Situation Comedy. When Harry Enfield announced he was leaving at the end of the first series, producer Thames Television nearly ended the series but was convinced to continue with Neil Morrissey replacing Enfield. When Thames lost their television franchise, ITV decided 7 million viewers was not sufficient and withdrew support for the show. Producer Beryl Vertue was angry about the decision and approached the BBC to pick up the show, which it did. The first series with Enfield has never been repeated on the BBC. The series was remade for American television for NBC during the 1996-1997 season. It ran just two seasons as American viewers did not appreciate the humor. The original series was aired on BBC America, retitled British Men Behaving Badly.

February 18 – Just Us

• Cast: Kay Mellor, Dan Riley, Sarah Wheatley, William Chubb
• Notable Guests: Dinah Sheridan, Helen Christie
• Synopsis: Just Us addressed the plight of children from broken or otherwise one-parent homes. The individual episodes recounted the trials and tribulations of youngsters and teenagers as they tried to adjust to their new step-parents.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: Three series, 24 episodes, last broadcast on 11 March 1994
• Trivia: Winner of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain award for Best TV Drama.

February 19 – A Likely Lad

• Cast: Christopher Benjamin, John Flanagan, Alice Martin, Robert Curley, Richard Huw, Lottie Ward, Sue Wallace, Paul Sarginson
• Notable Guests: Ann Way, Hugh Walters
• Synopsis: A children’s drama set in 1900. Willy Overs is nearly 13 – old enough to leave school. His father has strong opinions about Willy’s future, but Willy has made up his own mind.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 25 March 1992

February 22 – The Brian Conley Show

• Cast: Brian Conley, Fern Britton, John Sachs, Ray Tizzard
• Notable Guests: Gareth Hunt, John Anderson, Level 42, East 17, Bay City Rollers, Alice Cooper, Leslie Nielsen, Kathleen Turner
• Synopsis: Comedy variety show, and later a comedy chat show.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: Seven series, 53 episodes, last broadcast on 3 August 2002
• Trivia: The series was broadcast between 1992 and 1995, then from 2000 to 2002 in a chat show format.

February 23 – So Haunt Me

• Cast: Miriam Karlin, George Costigan, Tessa Peake-Jones, Laura Howard, Jeremy Green, David Graham
• Notable Guests: Tanya Moodie, David Curtiz, Jez Butterworth, Bryan Pringle, Hugo Speer
• Synopsis: A suburban family find their new home is still occupied by the ghost of its previous owner, a middle-aged Jewish woman.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: Three series, 18 episodes (plus 1 special), last broadcast on February 6, 1994

February 24 – Mulberry

• Cast: Karl Howman, Geraldine McEwan, Tony Selby, John Bennett
• Notable Guests: Mary Healey, Sylvia Syms
• Synopsis: Mulberry, the cheerful Cockney son of Death and Springtime, starts his ‘career’ as the Grim Reaper’s apprentice when he is sent to collect the acerbic and reclusive Miss Farnaby. He instead joins the staff in her creaky manor house, becomes her personal servant, and endeavors to help her enjoy life during the three month extension grudgingly granted by his dad.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: Two series, 13 episodes, last broadcast on 25 May 1993
• Trivia: A third series had been planned but was cancelled, leaving the story without an ending.

February 27 – Us Girls

• Cast: Mona Hammond, Marlaine Gordon, Allister Bain, Kerry Potter, Joanne Campbell, Nicola Blackman, Doña Croll
• Notable Guests: Nick Pickard, Jeillo Edwards
• Synopsis: BBC television sitcom about the culture gap among three generations of West Indian women.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: Two series, 12 episodes, last broadcast on 14 April 1993
• Trivia: Nicola Blackman replaced Joanne Campbell in the lead role of Bev Pinnock in the second series.

February 28 – Growing Rich

• Cast: Martin Kemp, John Stride, Rosalind Bennett, Claire Hackett, Caroline Harker, Barry Jackson, Pearce Quigley, Jacqueline Tong, Jamie Foster, Tony Haygarth, Mark Kingston, Adam Morris, Tim Preece, Maggie Steed
• Notable Guests: Brenda Bruce, Jason Carter, Graham Norton, Sebastian Shaw
• Synopsis: Three young girls from rural East Anglia are changed forever when one of them has a chance encounter with Devil.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 3 April 1992

2002

February 3 – Blood Strangers

• Cast: Caroline Quentin, Paul McGann, Siobhan Finneran, Sheridan Smith, David Crellin, Ray Panthaki, Daine McCormick, Rita May
• Synopsis: A mother is dealt a double blow when she learns that her murdered teenage daughter was working as a prostitute.
• Network: ITV
• Broadcast History: One series, 2 episodes, last broadcast on February 4, 2002
• Trivia: More than nine million viewers tuned in for both episodes.

February 7 – The Estate Agents

• Cast: Dan Clark, Adam G. Goodwin, Cliff Kelly, Mark Arden, Barry J. Gordon
• Notable Guests: Javier Alcina, Debbie Chazen, Kate Terence
• Synopsis: The day to day lives of Estate Agents and what they really get up to in the office.
• Network: Channel 4
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 14 March 2002
• Trivia: The series was inspired by a one-off sketch on Channel 4’s Comedy Lab.

February 17 – Outside the Rules

• Cast: Daniela Nardini, Danny Webb, Leslie Phillips, Anastasia Hill, Heather McHale, Laura Balboni, Christopher Batten, Tim Dutton, Janine Cooper, Ray Fearon
• Synopsis: A child is missing and a woman is accused of her murder and that of four other children. A forensic psychiatrist is charged with finding out the truth.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 4 episodes, last broadcast February 26. 2002

February 19 – Manchild

• Cast: Ray Burdis, Nigel Havers, Anthony Head, Don Warrington, Lindsey Coulson
• Notable Guests: Ben Porter, Daniel Mays, Lourdes Faberes, Alexander Newland, Michelle Gomez
• Synopsis: Four successful fifty-something men deal with different problems such as marriage and children or life after divorce, aging parents, sexual dysfunction, lost youth, a succession of (younger) girlfriends, and the problems of how to enjoy the wealth and success they worked so hard to achieve.
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: Two series, 15 episodes, last broadcast on 15 April 2003
• Trivia: A pilot for an American version of the series was produced for Showtime with James Purefoy, Kevin Smith, John Corbett and Paul Hipp, but it was not picked up.

February 24 – UK Top 40

• Presenters: Adrian Dickson, Konnie Huq, Andrew Hayden-Smith
• Synopsis: A charts-based programme.
• Network: CBBC Channel
• Broadcast History: THree series, last broadcast on 16 June 2005
• Trivia: The second series was reduced to 30 minutes when the CBBC put new series The Agents in UK Top 40‘s Sunday 6:00 PM time slot. The show returned to a 60-minute format for the third series. Viewers left the series when Top of the Pops was moved into the same time slot on the BBC.

2012

February 2 – Inside Men

• Cast: Steven Mackintosh, Warren Brown, Nicola Walker, Ashley Walters, Hannah Merry, Leila Mimmack, Kierston Wareing, Paul Popplewell, Rebekah Staton, Gregg Chilingirian
• Notable Guests: Ruth Gemmell, Cornell John, Mark Roper, Simon Chadwick
• Synopsis: The story of three employees of a security depot who plan and execute a multi-million pound cash heist.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 4 episodes, last broadcast on February 23, 2012

February 6 – Jedward’s Big Adventure

• Presenters: Jedward (John and Edward Grimes)
• Notable Guests: Joe Swash, Shannon Flynn, Stacey Solomon, Bobby Lockwood, Dominique Moore
• Synopsis: Jedward visit various UNESCO historical sites around the United Kingdom with a celebrity guest, tasked with learning as much about each site as possible, before leading a tour of real tourists and passing on what they’ve learned.
• Network: CBBC
• Broadcast History: Three series, 20 episodes, last broadcast on 31 January 2014
• Trivia: The first two series consisted of five episodes each, the third series was expanded to ten.

February 6 – The Diamond Queen

• Presenter: Andrew Marr
• Synopsis: Documentary series which looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 3 episodes, last broadcast on February 20, 2012

February 7 – Death Unexplained

• Cast: Alison Thompson, Ashley Fegan-Earl, John Mitchell, Diane Whiting
• Synopsis: Documentary series about the investigation of unexplained deaths in West London.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 3 episodes, last broadcast on February 21, 2012

February 8 – Kevin Bridges: What’s the Story?

• Cast: Kevin Bridges
• Notable Guests: Frank Skinner, Mickey Flanagan, James Corden, Sarah Millican, Jack Whitehall, Jack Dee
• Synopsis: Kevin Bridges performs stand-up comedy and talks about the inspirations for his work.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 14 March 2012

February 17 – The Mad Bad Ad Show

• Cast: Mark Dolan, Micky Flanagan, Mark Watson
• Notable Guests: Miles Jupp, Lorraine Kelly, Rachel Riley, Joe Wilkinson
• Synopsis: The premise of the show is based around answering questions about and related to advertisements.
• Network: Channel 4
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 13 April 2012

February 20 – The Tube

• Narrator: Julian Barratt
• Synopsis: Documentary series following the staff and passengers of the London Underground as it undergoes the biggest upgrade in its history.
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: One series, 6 episodes, last broadcast on 26 March 2012
• Trivia: While there were no plans for a second series, Blast! Films produced an identically themed show titled The Tube: Going Underground in 2016 for Channel 5. The series was released on DVD as The Underground.

February 20 – Watson & Oliver

• Cast: Lorna Watson, Ingrid Oliver, Daisy Aitkens, Vicki Hopps
• Notable Guests: Marcus Garvey, Jenny Bede, Peter Serafinowicz, John Barrowman, Dominique Moore
• Synopsis: Sketch show created and performed by Lorna Watson and Ingrid Oliver.
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: Two series, 12 episodes, last broadcast on 30 May 2013

BBC Three

February 23 – Pramface

• Cast: Sean Verey, Scarlett Alice Johnson, Yasmin Paige, Dylan Edwards, Ben Crompton, Bronagh Gallagher, Angus Deayton, Anna Chancellor, Emer Kenny
• Notable Guests: Miranda Hennessy, Amanda Donohoe, Ben Aldridge, Dolly Wells
• Synopsis: A girl from a middle-class family gets drunk one night and sleeps with a working-class boy, who also happens to be younger than she, and gets pregnant. But are there really feelings there?
• Network: BBC Three
• Broadcast History: Three series, 19 episodes, last broadcast on 25 March 2014
• Trivia: The show was filmed in and around Edinburgh, Scotland.

February 24 – Melvyn Bragg on Class and Culture

• Presenter: Melvyn Bragg
• Synopsis: British documentary series about class and popular culture in the United Kingdom from 1911 to 2011.
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: One series, 3 episodes, last broadcast on 9 March 2012

February 25 – Pop Life

• Narrator: Suranne Jones
• Synopsis: British documentary series about pop music
• Network: BBC Two
• Broadcast History: One series, 3 episodes, last broadcast on 10 March 2012

February 27 – Cleverdicks

• Presenter: Ann Widdecombe
• Synopsis: Four contestants competed in each episode for the right to call themselves ‘cleverdicks’ and play for a roll-over cash jackpot.
• Network: Sky Atlantic
• Broadcast History: One series, 30 episodes, last broadcast on 6 April 2012
• Trivia: A cleverdick is a person who is ‘irritatingly and ostentatiously knowledgeable or intelligent.’ The show deliberately featured Britain’s top quiz players, including former contestants on other quiz shows.

February 27 – Empire

• Presenter: Jeremy Paxman
• Synopsis: Charting the rise of the British Empire from the trading companies of India to the rule over a quarter of the world’s population and its legacy in the modern world.
• Network: BBC One
• Broadcast History: One series, 5 episodes, last broadcast on 26 March 2012