MOVING IM AGES T H E P OWER O F T EL E VISI O N Words by Rachel Ward Photos courtesy of Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock Photo (1966 World Cup, 1969 Moon landing and 1985 Live Aid); Allstar Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo (Only Fools and Horses); BAFTA/Charlie Clift (Sir David Attenborough); BAFTA/Hannah Taylor (This Morning Tribute); BAFTA/Shutterstock/James Gourley(Strictly Come Dancing); BAFTA (The Great British Bake Off)
Television is an art form that works on so many levels. It can stimulate us emotionally and intellectually, it can bring us together in celebration and in times of heartache. It can take us to wondrous places, both real and fictional. It can entertain and it can soothe. It can break down barriers and establish long-lasting friendships. Powerful stuff!
anuary this year marked the 90th anniversary of John Logie Baird’s first television transmission. Since then, cameras have captured wars, revolutions, Olympic triumphs, Royal weddings, World Cups, wardrobe malfunctions, Big Brother made real, a mother of dragons, a blue planet, the surface of the moon and a woman kissing a “hot priest”. More than 56 per cent of Britons tuned in for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 (at a time when there were only 2.7 million television sets in the country); 32.3 million witnessed the boys in red trounce Germany in the 1966 World Cup; 21.6 million wanted to know who shot JR in 1980; 10.4 million watched the Bodyguard finale last year; and who could forget the achievements of the crew of Apollo 11, which were beamed to a spellbound 500 million viewers worldwide? We believe in television as a medium that does good, as a medium that triggers imagination, rouses curiosity, encourages education and gathers millions around common interests – its granular element is that it binds us, shaping the very fabric of our lives.
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