The third
Emley Moor transmitting station in Yorkshire begins broadcasting. A tapered, reinforced concrete tower, it is the tallest freestanding structure in the United Kingdom at a height of 1,084 feet (330 m).[4]
25 February – The animated children's adventure series Mr Benn airs on BBC1 with the copyright year shown from the previous year (1970) in the end credits shortly before the BBC tv logo. However the other regular BBC programmes unlike The Trumptonshire Trilogy still wouldn't show any copyright years until the following year (1972).
March
5 March – The third in
Peter Cook's live late night chat show series Where Do I Sit? is shown on
BBC2 after which the BBC pulls the 9 remaining scheduled episodes on quality grounds.[5]
29 March – The US children's educational series Sesame Street begins airing on British television for the first time, debuting on
ITV by first airing on
HTV.
April
10 April – Sketch comedy show The Two Ronnies makes its debut on
BBC1. Starring
Ronnie Barker and
Ronnie Corbett, it will go on to become one of the most successful and long-running light entertainment shows on British television, running until 1987.
16 June – BBC1 airs the documentary Yesterday's Men as part of the 24 Hours strand, a film about former Prime Minister
Harold Wilson and the
Labour Party Cabinet following
Labour's loss of power at the
1970 general election. The BBC removes parts of the programme amid complaints from Labour about allegations surrounding Wilson's memoirs, prompting producer
Angela Pope to have her name removed from the documentary. The BBC ultimately agrees not to repeat the film during Wilson's lifetime and it is not shown again until 2013.
19 June – The first episode of the late night chat show Parkinson with host
Michael Parkinson is broadcast on BBC1.
July
No events.
August
2 August – The Pendle Forest transmitter begins transmissions and becomes the first UHF relay service to be operated by the
Independent Television Authority.
7 August - ITV cameras cover the
Football Association Charity Shield for the first time, with highlights shown the following day. Second Division champions
Leicester City, standing in for Double winners Arsenal, beat Liverpool 1-0.[6][7]
September
1 September –
Border Television marks its tenth anniversary and begins broadcasting in colour, but initially only from the
Caldbeck transmitting station, while viewers served by the
Selkirk transmitter have to wait until the following year for colour television broadcasts to begin.
4 September – BBC1 debuts The Wonderful World of Disney. Initially broadcast as 'Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color', the anthology series features original Disney short films as well as appearances from numerous Disney characters.
13 September – Westward begins broadcasting in colour from the
Stockland Hill and
Caradon Hill transmitters and to mark the change, Westward's Golden Hind ship ident is reshot in colour.[8]
The third
Emley Moor transmitting station in Yorkshire begins broadcasting. A tapered, reinforced concrete tower, it is the tallest freestanding structure in the United Kingdom at a height of 1,084 feet (330 m).[4]
25 February – The animated children's adventure series Mr Benn airs on BBC1 with the copyright year shown from the previous year (1970) in the end credits shortly before the BBC tv logo. However the other regular BBC programmes unlike The Trumptonshire Trilogy still wouldn't show any copyright years until the following year (1972).
March
5 March – The third in
Peter Cook's live late night chat show series Where Do I Sit? is shown on
BBC2 after which the BBC pulls the 9 remaining scheduled episodes on quality grounds.[5]
29 March – The US children's educational series Sesame Street begins airing on British television for the first time, debuting on
ITV by first airing on
HTV.
April
10 April – Sketch comedy show The Two Ronnies makes its debut on
BBC1. Starring
Ronnie Barker and
Ronnie Corbett, it will go on to become one of the most successful and long-running light entertainment shows on British television, running until 1987.
16 June – BBC1 airs the documentary Yesterday's Men as part of the 24 Hours strand, a film about former Prime Minister
Harold Wilson and the
Labour Party Cabinet following
Labour's loss of power at the
1970 general election. The BBC removes parts of the programme amid complaints from Labour about allegations surrounding Wilson's memoirs, prompting producer
Angela Pope to have her name removed from the documentary. The BBC ultimately agrees not to repeat the film during Wilson's lifetime and it is not shown again until 2013.
19 June – The first episode of the late night chat show Parkinson with host
Michael Parkinson is broadcast on BBC1.
July
No events.
August
2 August – The Pendle Forest transmitter begins transmissions and becomes the first UHF relay service to be operated by the
Independent Television Authority.
7 August - ITV cameras cover the
Football Association Charity Shield for the first time, with highlights shown the following day. Second Division champions
Leicester City, standing in for Double winners Arsenal, beat Liverpool 1-0.[6][7]
September
1 September –
Border Television marks its tenth anniversary and begins broadcasting in colour, but initially only from the
Caldbeck transmitting station, while viewers served by the
Selkirk transmitter have to wait until the following year for colour television broadcasts to begin.
4 September – BBC1 debuts The Wonderful World of Disney. Initially broadcast as 'Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color', the anthology series features original Disney short films as well as appearances from numerous Disney characters.
13 September – Westward begins broadcasting in colour from the
Stockland Hill and
Caradon Hill transmitters and to mark the change, Westward's Golden Hind ship ident is reshot in colour.[8]