4 February – Early morning programming from the Open University begins on BBC1 with Electrons in motion airing at 7:05am. It is shown only on UHF 625-line transmitters.[2]
20 February – The first regular episode of the
Ronnie Barker- and
David Jason-starring comedy series Open All Hours airs on BBC2, almost three years after the pilot episode was first shown.
6 April – Original scheduled airdate of
Dennis Potter's Brimstone and Treacle in BBC1's Play for Today series. The film is pulled from transmission due to controversy over its content, including the rape of a woman by the devil. It is eventually shown on the channel in 1987, after having been made into a film starring
Sting in 1982.
May –
London Weekend Television is reorganised, to form a new company "LWT (Holdings) Limited".[4] which allows the company to expand into a number of new ventures, including
Hutchinson Publishing.
1 July – American science-fiction series The Bionic Woman, starring
Lindsay Wagner, launches on ITV and reaches number one in the ratings, an almost unheard-of event for a science-fiction series.
17 July–1 August – The BBC provides extensive live coverage of the
1976 Summer Olympic Games from Montreal. BBC1 broadcasts into the early hours to provide live coverage of the swimming and athletics events with overnight highlights and coverage of other sports shown the following afternoon.
26 July –
Channel Television becomes the final ITV region to begin broadcasting in colour although it is not until the following year that all of its local programmes are made in colour.[5]
9 September – Documentary Death in the West, containing an admission from a tobacco company representative that smoking causes health problems, is shown on
Thames Television, followed the next day by an injunction preventing it being distributed or shown again.
20 September – BBC2 begins showing the acclaimed Roman Empire-set series I, Claudius, starring
Derek Jacobi as the titular Roman Emperor.
Unknown date – The credits of each programme produced by the BBC reveals the copyrighted years in Roman numerals for the first time since Chigley in 1969.
15 October – The American 1950's-set comedy series Happy Days airs on ITV, in the Grampian and Southern region today and ITV London on Saturday 16th. Other areas begin to show the series shortly afterwards.
23 October –
Elisabeth Sladen leaves Doctor Who. The events following her departure will not be revealed until a return appearance 30 years later in the revived series.
3 November – ITV screens the network television premiere of the blockbuster 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, starring
Sean Connery.[3]
11 November – The "Gwen Troake's Banquet" episode of reality television series The Big Time is broadcast on BBC1 which leads in two weeks to the termination of
Fanny Cradock's contract with the BBC due to her patronising attitude towards an amateur chef.
December
1 December – Punk group The
Sex Pistols cause a storm of controversy and outrage in the UK by swearing well before the 9pm watershed on the regional
Thames Television news programme Today, hosted by
Bill Grundy who has goaded them into doing so and is temporarily sacked. Today is replaced by Thames at Six a year later.
31 December – ITV show the network premiere of the 1964 historical war film Zulu, starring
Michael Caine.
Unknown
Swindon Viewpoint's experimental phase ends when EMI decides to pull out of funding the service. However, the channel continues after being sold to the public of Swindon for £1.
Arthur Billitt succeeds
Percy Thrower as principal host of BBC2's Gardeners' World after the BBC does not renew Thrower's contract following his agreement to front a series of commercials on independent television for gardening products from
ICI Plant Protection.[7]
4 February – Early morning programming from the Open University begins on BBC1 with Electrons in motion airing at 7:05am. It is shown only on UHF 625-line transmitters.[2]
20 February – The first regular episode of the
Ronnie Barker- and
David Jason-starring comedy series Open All Hours airs on BBC2, almost three years after the pilot episode was first shown.
6 April – Original scheduled airdate of
Dennis Potter's Brimstone and Treacle in BBC1's Play for Today series. The film is pulled from transmission due to controversy over its content, including the rape of a woman by the devil. It is eventually shown on the channel in 1987, after having been made into a film starring
Sting in 1982.
May –
London Weekend Television is reorganised, to form a new company "LWT (Holdings) Limited".[4] which allows the company to expand into a number of new ventures, including
Hutchinson Publishing.
1 July – American science-fiction series The Bionic Woman, starring
Lindsay Wagner, launches on ITV and reaches number one in the ratings, an almost unheard-of event for a science-fiction series.
17 July–1 August – The BBC provides extensive live coverage of the
1976 Summer Olympic Games from Montreal. BBC1 broadcasts into the early hours to provide live coverage of the swimming and athletics events with overnight highlights and coverage of other sports shown the following afternoon.
26 July –
Channel Television becomes the final ITV region to begin broadcasting in colour although it is not until the following year that all of its local programmes are made in colour.[5]
9 September – Documentary Death in the West, containing an admission from a tobacco company representative that smoking causes health problems, is shown on
Thames Television, followed the next day by an injunction preventing it being distributed or shown again.
20 September – BBC2 begins showing the acclaimed Roman Empire-set series I, Claudius, starring
Derek Jacobi as the titular Roman Emperor.
Unknown date – The credits of each programme produced by the BBC reveals the copyrighted years in Roman numerals for the first time since Chigley in 1969.
15 October – The American 1950's-set comedy series Happy Days airs on ITV, in the Grampian and Southern region today and ITV London on Saturday 16th. Other areas begin to show the series shortly afterwards.
23 October –
Elisabeth Sladen leaves Doctor Who. The events following her departure will not be revealed until a return appearance 30 years later in the revived series.
3 November – ITV screens the network television premiere of the blockbuster 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, starring
Sean Connery.[3]
11 November – The "Gwen Troake's Banquet" episode of reality television series The Big Time is broadcast on BBC1 which leads in two weeks to the termination of
Fanny Cradock's contract with the BBC due to her patronising attitude towards an amateur chef.
December
1 December – Punk group The
Sex Pistols cause a storm of controversy and outrage in the UK by swearing well before the 9pm watershed on the regional
Thames Television news programme Today, hosted by
Bill Grundy who has goaded them into doing so and is temporarily sacked. Today is replaced by Thames at Six a year later.
31 December – ITV show the network premiere of the 1964 historical war film Zulu, starring
Michael Caine.
Unknown
Swindon Viewpoint's experimental phase ends when EMI decides to pull out of funding the service. However, the channel continues after being sold to the public of Swindon for £1.
Arthur Billitt succeeds
Percy Thrower as principal host of BBC2's Gardeners' World after the BBC does not renew Thrower's contract following his agreement to front a series of commercials on independent television for gardening products from
ICI Plant Protection.[7]