Christmas TV 1965

BBC1

9.15 Welcome Christmas
9.45 Laurel and Hardy
10.45 See the Children Sing
11.15 Morning Service
12.00 Leslie Crowther
12.45 Champions on Ice
1.25 The Andy Williams Show
2.15 Dixon of Dock Green
3.00 The Queen (Christmas Message)
3.05 Billy Smart's Circus
4.00 Disney Time
4.50 Mother Goose
6.30 Val Doonican (Appeals Family Service Units)
6.35 Dr Who
7.00 Max Bygraves meets the Black and White Minstrels
8.00 Road to Bali - Film
9.30 Ken Dodd Show
10.30 News and Weather
10.35 Top of the Pops '65
11.50 A Christmas Reverie
12.00 Weather, Close Down

BBC2

6.30 When Comedy was King - The screen's most famous laughter makers
7.55 News Summary
8.00 The Childhood of Christ
9.35 Island Yearbook - Swedish film
10.35 Eugene Grandet
11.20 Late Night Line up

London ITV

9.0 Lichfield Cathedral Carols for Christmas
9.45 Adventure Showcase; Supercar; Fireball XL5; Stingray
11.0 The Christmas Family Service
12.0 The Adventures of Robin Hood
12.30 News from ITN
12.40 Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer
1.30 Christmas Chorus
2.15 Wish upon a Wishbone - starring Cliff Richard and the Shadows
3.0 The Queen (Christmas Message)
3.10 Moby Dick - film
5.18 Football Results
5.20 Christmas Lucky Stars
6.5 The Beverly Hillbillies
6.35 Thunderbirds
7.30 The Big Valley
8.25 The Arthur Haynes Show
9.0 Court Martial
9.55 News from ITN
10.5 The Bruce Forsyth Show
11.10 On the Braden Beat
11.40 Interpol Calling; Weather Forecast
12.0 Epilogue; Close Down

Midland ITV

As London except: 9.45 Snip and Snap - a programme for children
12.05 Christmas Chorus
12.50 News
1.00 On the Barrier Reef
3.10 Nicholas Nickelby - Starring Cedric Hardwicke and Stanley Holloway
5.10 Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer
6.05 Christmas Lucky Stars
6.50 Opportunity Knocks
7.55 Lost in Space
9.00 News
9.10 The Bruce Forsyth Show
10.10 The Avengers
11.10 ABC Weekend
11.40 On the Braden Beat; Weather; Epilogue

It's 1965 and television has moved on a bit (see Christmas in 1960). There's still Billy Smart's circus at 3.00pm - but at least ITV are not competing with another circus - you could have watched the film "Moby Dick" - the classic adventure about Captain Ahab pursuing the white whale. Viewers of Midland ITV were treated to the Dickens' classic "Nicholas Nickelby". There are also some new programmes on the BBC and - sci-fi series, "Dr Who", Gerry Anderson's "Thunderbirds", "The Avengers" on ITV Midland and "Top of the Pops". And... there's several hours more TV and ... it finishes at midnight!

The hightlights of the late evening were "The Ken Dodd Show" on BBC at 9.30 competing against Bruce Forsyth on ITV at 10.5. Ken Dodd's special guest for the evening was Sandie Shaw. Ken Dodd proclaimed himself the Head of "Knotty Ash TV", introduced the "Diddy Men" and a "Potty Pictorial". Bruce Forsyth had already had a long association with television at this time - he had been compering "Sunday Night at the London Palladium" since 1958. Bruce had a number of special guests, including Cilla Black and Jack Douglas. He also sang, danced and starred in his own comedy sketches.

"Top of the Pops" at 10.35pm on BBC1 featured every number one hit of 1965, including songs by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Seekers.

Earlier in the day the pantomime on BBC1 featured Terry Scott as Mother Goose, Norman Vaughan as her son, Jon Pertwee as the Squire, Joanna Rigby as Prince Colin and Anna Dawson as the Squire's Daughter.

Many of the old favourites of the era were also shown on Christmas Day - these included "Dixon of Dock Green" (first shown on BBC in 1955) and "Opportunity Knocks" (on Midland ITV) which was one of ITV's first programmes.