# 1949 in British television

This is a list of British television related events from 1949.

## Events
### January

* No events.

### February

* No events.

### March

* No events

### April

* 23 April - The first FA Amateur Cup Final staged at Wembley is also the first to be televised. The whole match is shown on the BBC, Bromley beating Romford 1-0.

### May

* No events.

### June

* No events.

### July

* July – BBC Television revives the regular televised weather forecast.
* July 11–14 – The first film made specifically for British television, A Dinner Date With Death, is shot at Marylebone Studios in London, featuring Roy Plomley. It is broadcast in 1950.

### August

* No events.

### September

* 29 September – The BBC Television Service first broadcasts Come Dancing, a TV ballroom dancing competition show.

### October

* 26 October – How Do You View?, the first comedy series on British television, starring Terry-Thomas, is first broadcast.

### November

* No events.

### December

* 17 December – The Sutton Coldfield television transmitter is opened in the Midlands, making it the first part of the UK outside London to receive the BBC Television Service.
* 31 December – BBC television ends the day with a brief live broadcast of 20 sleeping babies in St Thomas' Hospital, London.

## Debuts

* 25 January – The Time Machine (1949)
* 10 June – Triple Bill (1949) (trio of plays: Witness For the Prosecution; The Call To Arms; and Box For One)
* 29 September – Come Dancing (1949–1998)
* 26 October – How Do You View? (1949–1953)
* 27 November – By Candlelight (1949)
* 25 December – Miranda (1949)

## Continuing television shows
### 1920s

* BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–2024)

### 1930s

* Picture Page (1936–1939, 1946–1952)
* For the Children (1937–1939, 1946–1952)
* Trooping the Colour (1937–1939, 1946–2019, 2023–present)
* The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present)
* BBC Cricket (1939, 1946–1999, 2020–2024)

### 1940s

* Kaleidoscope (1946–1953)
* Muffin the Mule (1946–1955, 2005–2006)
* Café Continental (1947–1953)
* Television Newsreel (1948–1954)
* The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)

## Births

* 13 March – David Neilson, actor
* 30 March – Sue Cook, broadcaster and author
* 11 April – David Stafford, writer and broadcaster (died 2023)
* 29 April – Anita Dobson, actress
* 2 May – Alan Titchmarsh, gardener and television presenter
* 13 May – Zoë Wanamaker, American-born actress
* 21 May – Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and broadcaster
* 22 May – Cheryl Campbell, film, television and stage actor
* 16 August – John McArdle, actor
* 25 August – Ross Davidson, actor (died 2006)
* 2 September – Moira Stuart, broadcast presenter
* 10 September – Freddy Marks, actor, singer and musician (died 2021)
* 19 September – Twiggy, model and television presenter
* 23 September – Floella Benjamin, Trinidad-born children's TV presenter and actress
* 6 October – Sarah Cullen, television and radio journalist (died 2012)
* 20 October – Jane Tucker, actress, singer and musician
* 7 November – Su Pollard, actress and singer
* 12 December – Bill Nighy, actor
* 13 December – Robert Lindsay, actor

## Deaths

* 10 June – Sir Frederick Ogilvie, Director General of the BBC, aged 57