# 1947 in British radio

This is a list of events from British radio in 1947.

## Events
### January

* 2 January – Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, starring Kenneth Horne and Richard Murdoch, having started out as a recurring sketch in the wartime comedy-variety show Merry-Go-Round (from 31 March 1944), debuts on the BBC Light Programme, continuing in various formats until 1954.

### February

* 21 February – Two issues of Radio Times are missed due to the winter 1946–47 fuel shortage greatly exacerbated by severe weather. (BBC television is suspended 10 February–11 March.)

### March

* 28 February – The UK version of Twenty Questions is launched on BBC radio, originally presented by Stewart MacPherson with a panel comprising Richard Dimbleby, Jack Train, Anona Winn and Joy Adamson and with Norman Hackforth as the mystery voice.

### April

* 9 April – How Does Your Garden Grow? debuts on BBC radio; as Gardeners' Question Time it will still be running more than 65 years later.

### May to September

* No events.

### October

* 6 October – Philip Odell, a fictional detective created by Lester Powell and played by Canadian actor Robert Beatty, is heard for the first time on BBC radio in Lady in a Fog.
* 24 October – Francis Poulenc's Sinfonietta receives its world premiere in a broadcast concert from London having been commissioned by the BBC for the first anniversary of their Third Programme.

### November

* 18 November – The BBC links up with stations around the globe in the programme BBC Covers the World.
* 20 November – The Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II), daughter of George VI marries The Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey, London. The service is broadcast on BBC radio.
* Gracie Fields hosts Our Gracie's Working Party on BBC radio; in the series, she visits twelve towns (beginning with her native Rochdale), compering and performing in a live show of music and entertainment, with local talents on the bill.

### December

* No events.

## Debuts

* 28 February – Twenty Questions on the BBC Home Service (1947–1976)
* 9 April – How Does Your Garden Grow? on the BBC Home Service (North Region) (1947–Present)
* 27 October – PC 49 on the BBC Light Programme (1947–1953)
* 2 November – Round Britain Quiz on the BBC Light Programme (1947–Present)

## Programme endings

* 26 December – The Happidrome (1941–1947)

## Continuing radio programmes
### 1930s

* In Town Tonight (1933–1960)

### 1940s

* Music While You Work (1940–1967)
* Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
* Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
* Family Favourites (1945–1980)
* Down Your Way (1946–1992)
* Have A Go (1946–1967)
* Housewives' Choice (1946–1967)
* Letter from America (1946–2004)
* Woman's Hour (1946–Present)

## Births

* 1 March – Mike Read, DJ
* 28 June – Gerry Northam, radio presenter
* 10 May – Laurie Macmillan, Scottish-born radio newsreader and continuity announcer (died 2001)
* 20 May – Greg Dyke, journalist and broadcaster, Director-General of the BBC
* 15 September – Mike Sweeney, DJ
* 5 November – Steve Hodson, actor
* 20 November – Marilyn Imrie, Scottish theatre and radio drama director and producer (died 2020)
* Alistair Beaton, Scottish-born satirist, scriptwriter and radio presenter
* Natalie Wheen, arts presenter
* Peter White, blind radio presenter

## Deaths

* 11 March – Victor Hely-Hutchinson, composer and conductor, BBC Director of Music (born 1901)
* 24 July – Ernest Austin, composer, arranger and songwriter associated with the Proms (born 1874)