Today, 30 January, is the anniversary of the State Funeral of , who died aged 90 in 1965. 

There are a number of occasions in recent years – for example the death of Princess Diana and 9/11 – where the Ö÷²¥´óÐã schedules were necessarily abandoned or radically altered on the day itself and some days following. Of course these last-minute changes could not be reflected in the magazine, which was already printed, so the Genome listings are different from the actual transmissions. 

Because Sir Winston died on a Sunday, and the funeral was set for the following Saturday, the planned edition of Radio Times could be scrapped, and a new version published with a .

However, the television listings in the magazine for that Saturday only list the , not any other programmes, although much of what was scheduled was actually still broadcast.

When the 50th anniversary of the funeral came round two years ago, we decided to rectify the omission – partly to see what issues might arise when we went about fixing similar problems on other problematic dates, and also to see what sort of thing we could do with Genome in the future – displaying the actual transmission details instead of just the scheduled programmes. 

We were fortunately able to source a rare copy of the original version of that week’s Radio Times, with the planned schedule, which gave us the synopsis and contributors for those planned programmes which were still transmitted on 30 January.  Other information, such as the exact transmission times, came from the Ö÷²¥´óÐã records of what was shown on the day.

Sir Winston Churchill's funeral was a historic event, and one of the most memorable television occasions of the 1960s.  It was also one of the last major state occasions commentated upon by , the veteran Ö÷²¥´óÐã reporter, war correspondent and presenter, who sadly died the following December.

Here at we've decided to give you an early Christmas present: the chance to the 1941 Christmas issue of Radio Times. This slimmer magazine is a poignant reminder of life under World War II, as the Both Sides of the Microphone column on page 2 attests:

"No need to stress the obvious fact that Christmas 1941 will be, in a material sense, only a shadow of the Christmases most of us have known. The family table will not groan as of old under a weight of good fare. There will be vacant chairs at the table, more poignantly vacant on the great day of family festival than on any other day. Nevertheless, it is Christmas, and none can escape it, even if there were any Scrooges still around so foolish as to wish to. Christmas 1941 may be all too different from other Christmases: it will still be different from every other day in 1941."

But we'll let you discover this fascinating historical document by yourself.  Download a PDF version of the 1941 Christmas Radio Times by  It's our way of saying thank you for your loyal following, for sharing your discoveries with us, for helping make Ö÷²¥´óÐã Genome a better data source by editing it, and for being so patient with the latest technical problems. We hope you enjoy it!

 (And yes, this would be Advent Calendar Day 19)

Today's calendar window opens up to reveal a poem. It featured in the of the Radio Times magazine and then again in 1927 as part of a collection of poems about broadcasting. "It is not a strange thing", the introduction to the collection claimed, "that men have
made poems about broadcasting for this new magic, which pours the music of the concert room into the stillness of the cottage and brings the song of nightingales into the heart of Town, is of the very stuff of poetry."

BROADCASTING AT CHRISTMAS
by

What is it, fleeter than the bird,
That flies unfluttering far and near,
And is not seen, and is not heard,
Until it finds the listening ear?

It is the multitudinous voice,
That brings the good news far and wide,
And bids good people to rejoice
In town and in the countryside.

Of old, the angels bore the great
Tidings of joy from the high skies,
But here's a messenger of late
Bears Christmas tidings as he flies!

And through the speech and violin
There is a lovelier message swells,
And they have broadcast ChristmasE'en,
The voices of the Christmas bells.

Ever enamoured with the magic of the wireless, here at Ö÷²¥´óÐã Genome we feel it's still magical. Do you agree?

Here at Genome we face a lot of challenges with our extensive database. One of them is the days and weeks of schedules and individual programmes that do not currently appear on the website.

There are a number of issues behind these gaps in the record.  For example, prior to the start of Radio Times in , there were about nine months of Ö÷²¥´óÐã programmes since the Company (as it then was) was founded, which we have not yet been able to include.  These will probably have to be pieced together from the Ö÷²¥´óÐã’s records of its actual transmissions.

We also have some gaps where no issue of Radio Times was published for other reasons – there is a full list in the , but here are the details:

14 May 1926 was the first time Radio Times was not published. This was due to the General Strike, which saw almost all newspapers and periodicals stop publication for the duration. 

21 and 28 February 1947 saw the next gaps, as the very severe winter led to a fuel crisis, which also saw the recently returned television service and the new-born Third Programme closed temporarily. 

A printing dispute meant that the 8 September and 13, 20 and 27 October issues in 1950 did not come out.  A similar dispute in 1956 meant that RT was printed in France in broadsheet newspaper format, though at least in that case the details are available.

There were no problems for some time after that, apart from a few occasions where national editions were published due to limitations on printing facilities. An issue was missed on 1 August 1981, the issue following the week of Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana – luckily missing the huge demand for that number. In 1983, printing disputes meant that issues from 2 and 9 April and 3 December did not appear.

As well as whole weeks being absent, there are also days where problems have arisen due to unforeseen circumstances, when planned programmes did not go out. These include momentous world events like 9/11 and the death of Princess Diana, which resulted in the schedules being abandoned or severely altered not just on the day the events occurred, but for days or even weeks afterward.  Past events of a similar nature include the deaths of monarchs and the outbreak of wars.  

For example, Radio Times was published as usual on 1 September 1939, only for it to be superseded by the outbreak of World War Two.  An amended schedule was presented on the following Monday, , though the preceding weekend was incompletely presented as a result, with the replacement of the National and Regional Programmes by the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Service, and the closure of the Television Service, on 1 September.

In another instance, the assassination of President Kennedy on 22 November 1963, the was only slightly changed though there were some additional programmes, proving controversial when the scheduled episode of the Harry Worth comedy Here’s Harry was transmitted despite the grim news.

There are also many individual programmes which were not transmitted for one reason or another – and unscheduled programmes that were broadcast in their place.

At the moment, we are confined to publishing what was scheduled in Radio Times, and then only what was listed in a single regional issue, usually the London or South-East of England area.  The original Radio Times covered the whole country in one edition, but this gradually refined into smaller areas of the UK, before in recent years the number of regional editions was scaled back again.  We’re still working on the best way of displaying . 

We are also missing some television listings from the 1930s, when they were in a supplement or a special page in RT, and then not in every copy (because television was only visible in the London/South East of England area), so we have not always had the data available.  But there are records of that information so it will appear on Genome in time.

Finally, let’s look at some specific examples of unscheduled programmes…

1936 - The Ö÷²¥´óÐã’s television service was scheduled to begin on 2 November, but just after staff had been appointed in August, senior producer Cecil Madden was instructed to start work on programmes to go out that month.  The exhibition was having difficulty selling stands, and the Ö÷²¥´óÐã was asked to help out by organising a demonstration of television. 

Although they only had a few days to prepare, the Ö÷²¥´óÐã team was able to mount a basic service of live programmes and film material for the duration of the show.  None of these programmes was billed in Radio Times, nor were several weeks of experimental shows, including the first edition of long-running magazine Picture Page, which went out during October (notwithstanding the billing for saying that it was the first…)

September 1938 – Television outside broadcasts from Heston Aerodrome of the return of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain from Berchtesgaden and Munich were speedily arranged.  The second was especially historic as Chamberlain delivered his infamous ‘piece of paper’ speech.  These were also the first occasions when a Prime Minister spoke on television, though they were also captured by radio and newsreel cameras.

1972 – As we detailed a couple of weeks back, the pilot episode of was unscheduled when it was first shown. Cancellation of some necessitated programmes being quickly found to fill the gaps, and that included this Comedy Playhouse episode.

27 May 1974 – Due to being cancelled, an omnibus version of the Doctor Who story , which had previously been transmitted at Christmas 1972, was given another airing.

7 November 1986 – As part of Ö÷²¥´óÐã2’s TV50 season, celebrating the half-century of television, the first episode of Not Only… But Also was to be screened.  However at the last minute clearances could not be obtained so an early Likely Lads and a 1962 edition of Points of View were substituted, separated by an Interlude, The Kitten dating from 1954.

There have been various occasions since when a programme or film has been deemed unsuitable for transmission at a particular time because of a news event which would make it in poor taste; also when a particularly famous star or personality has died, sometimes a special showing of one of their films or programmes is hurriedly repeated before it can be advertised in Radio Times.

Also, there are many occasions when because of an over-running sporting event, or an extended news bulletins, programmes have been cancelled or postponed.  With some sporting events there are published, and obviously only one of these alternatives would actually have come to pass on the day in question.

We love creating the Genome database, and we look forward to being able to add even greater levels of detail in the future – though our first task is still to correct OCR errors which arose from scanning the Radio Times.  Of course, we couldn’t do it without the support of our dedicated band of crowd-sourcing editors – please continue to contribute, we greatly appreciate your efforts!

The greatest show on Earth has come to an end, with glory for Team GB and thousands of hours of Ö÷²¥´óÐã coverage in the bag.

But there weren't always wall-to-wall, multi-channel broadcasts of the Olympic Games. In the early days of radio, there were only scant references to the event. In 1928, there was no live coverage and a sense that Great Britain was only going to compete after in a talk from a former sportsman.

In 1936, the opening ceremony of the Berlin games was for a "description of the scene". But it wasn't until the first post-war Olympics in London that coverage of the games really came into its own.

The Ö÷²¥´óÐã was the host broadcaster and the event was televised for the first time. The Radio Times reflected this great occasion by creating its first Olympic front cover (above).

The home advantage was short-lived, however. For the Helsinki and Melbourne Olympics in the 1950s, television was in its infancy in the host nations, so it was back to quite limited radio coverage. An Australian games with its vast time difference and distance meant that UK listeners made do with recordings.

But the lull would not last long...

The Rome Olympics in 1960 saw coverage on Ö÷²¥´óÐã radio and TV reach a new level, with a striking cover for the Radio Times and a magazine packed with side panels and schedules to guide viewers. With another distant games from Tokyo four years later, recorded Olympic action was flown over the Pole by jet in an era when satellite technology wasn't yet the norm.

The 1968 Olympics from Mexico City was another watershed for the Ö÷²¥´óÐã. It coincided with the advent of colour (initially on Ö÷²¥´óÐã2) and the Radio Times cover mirrored this. The magazine even changed its regular title font for the occasion. This was a growing era of satellite broadcasts and schedules which dealt with a time difference similar to Rio 2016.

From the 1970s onwards, blanket coverage of the Olympic Games emerged. Radio Times covers switched from striking design to the sports personality, with the likes of Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim and homegrown superstars like Daley Thompson, Sir Steve Redgrave and Sally Gunnell (pictured).

A notable absence from the line-up of Olympics covers is Moscow in 1980, which was beset by a boycott led by the US. Great Britain attended but stayed away from the opening ceremony, while the Olympic flag was raised for gold medal winners.

So Tokyo 2020 beckons. How will the games be covered? More wall-to-wall coverage or a dedicated Olympics channel? Let us know your thoughts on games past and future.

Andrew Collins is a broadcaster and writer with numerous credits to his name.

He has written scripts for EastEnders, co-wrote the first two series of sitcom Not Going Out, and along with Stuart Maconie co-hosted a show on Radio 1. Andrew still maintains a connection with the current Radio Times as its regular film editor. He also hosts a on UKTV's YouTube channel.

Here he takes a trip through his career by way of his listings in Genome - an estimated 450 (including credits in the magazine).

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What was your first job in radio or television? My first appearance on television was in 1980. My schoolfriend Paul Garner and I were invited to guest on Ö÷²¥´óÐã news programme Look East to talk about the caricatures we’d started drawing for local Northampton newspaper the Chronicle & Echo.

It was an exciting day. The school gave us time off, my dad drove us to Norwich, we pre-recorded an interview with presenter Ian Masters, then repaired to the green room, where soft drinks were free, and drew a caricature of Masters and fellow presenter Tony Scase, which we presented to them live at the end of the broadcast.

Only one of our friends, Craig, had parents with a video recorder, so we were able to watch our appearance back and soak up the fame the next day. I was paid an £8 appearance fee, which to me was a fortune! Dad got £38 travel expenses, which he kindly split between me and Paul.

My second appearance was 10 years later with my family when we were by which time I worked on the NME. We made it through to the semi-finals and were knocked out by the Allman family. As a self-consciously “cool” music journalist, I ought to have been embarrassed by this, but I wasn’t. Not at all. I even wore an NME t-shirt on our final appearance.

My first job on television was as a scriptwriter on Family Affairs, brand new Channel 5’s soap in 1997. My day job was editor of Q magazine, but I was getting itchy feet. I’d never written a script, but with five episodes a week, they needed to run in new writers, and I was lucky enough to be one of them. I ended up writing around 33 episodes over the next three years. And yes, I did leave my day job.

Do you remember the first time your name appeared in the Radio Times? My first solo mention must have been when I formed a comedy double act with my NME colleague and great friend Stuart Maconie. We had our own comedy series called on the youth-aimed Radio Five – this was before it became news-and-sport Five Live. Although technically my name appeared before that, in 1988, when, as an avid Radio Times reader, I had a letter printed in the magazine and was chuffed to bits.

How did you feel when your photo was first published in the magazine? It was quite disarming. When Fantastic Voyage started, the magazine ran a small interview with an amusing press photo in which I am sucking on a plastic cigar. The Radio Five publicist, ever resourceful, brought it along to the photographic studio, and I was playful enough to use it.

Can you tell us your memories of the following programmes which you are associated with in the listings?

 After Fantastic Voyage, suddenly our names were in the title of a brand new Radio 1 review show. We used smart, funny journalistic types as our regular guests like Caitlin Moran, Miranda Sawyer and David Quantick. It was such fun to do – we also interviewed famous pop stars and had bands playing unplugged. This led to Stuart and I being asked to host Radio 1’s live coverage of the Brits and the newly-minted Mercury Prize for at least two years running. It seems almost surreal that we were part of of the nation’s favourite radio station at such a relatively early stage of our tenure, but this was the 90s of Cool Britannia – anything could happen!

 My apprenticeship at Family Affairs directly led me to EastEnders. Its launch producer Mal Young moved to the Ö÷²¥´óÐã and put my name forward. I tried out via the regimented induction process for new writers. They give you a storyline document and you have to write a number of scenes based upon it. You then hand this in, like an exam paper, and they decide whether they want to develop the relationship further.

I’ve just looked at the script I submitted – in it, Roy goes into the shop and asks Terry, “I’m in a bit of a hurry. Do you sell drawing pins?” Terry replies, “Over there with the Sellotape.” With dialogue like that, it was a forgone conclusion! Seriously, to my great delight, I was accepted.

I managed to earn consistent script commissions from 1999 to 2001, and had my name on 11 episodes, something I remain inordinately proud of. I even got to kill off a regular character: Nick Cotton’s son Ashley. It was hard work: you are expected to write up to six drafts of each script. I used to compare writing an episode to producing a single slice of salami that would fit perfectly into a whole sausage.

And yes, I did get to walk round Albert Square, but only once – you’re too busy writing to hang around the set! However, Barbara Windsor did give me a kiss after an official Ö÷²¥´óÐã drinks party.

 Being put together with Lee Mack was the most significant blind date of my career. He’d been developing a sitcom based on a live show, and I was drafted in to help with the structure. I clicked with Lee and we were quickly set to work in a rented office in Central London.

I thought of the title, so was really hoping nobody would come up with a better one! Luckily nobody did. It was hard graft for six months’ solid, but Lee and I found a good, symbiotic working relationship, which included each of us coming up with five suggestions for each punchline and choosing the best one.

Because it was shot in a studio, I was present for the entire recording, which I soaked up. I co-wrote the whole first series with Lee, then the majority of series two with him, and a couple of episodes in series three and four, after which they decided to streamline the writing process. And Not Going Out is re-run on a constant loop, so it’s lovely to have had a hand in something that’s endlessly repeated.

You are also noted in the listings for your work as a screenwriter. What is it like to breathe life into new characters and add to existing ones? I could barely believe it when I first got to write dialogue for iconic EastEnders characters like Dot, Nick, Phil and Peggy. But these characters already had voices, your job was to stay true to them. A completely different job to creating a character, which I was able to do in my first solo-written sitcom Mr Blue Sky for Radio 4. It’s a treat to have actors as skilled as Mark Benton, Rebecca Front and Claire Skinner, as they will do things to your words that you might never have envisaged. But the very act of typing words to be read out by professionals is hard to beat.

How important do you think it is to preserve the history of TV and radio listings? I live for printed TV and radio listings. Because I now work for Radio Times, I get sent a contributor’s copy, but if I’d never set foot in the building of the magazine I’d still be a subscriber. Online listings are fine if you want to do a quick search, but on a week by week basis there’s nothing to beat literally flicking through a magazine, browsing, happening upon the odd gem. I am a child of the analogue age, but as an adult, I am totally wired – and certainly not a Luddite. At the Radio Times office there is an archive of every copy of the magazine, which I am lucky enough to be able to use. Paper archives are unutterably romantic to me. I am hugely impressed by the digitisation that the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Genome project has achieved, because it’s available to all, as it should be in an information democracy.

Have you ever searched for your own name in the Genome database? I have, of course. I’m pointlessly troubled by the fact that there is another Andrew Collins in the world who seems to have quite a following – he’s an author and speaker who specialises in ancient Egypt, Atlantis, UFOs, that kind of thing – but it’s not a competition. There’s a well-regarded writer of gay travel guides with the same name, too, and an actor in LA. But I think I may be the only one to be listed in the Radio Times archive, so that’s something.

From eating breakfast with Beckham to watching Pele in your pyjamas, there’s always something special about a football tournament on television.

Every two years, millions of people put everything on hold to watch top players in action morning, noon and night. As Euro 2016 heads towards its climax, how has the Ö÷²¥´óÐã covered previous football tournaments?

Things have certainly changed since the early days of football on TV. Of the first European Championships, held in 1960, only the second half of the final was shown on British screens, quaintly and vaguely billed as

At least it was broadcast live, though. For the held in Chile, satellite broadcasting was still in its infancy, and the Radio Times explained the logistics of bringing the games to British TV screens:

"Each film must be flown from Santiago to Lima, Peru - from Lima to Panama - Panama to Miami and Miami to New York. That takes approximately 14 hours. Then the 90 minutes of film must be processed in New York and rushed to Idlewild Airport to be put on the first available transatlantic jet.”

The aim was to get them on air within 48 hours, “if there is no fog on the route”.

By the 1970s, coverage had expanded somewhat. One odd side-effect of the limited coverage of domestic football in that decade is that during an international tournament, you’d often see more live football in a week than you would for the rest of the year put together.

Both the Ö÷²¥´óÐã and ITV provided extensive coverage of the 1970 World Cup. Ö÷²¥´óÐã One Controller Paul Fox bullishly announced in the Radio Times that the channel would not alternate matches with ITV because “When Ö÷²¥´óÐã1 and ITV show the same event, the large majority of the public prefer to watch it on Ö÷²¥´óÐã1. Whichever set of figures you look at, this is an unchallengeable fact.”

This blanket coverage was quite different to the rest of the year. Fearful of the spectator deciding to abandon the terrace for the armchair, no live coverage of league football was permitted, bar the hour of on a Saturday night - plus a further hour on ITV the following afternoon. Only the biggest occasions like the FA Cup Final and the annual England v Scotland game could be seen live as they happened.

In the tournaments, there were no such problems – both the Ö÷²¥´óÐã and ITV could show as much as they liked, and they made the most of it. In 1978, the action from Argentina and even the Nine O’clock News found itself demoted to Ö÷²¥´óÐã2. 

Such was the excitement over that tournament – especially in Scotland where Ally’s Army were flying the flag for the whole of the UK – that the Hamilton by-election was to avoid voters staying at home glued to the TV.  

In the 1980s, though, British football was in the doldrums, with concerns over increased hooliganism and tumbling attendances, and none of the home nations qualified for the 1984 European Championships. This meant the tournament was virtually invisible on our screens, with only two live matches and the rest relegated to late night highlights. 

With England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all qualifying for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, coverage returned to more familiar levels – but a number of matches had only their second halves shown live on TV, ensuring Ö÷²¥´óÐã1 could screen regular ratings winners like Wogan.

After the twin successes of Italia 90 and football's homecoming in Euro 96, coverage was bigger than ever before. So when it came to Euro 2008 and no home nation representation, a was shown and there was no 1984-style snub.

But it’s not just the matches that are the lasting legacy of a tournament. The stars, the presenters and the theme tunes all make an impact, even among those who have no interest in football. Pavarotti gained a new fanbase when Nessun Dorma became the theme of the 1990 World Cup.  

The same tournament spawned , but it also helped make a star of Des Lynam, whose constant appearances on screen saw him reach a new audience. Indeed, when Arthur Smith wrote a TV play set during Euro 96, the icon of the tournament was not Alan Shearer or Stuart Pearce, but Des himself.  

Major tournaments also see regular routines thrown out of the window as football swamps the schedules. In 1970 and 1986, it was a month of late nights for British football fans as the matches from Mexico ran late into the evening. The latter tournament saw a added to the schedules, partly so football crazy kids could keep up with the action.

It was back to the witching hour again with the 1994 World Cup from the USA with British fans operating in a totally different time zone for post-midnight kick-offs.

In 2002, it was  as the World Cup in Japan and Korea saw bleary-eyed supporters set their alarms for the early hours. The normal breakfast fare of news, weather and travel was binned for Denmark v Senegal and many lives were turned upside down for a month.

The big challenge for Radio Times over the years has been explaining to its readers what’s actually being broadcast. The knockout stages mean schedules are subject to extensive changes at the last minute, and a host of are drawn up. 

Genome sometimes has trouble representing these listings thanks too the confusion caused by  Those tuning in for religious series Sweet Inspiration during the 1994 World Cup, for example, weren’t sure whether it was being broadcast at

With the exception of a few memorable moments, the home nations haven’t had much to cheer about in major tournaments. But the Ö÷²¥´óÐã have always made it to the final, and ended up on the winning side.

Steve Williams is an Editorial Curator for Ö÷²¥´óÐã iPlayer and writes about television for  

At the end of June 1960, the new Ö÷²¥´óÐã Television Centre sprang into life with great fanfare.

The to come from the new purpose-built facility was a variety extravaganza called First Night starring the likes of Arthur Askey and magician David Nixon.

While the television service went to town on welcoming the futuristic building in west London, the Radio Times that week also accorded it great fanfare. The cover illustration (below) featured its curved lines along with some of First Night's star turns.

The magazine had a two-page spread about TVC, with a detailed plan of this "giant bowl of bricks and glass and concrete and mosaic", and described how it had been built to serve the needs of a rapidly expanding industry.

You can download a PDF version of the original article in full  Feel free to share your thoughts about it at the end of this post.

1) The arrival of a was marked with this cover shoot by Lord Lichfield. Can you name both mother and baby?

2) This extract of a Radio Times cover from 1999 of a much-loved duo. But which one?

3) This cover star from the latter part of 1991 went to great lengths to of a popular Ö÷²¥´óÐã1 show. Can you name the person behind the brightly-coloured pixellations?

4) This is a small segment of a which took place in 1994. Can you name this courageous pair?

5) Finally this week, a star on a 1990 Radio Times cover who is still very much at the top of his game more than 25 years later. At the time he was the host of a .

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Can't quite join the dots? Here are the answers:

1) Ben and Kathy Mitchell

2) French and Saunders

3) Esther Rantzen

4) Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean

5) Phillip Schofield

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1) This 2007 drama was rewarded with a wraparound Radio Times cover in April. Name the series.

2) This pouting temptress was photographed by David Bailey to mark a for her screen persona. Name both actress and character.

3) This made the front cover of the Radio Times in April 1983. Name that show.

4) These cute doggies are the stars of this 1978 cover for a of its day, but who is their human companion here? And name the show too.

5) And we finish back in 1964 for the of today's phenomenally popular Strictly. It was a slightly different beast then and with a different host. Can you put a name to the face?

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Still need a helping hand? Here are the answers:

1) Life on Mars

2) Patsy Palmer (Bianca from EastEnders)

3) Fame

4) Christopher Timothy, All Creatures Great and Small

5) Peter West

1) This pair were featured on the cover of an October 1970 edition of the Radio Times to promote their new series. You can find several clues to their identities in  You just need to name the show.

2) This young actress made the cover for her role in  part of The Wednesday Play strand. You may recognise her more readily from subsequent sitcom that has gone down as a classic. Can you put a name to the face?

3) Talking of sitcoms, this is arguably But this impressive chestful of decorations belongs to which actor's chest?

4) They don't get much more famous than this. But the Radio Times had to settle for an illustration to promote the a showbusiness spectacular which he performed with alongside another great. Who is the cover star?

5) It's all about the hands in this cover photograph of an actor taking on the mantle of Who is he?

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So here are the answers if you want to be transported into a place of knowledge:

1) Steptoe and Son

2) Michele Dotrice (Betty from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em)

3) Clive Dunn (Dad's Army)

4) Frank Sinatra

5) Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who)

1) Two for the price of one to kick off this quiz. Here's a literary creation brought to life by which actor in a 2001 comedy drama? It also involved a

2) This cover star was willing to get a glistening paint job to publicise their back in 2001. Who is it?

3) This broadcaster donned a bunny costume to grace a July 2001 edition of the listings magazine, with a series that involved a scrape with Any guesses?

4) This multi-faceted broadcaster made a bid for enlightenment on this Radio Times cover to promote an of a popular programme. Put a name to the lotus flower bearer.

5) In November 2001 this actress swapped grimness for the deep blue ocean and some Can you put a name to the face?

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Is Flipper not giving you any clues? Here are the answers:

1) Adrian Mole and Stephen Mangan

2) Angus Deayton

3) Ruby Wax

4) Alan Titchmarsh

5) Tamzin Outhwaite

1) Three for the price of one: these giants of their day were captured in art for a December 1976 Radio Times cover promoting the year's review of Name them from left to right.

2) This star was also captured by a Radio Times cover artist in November 1976 to promote "the of her outstanding career".

3) This distinguished and debonair thespian graced the front page of an August 1976 edition of Radio Times, marking a

4) The shoes have it? This act made one of numerous appearances on the front cover of the Radio Times at the beginning of 1976 to herald their

5) The beautifully shaggy dog appears to be the cover star here, but in actual fact the owner was the focus of all the attention. A  featuring a host of other stars in February 1976 was the reason behind this special treatment.

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Stumped? You can find out the answers here:

1) David Wilkie, James Hunt, John Curry

2) Shirley Bassey

3) Dirk Bogarde

4) Morecambe and Wise

5) Cilla Black

1) This TV personality from the 1980s and 90s was more readily associated with a host of ITV programmes. But he came to the Ö÷²¥´óÐã to star in a Saturday night

2) This personality took a starring role on a January 1988 Radio Times cover to promote a new series on a subject Ironically this man always preferred to talk about the stars.

3) Actors and actresses are often Radio Times cover stars, and this person graced the front page in May 1988. This was for a role in a  on Ö÷²¥´óÐã2.

4) This broadcaster needs little introduction. A glamorous portrait was on a 1988 Radio Times cover to mark the return of a which she will always be associated with.

5) It's June 1988 and the advent of the are featured on the Radio Times front cover. But which tennis star do this pair of pins belong to?

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Do you give in? Here are the answers to this week's teasers:

1) Michael Barrymore

2) Barry Norman

3) Nigel Hawthorne

4) Esther Rantzen

5) Pat Cash