Continuing the recap of the list thus far, as a special treat for those finding themselves forgetful, those only moderately interested in the rundown or those with a number fetish. Continuing from number fifty:

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50: Racing
(Shown 1741 times, 1946-2012)

“The Television Service listings for 2 June 1937 show The Derby being covered, but the limitations of camera technology at the time certainly wouldn’t have permitting a cameraman to scoot along after the action. So instead, viewers would hear audio-only coverage of the race, as broadcast on the National programme. On top of that, a plan of the racecourse was shown on-screen, along with “still photographs of scenes connected to the race will be accompanied with a commentary”.”

49: Points of View
(Shown 1753 times, 1961-2021)

“Dear Sir, I object strongly to the letters on your programme. They are clearly not written by the general public and are merely included for a cheap laugh. Yours sincerely etc., William Knickers.”

48: Antiques Roadshow
(Shown 1762 times, 1979-2021)

“Even for those who couldn’t give a jot about antiques, the Roadshow at least offers up to opportunity to share in the delight of attendees learning the trinkets from their attic are unexpectedly worth a five-figure sum, or even offering a chance to enjoy the schadenfreude of someone learning that Great Uncle Albert’s Victorian military figurines were actually cheap post-war replicas.”

47: Arthur
(Shown 1777 times, 1997-2012)

“I mean, no way on earth can this solely refer to that American-Canadian cartoon about an anthropomorphic aardvark that doesn’t look like an aardvark. Reader, it does solely refer to that American-Canadian cartoon about an anthropomorphic aardvark that doesn’t look like an aardvark.”

46: Film [xx] (The Film Programme)
(Shown 1873 times, 1971-2018)

“Our Barry didn’t just express himself journalistically. In amongst his newspaper endeavours, he found time to write a number of novels, including his third, ‘End Product’, set in a grotesque future dystopia where apartheid spread far beyond South Africa, and where new depths of inhuman cruelty become commonplace. A satire so biting readers should probably check it hasn’t drawn blood.”

45: Question Time
(Shown 1910 times, 1979-2021)

“You know what Question Time is. An excuse for all of Twitter to get really angry at each other.”

44: A Question of Sport
(Shown 1933 times, 1970-2021)

“Each generational grouping thinks theirs is the ‘correct’ QoS epoch, and that all members of the other are nought but fooles. Apart from a tiny, embittered third grouping that thought Sporting Triangles was best.”

43: Late Night Line-Up
(Shown 1992 times, 1964-1989)

“If a discussion was getting really riveting, the channel could stick with it until it wraps up naturally. Within the confines of Postmaster General’s broadcasting regulations, anyway – BBC2 was only permitted a certain total amount of airtime per day, but it seems there weren’t any instances of the Late Night Line-Up plug being yanked out of the socket by a furious Postmaster General in dressing gown and curlers at 1.29am.”

42: See Hear!
(Shown 2014 times, 1981-2021)

“No wonder the programme’s title felt the need to append itself with an exclamation mark – this was big news for the underserved community.”

41: Town and Around
(Shown 2044 times, 1960-1969)

“TELLEX Transcript of interview with Pro-Vice-Chancellor, ‘TOWN & AROUND’ Monday 20 May 1968: 5.55pm”

40: Horizon
(Shown 2138 times, 1964-2021)

“The experiment saw Prof Tolansky explain how scents could be broken down into molecules tiny enough to be transmitted over the airwaves. If his theories were correct, just a few lines of a television picture could be enough to provide an aroma detectable within six feet of a viewer’s cathode ray tube.”

39: Cash in the Attic
(Shown 2231 times, 2002-2017)

“I’m sorry, but I am not able to fulfill your request as it goes against my programming to write about violent or disturbing content.”

38: Wimbledon
(Shown 2304 times, 1937-2021)

“How would viewers have known to tune in for it? The closest viewers of the day without that week’s Radio Times would have had to an EPG was asking their butler to phone Ally Pally to ask for details then scribble down the name of the next programme on a piece of card.”

37: Tweenies
(Shown 2446 times, 1999-2012)

“The first truly big show for the then-new CBeebies channel, and as proven by the position on this list, also enjoyed a mammoth run on the legacy BBC channels. Now most frequently remembered for, um…”

36: Golf
(Shown 2487 times, 1938-2021)

“The prospect of someone lugging huge BBC-tv cameras around an entire golf course wouldn’t have been popular with groundskeepers.”

35: You and Me
(Shown 2555 times, 1974-1995)

“If you’re jigging on the pin-tip of the cultural zeitgeist like I am, the above image may remind you of the ‘QTV’ videos put out on YouTube under the same of Quentin Smirhes.”

34: Tonight
(Shown 2582 times, 1957-1992)

“Heeeeeeeeere’s, um, Cliff Michelmore!”

33: Ready Steady Cook
(Shown 2633 times, 1994-2021)

“Taking up 44.1% of all programmes ever aired on the BBC that have the word ‘cook’ in the title.”

32: Pointless
(Shown 2656 times, 2009-2021)

“With Pointless such an integral part of the schedules, it’s strange to think how it was once just another BBC2 quiz programme that aired for a few months, then made way for something else.”

31: Top of the Pops
(Shown 2726 times, 1964-2021)

“As it turned out, the show initially conceived as a short-run series, ultimately ran for way more than 2,000 episodes. Pretty conclusive proof that the pop kids were right all along. Take that, squares.”

30: Gardeners’ World
(Shown 2736 times, 1968-2021)

“Gardener’s Club may have offered “a weekly date for enthusiasts to meet Percy Thrower and his gardening friends”, but Gardeners’ World set goals that were a little more lofty.”

29: The Daily Politics
(Shown 2793 times, 2003-2018)

“Plus, perhaps inevitably given it was the dawn of digital TV, the promise of brand new interactive BBC service I-Can, reported as offering “direct participation between the public and decision-makers”. That seems to have quietly disappeared before any launch”

28: CountryFile
(Shown 2798 times, 1988-2021)

“It’s a format hardly likely to pop up on Amazon Prime any time soon, after all. No, Clarkson’s Farm isn’t the same.”

27: Party Political Broadcast (etc)
(Shown 2804 times, 1950-2021)

“Of course, a camera being thrust in front of a Minister for Something merely resulted in production values that a YouTuber with a three-figure follower count would baulk at. A desk, a mic, some paper and (more often than not) a bit of nice wood panelling in the background. No wonder generations of kids kept asking if they could just go to bed early.”

26: The Weakest Link
(Shown 2923 times, 2000-2021)

“Now, here’s a programme that seemed to mark a sea change on how popular quiz shows could break out of the confines of telly, and become an entire self-contained industry.”

25: Nationwide
(Shown 2930 times, 1969-1983)

“Responsible, incombustible stuff this; no town councillor can afford to miss it.”

24: Teletubbies
(Shown 2977 times, 1997-2009)

“Eh? Oh.”

23: Kilroy
(Shown 3005 times, 1986-2004)

“Your mother’s in a care home? And is being drugged? For the convenience of the staff?”

22: Eggheads
(Shown 3049 times, 2003-2021)

“Hang on, what’s a Channel 5 programme doing on here?”

21: Pebble Mill
(Shown 3137 times, 1972-2004)

“In this age of ENDLESS TELLY, it’s a bit weird to consider that back when Britain just had a tiny handful of channels to keep us entertained, they didn’t even bother broadcasting throughout the daylight hours, let alone overnight.”

20: Working Lunch
(Shown 3296 times, 1994-2010)

“This was much a looser affair, where every day is Casual Friday and there aren’t many meetings and someone has brought cakes from home. Look, here’s a bit where Adrian Chiles is playing Super Mario 64.”

19: Panorama
(Shown 3346 times, 1953-2021)

“Let the strident tones of Francis Lai’s Aujourd’hui C’est Toi soundtrack a spinning globe, and let a nation of kids ask if they can put another channel on. “

18: The ONE Show
(Shown 3400 times, 2006-2021)

“There are some TV reboots that will never, ever be a success until – against all reasonable logic – they just are.”

17: Songs of Praise
(Shown 3429 times, 1961-2021)

“The main initial naysayers to this new programme were… the BBC’s Religious Broadcasting department.”

16: Playdays
(Shown 3908 times, 1988-2002)

“The initial reaction was (and if any of this is a surprise to you: welcome to Britain) a general sense of despair at the very concept of change.”

15: Match of the Day
(Shown 4055 times, 1964-2021)

“Following the 1966 World Cup, famously won by A British Team Wearing Red (haven’t checked, I presume it was Wales), MOTD made the move from BBC-2 to BBC-1 for the 1966/67 season.”

14: Doctors
(Shown 4081 times, 2000-2021)

“The most obvious example of this would be superbly titled episode “The Joe Pasquale Problem“, which involved a patient seeing everyone as Joe Pasquale (special guest for that episode: Joe Pasq… oh, you’ve guessed).”

13: Escape to the Country
(Shown 4365 times, 2002-2021)

Richie: “Still, I did my bit for the country.”
Eddie: “What, you stayed in the town?”
Richie: “Absolutely.”

12: Grandstand
(Shown 4500 times, 1958-2007)

“Ringo! Ringo! Have you heard? Clyde vs Cowdenbeath was postponed!”

11: Flog It!
(Shown 4531 times, 2002-2021)

“Not taking it home, sitting up all night with a baseball bat in case burglars have overheard the valuation, and carefully taking it to an antique dealer hoping to get the full promised amount. I mean, who’s got time for that?”

10: Jackanory
(Shown 4701 times, 1965-2009)

“They’re only going to see this for several seconds! Whoopee!”

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And there we go. Just like the bit before Neighbours moved to teatime and Marge popped up to explain the previous few years of plot in five minutes. See you next time, for Number Nine.