The BBC has announced a year of special events and programmes to mark 100 years of the BBC. There will be special episodes of Strictly Come Dancing, Doctor Who, Top Gear, MasterChef, The Apprentice and Antiques Roadshow.
Live music events return in 2022 with Radio 1’s Big Weekend, 6 Music Festival and Radio 2 Live all bringing world class artists and brilliant performers to audiences in different locations across the UK.
New TV and audio documentaries will consider the history of the BBC and its impact on public life over the last 100 years. And in a further treat for music fans, the biggest names from across the BBC will curate their personal music mixes for listeners on BBC Sounds as part of a collection called My Sounds, with names and tracks to be announced next year.
Other special events and programmes
In addition, 2022 will also see the BBC showcase events including the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Women’s Euros, the World Cup and Commonwealth Games, a host of new dramas and comedies plus Frozen Planet II. It’s also the year BBC Three is expected to return as a regular broadcast channel.
Specially commissioned programmes include comedy The Love Box In Your Living Room with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, which promises to take a look at the BBC’s last 100 years mixing contemporary footage with “genuinely authentic made-up stuff”. While on CBBC, children will be entertained by Horrible Histories: BBC’s Big Birthday Bonanza! in a special of the multi-award winning comedy series, packed with fascinating facts and jokes about the Corporation.
Details of exactly how Strictly Come Dancing, Doctor Who, Top Gear, MasterChef, The Apprentice and the Antiques Roadshow will mark the centenary are yet to be confirmed.
100 years of children’s programmes
Here’s One I Made Earlier (working title) with former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq will explore and celebrate the very best of British Children’s Programming from the past 100 years. The programme will track content from the very first radio broadcast of Children’s Hour in 1922, via the iconic Magic Roundabout, right through to Saturday morning megahits such as Going Live.
Three-part series David Dimbleby’s BBC: A Very British History will trace the impact of the BBC on British life across recent decades. He will explore the Corporation’s role in major moments of political and cultural change, its conflicts with governments over the years, its own public controversies and how it continues to engage with the British people and attempts to represent a diverse and changing nation.
Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer says:
“Our centenary year will be a huge treat for audiences of all ages from massive sporting events, comedy, entertainment, drama, arts and music, to documentaries assessing all aspects of the BBC’s history.
“BBC 100 will celebrate and reflect on the unique role the BBC plays in the lives of audiences across the UK as our much cherished national broadcaster from its creation right up to the present day.”