This is a timeline of the history of BBC Two.
1960s 1962 The Pilkington Report on the future of broadcasting observed that ITV lacked any culturally relevant programming. It therefore decided that Britain's third television station should be awarded to the BBC.
1963 14 January – Michael Peacock is appointed the first Controller of the BBC's (forthcoming) second television channel. The designation of the new channel as BBC2 is also announced. Peacock is to assume his post on 4 February.
1964 4 January – Test transmissions begin for BBC2. 20 April – BBC2 starts broadcasting at 7:20pm, however, a power cut had affected its launch night. The first programme was the news bulletin.
21 April – The power had been restored to Television Centre and programming began with Play School at 11am and the launch schedule postponed from the night before was successfully shown that evening at 7:20pm, also in reference to the power cut, the transmission opened with a shot of a candle which was then blown out by presenter Denis Tuohy. 22 August – The first Match of the Day airs on BBC2. The programme moved to BBC1 from the start of the 1964-65 season 6 December – The channel goes on the air in the Midlands and East Anglia, because the Sutton Coldfield transmitter initially could not relay BBC2 beyond an area reception to the Midlands region, resulting in a staggered signal. 16 December – The first episode of The Likely Lads is broadcast.
1965 9 January – Not Only... But Also makes its debut on BBC2. 4 March – David Attenborough becomes the channel's new Controller in succession to Michael Peacock who becomes Controller of BBC1. Attenborough remains in this post until 1968. 2 May – Sunday Cricket is broadcast for the first time. The programme which runs throughout the afternoon features full coverage of a match "played under knock-out rules". 12 September – BBC2 Wales goes on the air. To introduce the service, BBC2 airs a programme titled BBC-2 Comes to Wales, featuring the Secretary of State for Wales James Griffiths, the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, the Deputy Mayor of Newport, Chairman of the Broadcasting Council for Wales Professor Glanmor Williams, David Attenborough and BBC2 Wales Controller Alun Oldfield-Davies. 4 October – BBC2 begins broadcasting across the Midlands. 31 October – BBC2 in the North of England goes on the air. November – BBC2 begins broadcasting across Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight. By the start of 1966, BBC2 is broadcasting in central Scotland and Yorkshire.
1966 1 January – The first edition of Rugby Special is broadcast, showing weekly highlights of rugby union matches. 15 January – BBC2 goes on the air in the South and West of England. 5 April – The Money Programme makes its debut on BBC2. It would run until 2010. 11 June – BBC2 Northern Ireland goes on the air. 9 July – BBC2 Scotland goes on the air, although much of England and some parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland still cannot receive the channel. 20 August – BBC2 begins showing a Midnight Movie on Saturday nights. The film airs through the midnight hour, offering an alternative to BBC1 and ITV as both those channels generally closed at around midnight. 2 October – The four-part drama Talking to a Stranger by John Hopkins, recounts a weekend's tragic events from the perspectives of each of the four main participants, begins airing as part of the Theatre 625 series. Two of the leads were Judi Dench and Maurice Denham.
1967
1 January – Debut of the BBC's adaptation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga on BBC2. The series concludes on 1 July. 1 July – BBC 2 becomes Europe's first colour TV broadcaster, showing about five hours of colour programming every week as part of a "launching period", starting with live coverage from the Wimbledon Championships. The full colour service would launch in December. 23 October – BBC2 airs the BBC's first bulletin of Service Information. 2 December – BBC 2 officially launches its full colour service with a special production of Billy Smart's Circus, at 6.30pm. This occasion also marks the debut of a new logo and ident: the "cubed 2", which would be used in various forms until the end of 1974. Also shown this evening is the first episode of Vanity Fair, the first drama serial by the BBC to be produced in colour.
1968 2 September – The Morecambe & Wise Show makes its debut. The comedy duo had contracted to the BBC to be able to broadcast in colour.
1969 23 February – The first episode of Civilisation, written and presented by art historian Kenneth Clark, airs. The thirteen-part series concludes in May. 24 March – Debut of the surreal comedy sketch show Q, written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand and also starring Milligan.
1970s 1970 1 January – The first episode of The Six Wives of Henry VIII airs with Keith Michell in the lead. The six-part series is a sequence of television plays written by six writers.
1971 3 January – The first Open University broadcast is aired on BBC2. 17 February – BBC2 airs Elizabeth R, a drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. 21 September – The Old Grey Whistle Test makes its debut on BBC2.
1972 8 January – Ways of Seeing, a four-part series written and presented by John Berger, begins. 12 November – The first episode of America: A Personal History of the United States, a thirteen-part series written and presented by Alistair Cooke, airs.
1973 5 May – The Ascent of Man, written and presented by Jacob Bronowski, begins its thirteen-part run. 24 August – BBC2 airs a trade test colour film for the final time, having done so during daytime closedowns to provide colour broadcasting in these intervals for use by television shops and engineers (the 'trade') to adjust their television sets.
1974 30 January – BBC2 shows the first early morning Open University programming, airing between 6:40am and 7:30am. 22 February – BBC2 airs the drama Girl as part of its Second City Firsts anthology series. It tells the story of an affair between two army officers which is the first on British television to feature a gay kiss, between two women. 5 December – Party Political Broadcast, the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, airs on BBC2. 28 December – BBC2 launches a new ident known as the Striped 2.
1975 January – When not showing actual programmes, BBC2 begins to fully close down on weekdays between 11:30am and 4pm and continues to do so until September 1983. 20 January – Due to the decision to fully close down the network during the day, Service Information is now broadcast once a day, at 10.30am, rather than three times a day. 22 January–26 February – Drama series The Love School, about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood is shown on BBC2. 19 September – The much-loved comedy series Fawlty Towers makes its debut on BBC2. The second series would air four years later coincidental to it moving to BBC1. 1 October – The first episode of the long-running documentary series Arena airs.
1976 20 September – The twelve-part serial I, Claudius begins.
1977 25 October – The first series of Ripping Yarns, written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones, begins. A pilot episode aired in January 1976. 22 December – Count Dracula airs on BBC2, starring Louis Jourdan in a television adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel. It was directed by Philip Saville.
1978
6 April – The four-part drama series Law & Order begins airing on BBC2. Each of the four stories within the series is told from a different perspective, including that of the Detective, the Villain, the Brief and the Prisoner. The series proves to be controversial at the time due to its depiction of a corrupt British law enforcement and legal system.Newman, G.F. Television interview with Mark Lawson. Mark Lawson Talks to... G.F. Newman. United Kingdom: BBC Four. Retrieved 3 April 2018 13 July – The original series of Top Gear begins airing on BBC2, having started as a locally produced programme at BBC Pebble Mill the previous year. 31 October – Empire Road first airs. It was, according to the BFI's Screenonline website, "the first serious attempt at a long-running drama on British television addressing Britain's growing multi-racial society." It runs for sixteen episodes over two series ending in October 1979.
1979 2 January – BBC2 airs the first episode of Michael Wood's documentary history series, In Search of the Dark Ages. 23 June – BBC2 launches the world's first computer-generated ident, the BBC Two 'Computer Generated 2'.A recording exists of this ident in use on 23 June; its predecessor is known to have been used as late as 21 June. 25 October – The final episode of the comedy series Fawlty Towers airs on BBC2.
1980s 1980 28 January – The first edition of Newsnight airs on BBC2. Its launch had been delayed by four months by the Association of Broadcasting Staff, at the time the main BBC trade union.Andrew Billen "Flagship sails on", New Statesman, 7 February 2000 25 February – The first episode of the political sitcom Yes Minister, "Open Government", airs on BBC2. March – The first in-vision Ceefax transmissions air. These consist of 30-minute transmissions that BBC2 airs on weekdays between 10am and 10:30am and between 3:30pm and 4pm. 6 September – BBC2 launches a computer generated clock, probably the first of its kind in the world.BBC Two Clock Goes Electronic
1981 5 January – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the television version of Douglas Adams' radio comedy of the same name makes its debut on BBC2. 20 January – BBC2 airs live coverage of the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States. 17 May – Sunday Grandstand launches. It airs during the Summer months on BBC2. The programme also includes weekly coverage of Sunday Cricket that has been shown on BBC2 since 1965. 23 October – The last ever teatime block of Open University programmes airs. From 1982 onwards, only a single Open University programme airs and is billed in TV listings as a general programme rather than an Open University programme. This allows BBC2 to begin weeknight programmes at 5:35pm throughout the year instead of just before 7pm. The displaced OU programmes are moved to a late night slot, airing after the conclusion of regular programmes. November – BBC2 starts its weekdays at the earlier time of 3:55pm.
1982 15 April – BBC2's start time moves to the later time of 5:10pm with transmissions beginning with a single Open University programme with regular programmes now beginning at 5:40pm. 1 October – BBC2’s weekday daytime four-hour transmitter shutdown is suspended for the next four months. This is to assist riggers adjust aerials during the lead up to, and the launch of, Channel 4.Suspension of daytime BBC2 transmitter shutdowns 10 October – Boys from the Blackstuff makes its debut on BBC2 with the last episode shown on 7 November. 9 November – The first episode of the anarchic sitcom The Young Ones starring Rik Mayall, airs on BBC2. 23 December – At 10:30am, Service Information airs on BBC2 for the final time.
1983 7 February – The four-hour weekday transmitter shutdown resumes.Suspension of daytime BBC2 transmitter shutdowns 2 May – From this day, Ceefax pages air during all daytime downtime, although BBC2 continues to fully close down for four hours after Play School ends. 27–28 August – BBC2 Rocks Around the Clock by airing non-stop music programmes all day and also all night. 16 September Play School airs on BBC2 for the final time. BBC2 closes down during the day for the final time, all future daytime downtime is filled by Pages from Ceefax. 19 September – Daytime on Two launches on BBC2. Airing during term-time from just after 9am until 3pm, the strand encompasses the BBC Schools programming previously shown on BBC1 and the BBC's adult educational programmes which are shown at lunchtime. A special version of the BBC2 'Computer Generated 2' ident is launched to introduce the programmes.