The history of the BBC

A century ago, a group of idealistic radio pioneers launched one of Britain’s most famous institutions: the BBC. In this multi-part audio and feature series, David Hendy charts how the corporation shaped the nation...

Explore the feature series from BBC History Magazine

A group of BBC staff surround a large piece of broadcasting equipment

BBC at 100The BBC begins: how a group of radio pioneers launched one of Britain's most famous institutions. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC at 100Captivating little citizens. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC employees at work in the control room at the new home at Broadcasting House (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

BBC at 100Broadcasting House: a new home for the BBC. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

African-American double act Buck and Bubbles (Ford L Washington and John W Sublett) were part of a coterie of entertainers of colour broadcast on the BBC in the 1930s (Photo by UPI/Bettmann via Getty Images)

BBC at 100Mirroring Multicultural Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The presenters of the recently launched BBC Radio 1 assemble for a group photo outside Broadcasting House, 1967. (Photo by Robert Stiggins/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

BBC at 100Sounds of the Sixties. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

David Attenborough with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, in a famous scene from 1979’s Life on Earth

BBC at 100The rise of natural history television and David Attenborough. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Composer and conductor Igor Stravinsky rehearses with the BBC Symphony Orchestra ahead of a concert to be broadcast on the Third Programme, 1958

BBC at 100The Third Programme: a cultural institution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Cast and crew filming an episode of EastEnders in 1998 (Photo by Polly Borland/Getty Images)

BBC at 100How EastEnders saved the BBC. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anthony Eden addresses BBC cameras in 1956

BBC at 1001950s friction between government and the BBC. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jazz singer Adelaide Hall at Radiolympia, 1947

BBC at 100Entry into the television age. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Protesters gather outside the Royal Courts of Justice during the 2003 Hutton inquiry into claims, broadcast on the BBC, that the case for war in Iraq had been “sexed up”.

BBC at 100Rocked by scandal. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

David Dimbleby commands the studio during the May 1997 general election

BBC at 100Into the digital age. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Listen to the 8-part podcast series on the history of the BBC

Episode 1Audio adventures in the 1920s. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 2Establishment values in the 1930s. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 3The corporation at war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 4TV takes off in the 1950s. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 5Change & innovation in 60s Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 6Political tensions in the 1970s and 80s. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 7Scandals break. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 8What can history tell us about its future?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Discover the real history behind more BBC programming

Claire Foy as the Duchess of Argyll in A Very British Scandal (left); Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll (right)

The Argyll divorce: the society scandal that rocked 1960s Britain

Lindsay Duncan, who plays aristocratic adventurer Jane Digby in the BBC One adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days

Jane Digby: Lindsay Duncan on playing the aristocratic adventurer in Around the World in 80 Days

Suspected witch Mary Sutton is “swum” in a Bedfordshire millpond in 1612, as shown in a contemporary illustration. (Picture by Getty Images)

Witchfinding: what drove the hunters’ cruel crusade and what methods did they use?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby in season six of 'Peaky Blinders'

Peaky Blinders: The story so far, plus the real figures to expect in season 6

Polish coat of arms on red background

Poland and Ukraine’s shared history: how dreams of nationhood endure. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Neil MacGregor is a broadcaster, author and former director of the British Museum

Neil MacGregor"We decide for ourselves who we think we are – and museums are central to that". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.