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Television – beamed into our homes with a proliferation of channels and devices to watch. TV has become an integral part of our lives, all over the world, in just a few short decades. Why has TV taken a grip on us which has never weakened? It influences our politics, our cultural attitudes and social perceptions. Does it mainly distract or engage us? Presenter Mike Williams finds out about TV’s humble origins with the grandson of TV’s inventor – John Logie Baird and runs through some of television’s most viewed moments. Featuring one of the biggest reality TV stars in the Middle East; fresh from his 2013 win of the Arab Idol singing contest, Mohammed Assaf shares his thoughts on the medium. TV, once tightly controlled, has escaped into the world and continues to change our societies in unimaginable ways.

Produced by Nina Robinson

(Photo: A wall of 750 television screens at an exhibition celebrating 50 years of television broadcasting, in Melbourne, Australia. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)