Ceefax: the start of interactive television
In 1974, the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ launched the world's first teletext service.
In 1974, the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ launched the world's first teletext service.
It provided information, like news and weather, through our TV screens, whenever users wanted, at the push of a button.
Rachel Naylor speaks to Angus McIntyre, son of the late Colin McIntyre, Ceefax's first editor.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the βIndian Titanicβ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemyβs Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and GΓΆrel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence theyβve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of Americaβs occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Colin McIntyre, pictured with a television set showing Ceefax, in 1978. Credit: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Broadcasts
- Wednesday 08:50GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Wednesday 12:50GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Wednesday 18:50GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Wednesday 23:50GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Thursday 03:50GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa, East Asia, South Asia & West and Central Africa
Podcast
-
Witness History
History as told by the people who were there