Ann and Harold TV series

Ann and Harold

1938 - United Kingdom

Ann and Harold began life as a radio play in six scenes, broadcast on 5 March 1932. Written by writer and actor Louis Goodrich the play concerns a London society couple's romance from their first meeting to their courtship and finaly their grand society wedding. The play was considered popular enough for a sequel the following year but this time in an episodic serial format. 

According to the original Radio Times listing the series (More About Ann and Harold) followed "the pleasures and pains of a very nice modern young couple at a christening, Lord's and a nursing home. The young things are superhumanly, bright through all their ' breaks,' and their crisp dialogue leaves no time or attention for the cricket news while listening. Ann Trevor and Geoffrey Wincott are the chief names in an experienced radio cast." 

Ann and Harold TV series

In 1938 the BBC transferred Ann and Harold to their fledgling TV broadcasts in a serial of five parts, now considered to be the first television series to appear on our screens. The couple, Ann Teviot and Harold Warden were played by Ann Todd and William Hutchison and followed the same storyline as the original series; their first meeting to their wedding, a period that spanned 10 months. The final episode was set at Lord's cricket ground, although in the original play a topical cricketing event had them crossing the river to the Oval. 

Ann and Harold TV series

Writer Louis Goodrich appeared in the televised version which debuted on 12 July at 9.15pm. Three of the episodes were 20 minutes in length whilst two of them were of only 15 minutes duration. Unfortunately, no recording was preserved of the series and the only visual record appears to be the two photographs on this page.

Published on July 15th, 2019. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Weavers Green

Britain's first rural twice-weekly soap opera centred around village life in East Anglia, seen through the experiences of local a vet. All Creatures Great and Small meets Emmerdale.

Also tagged British Soap Opera

Round at the Redways

A curious mixture of soap opera and DIY, 'Round at the Redways' appeared on the new independent network from the first week of ITV’s launch.

Also tagged British Soap Opera

Empire Road

Depicting the lives of the African-Caribbean, East Indian and South Asian residents of a racially diverse street in the city of Birmingham, Empire Road was the first British television series to be written, acted and directed predominantly by artists of colour

Also tagged British Soap Opera

Castle Haven

1960s soap opera about a number of families living in two Victorian house conversions in Yorkshire.

Also tagged British Soap Opera

The Appleyards

Transmitted once a fortnight from 1952 in the Children's Television slot, The Appleyards is generally regarded as Britain's first television soap opera-even if it was made for kids.

Also tagged British Soap Opera

Crossroads

The soap that was the byword for every dropped line, every wobbly doorway, every mundane plot. For many years Crossroads rose above the slating it took from the critics and with ratings as high as 15 million viewers won fans from far and wide.

Also tagged British Soap Opera

R.U.R. Rossum's Universal Robots

The first science fiction programme made by the BBC, R.U.R. prophetically imagined how technological progress would come to dominate the world and, in its extreme, how it would ultimately threaten humankind with extinction.

Also released in 1938