Up to the Hour

Up to the Hour was a programme on BBC Radio 4 that ran from May 1977 to June 1978. There were two editions every weekday morning, each 25 minutes long and finishing at 7am and 8am respectively (hence the title). Both parts were followed by the Today programme, which during this period was also broadcast in two parts. Rather than hire a separate presenter, the programme was presented by the duty announcer. The first presenter was Laurie Macmillan, the last John Marsh; other presenters included Peter Donaldson and future television newsreader Moira Stuart.

The original theme tune was Tambourin by François Joseph Gossec, performed by James Galway.

History

In 1977 the then-controller of Radio 4, Ian McIntyre, cut the length of a number of news and current affairs programmes, in the belief that this would improve their overall quality. In the case of the breakfast programme Today, the reduction from two hours to one was achieved by splitting the programme into two. The gaps created were filled by Up to the Hour, which consisted of lighter items such as music, sport and trailers for upcoming programmes. It also incorporated the existing religious slot, Thought for the Day.

The Hour

The Hour may refer to:

Art, entertainment, and media

Periodicals

Television

Other uses

See also

The Hour (magazine series)

The Hour was a lifestyle magazine programme broadcast on STV, the ITV franchise in Northern and Central Scotland.

Originally broadcast each weekday afternoon at 5pm, the programme was presented for much of its run by Michelle McManus and Stephen Jardine and broadcast from STV's Pacific Quay studios in Glasgow. The programme later moved to a weekly peak time slot but was axed after four weeks.

History

The Hour began in May 2009 as an hour-long replacement for The Five Thirty Show, which had aired on weekdays since January 2008. Whilst its male presenter, Stephen Jardine, remained with the programme since its launch, his female co-host rotated between various personalities until October 2009, when it was announced that regular guest host Michelle McManus would become a main co-host.

Despite replacing The Five Thirty Show, The Hour's focus was more lifestyle-orientated than its predecessor, which was originally intended to cover the main issues and news topics of the day. Features on The Hour included entertainment, TV, movies, cookery, health, gardening, fashion, celebrity guests and other topics.

The Hour (BBC TV series)

The Hour is a 2011 BBC drama series centred on a new current-affairs show being launched by the BBC in June 1956, at the time of the Hungarian Revolution and Suez Crisis. It stars Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, and Romola Garai, with a supporting cast including Tim Pigott-Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Burn Gorman, Anton Lesser, Anna Chancellor, Julian Rhind-Tutt, and Oona Chaplin. It was written by Abi Morgan (also one of the executive producers, alongside Jane Featherstone and Derek Wax).

The series premiered on BBC Two and BBC HD from 19 July 2011 each Tuesday at 9 pm. Each episode lasts 60 minutes, with Ruth Kenley-Letts as producer and Coky Giedroyc as lead director. It was commissioned by Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two, and Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning and produced by Kudos Film and Television.

Following the airing of the final episode of the first series, it was announced that a second series had been commissioned, which is co-produced by American network BBC America. It premiered on 14 November 2012 in the UK and on 28 November 2012 in the United States.