ITV Wales and Chapter Arts Centre today (Tuesday, July 5^th) launched the beginning of a special season of showings that will celebrate ITV’s 50 years of broadcasting. And to get the Season underway, the only Oscar to have been won by an ITV documentary will be on display.

As part of ITV’s 50^th birthday celebrations, ITV are linking up with the British Film Institute to run a season of showings at cinemas throughout Britain that will feature programming highlights from the last 50 years.

Over the next few months, ITV Wales will be working in partnership with Chapter Arts Centre where screenings will be held between July and September that will include numerous network programme packages – from children’s programmes to comedy, and from drama to light entertainment.

Favourites such as Tiswas; The Avengers; The Morcambe and Wise Show; The Tommy Cooper Hour and Sunday Night at the London Palladium will be screened along with some great drama from ITV’s last 50 years.

Chapter will also be screening regional programmes that have been of significant importance to Welsh and British broadcasting history.  These programmes include Great Little Trains of Wales; The Dragon Has Two Tongues; Snow Spider; We are Seven and Jack Howells’ 1962 Oscar winning film, Dylan.

ITV’s has already begun celebrating the anniversary with Sir Melvyn Bragg’s series beginning on ITV1 last month, chronicling the history of ‘the people’s channel’.

Half a century of independent television in Wales will also be remembered in a one-hour special screened to mark ITV’s 50 years of broadcasting.

The story will feature highlights from the early days of commercial television in Wales right through to the present. Arfon Haines Davies, who this year celebrates 30 years in front of the cameras, presents the series, produced and directed by Gwenda Richards.

ENDS

For further information, please contact Sian-Elin Taylor on 029 20 590247 (sian-elin.taylor@itvwales.com) or Carol Jones at Chapter on 029 2031 1050