BBC will make thousands of classic TV clips available on new archive website

BBC Archive will feature a selection of clips from the 10 million hours of content from the BBC stores, which will be curated by the same team that man the hugely popular BBC Archive social media accounts.

The selected clips will include the recently-made viral snippet from 1977, in which a woman from the East End of London talked about her memories of television programmes, racking up over three million views on social media.

A 1974 report on Deke Duncan’s garden shed radio station, which thanks to its revival by BBC Archive led to him getting his big break on the BBC 44 years later, is also available to view, as well as Blue Peter presenter John Noakes’s terrifying ascent of Nelson’s column in 1977.

More Blue Peter favourites to revisit include that infamous incident with the incontinent elephant and a DIY Dalek straight from Doctor Who.

Other historical resources will be made available, including news reports from major historical events such as the outbreak of the Second World War and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Light entertainment is also available on the archive, with the BBC’s former interlude clips including the famous potter’s wheel or a kitten playing with a ball of wool – reminiscent of the ‘slow TV’ trend which is now seen a resurgence in popularity.

There are also plans to extend the Archive site over the next few years.

Peter Rippon, BBC Archive executive editor, said of the new website: “The site is the beginning of a journey into the BBC’s most cherished asset. Social history, and what it reveals about who we are, is proving especially popular, so we’ve created collections of hundreds of items that give a glimpse of what the archive contains.

“We are planning to open up the archive much more as the BBC prepares to mark its Centenary in 2022. This is an important step on that journey.”

The new site can be found online at: www.bbc.co.uk/archive