27 May 2012 (2012-05-27) – 29 August 2023 (2023-08-29)
The South Bank Show is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts.[1] Conceived, written, and presented by former BBC arts broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience. In 2023, the series came to an end when it was announced that Bragg would be leaving the series after 45 years.[2][3]
History
ITV (1978–2010)
The programme was a replacement for Aquarius, the arts series which had been running since 1970. Presenter Melvyn Bragg was already well known for his arts broadcasting on BBC television, notably Monitor and BBC Two's The Lively Arts. It first aired on 14 January 1978, covering many subjects, including Germaine Greer, Gerald Scarfe and Paul McCartney. It is the longest continuously running arts programme on UK television. From the beginning the series' intent was to mix high art and popular culture. This has remained, and the programme has always focused predominantly on art of the 20th and 21st centuries.
In May 2009, ITV announced that the show was to come to an end. Although it was originally reported that the show was ending due to Bragg's retirement,[4] Bragg later made it clear that he decided to leave after they ended the show, and thought ending it was a mistake; according to him, "they've killed the show, so I thought, I'll go as well."[5][6]
On Monday 28 December 2009 the final ITV edition of The South Bank Show was broadcast, featuring The Royal Shakespeare Company as its subject. Melvyn Bragg announced on this programme that, after ITV's last South Bank Show Awards in January 2010, there would be a series of ten The South Bank Show Revisited programmes transmitted in early 2010, featuring updates on previous South Bank Show subjects.
The production archive for the ITV series, including unaired footage, is housed at the University of Leeds.[7]
ITV had 33 series with 743 episodes, from 1978 until 2010.
Sky Arts (2012–present)
In July 2010, it was revealed that Bragg had bought the rights to the brand and had first right of access to The South Bank Show archives.[8]Sky Arts broadcasts South Bank Show archive editions and hosted the South Bank Sky Arts Awards on 25 Jan 2011, presented by Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a new arrangement of The South Bank Show theme.
Sky Arts revived The South Bank Show with a new series starting 27 May 2012.[1]
Since 2012 most series only have around 4–6 episodes.[9][10]
Theme music and visuals
The iconic image of the Hand of God giving life to Adam, used since the series' inception.
A sketch in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer featured Vic Reeves as Melvyn Bragg (with felt-tip marks on his face) presenting a feature on fictional folk singers Mulligan and O'Hare. Reeves depicts Bragg as an unlikely A-Team obsessive.
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's second series of Extras featured a reference to a fictional episode of The South Bank Show focused on madcap children's television presenters Dick and Dom.
Private Eye tends to parody Melvyn Bragg's name, and Spitting Image would rather accentuate his nasal accent. As Spitting Image was often aired immediately before The South Bank Show, episodes would often end with a send-up of Bragg, most notably in one episode having him advise viewers to switch off their televisions to avoid watching it.
Benny Hill once parodied Bragg in a 1978 episode of The Benny Hill Show as Melvyn Dragg. The name of the show was also parodied, and it was called "The South Blank Show."
^Chitra Ramaswamy (9 November 2009). "Interview: Melvyn Bragg - Man out of time". The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 November 2009. 'It did [shock me] a bit, especially from [ITV chairman] Michael [Grade],' says Bragg before steeling himself. 'I think it's a mistake. But there you go. These things happen. You move on.'
^See also Bragg's book of reminiscences, The South Bank Show: Final Cut. Hodder, 2010. ISBN978-1-4447-0552-2
