Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»News & Sport
    News & Sport TV Shows - 1950s TV Shows - 1960s 2 Mins Read

    Tonight

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 5 7 – 1 9 6 5 (UK)

    Tonight was broadcast every weekday, beginning in 1957 with an audience of just 1 million, but by the end of the year soaring past the 5 million mark.

    The start of Tonight followed the death of the magazine Picture Post, and some of the show’s most popular contributors came from there – among them Fyfe Robertson, Trevor Philpott, Slim Hewitt and later Kenneth Allsop.

    The presenter was Cliff Michelmore, and he introduced weird and wonderful stories from the above-mentioned reporters, together with Derek Hart, Macdonald Hastings, Geoffrey Johnson Smith and a new reporter named Alan Whicker.

    Cy Grant sang a topical calypso, written by Bernard Levin, and there was a little ditty from folk duo Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor (who went on to host The White Heather Club for five years).

    The first woman reporter on the programme was Polly Elwes, who recalled a typical Tonight tale; “I had to do a story about some sheep on Ilkley Moor which, because the moor wasn’t fenced, were getting into people’s back gardens and eating their chrysanthemums. We did a recce and there were sheep, loads of them, doing just that. Next morning when we came to film it there wasn’t a sheep in sight. So we went up on the moors, found some sheep, drove them down and put them into the gardens!”

    Human guests included Brigitte Bardot and Jayne Mansfield, both interviewed by the show’s resident charmer, Geoffrey Johnson Smith.

    Cliff Michelmore recalled the arrival of La Mansfield thus; “She was wearing a leopard skin affair which looked as though she had been poured into it. It hugged every bit of her body tightly down to her ankles. She shuffled across the studio floor and stood leaning against a piece of scenery. When offered a chair or a stool, she declined, informing us ‘This dress aint for sittin’, this dress aint for walkin’, all this dress is for is leanin’.”

    Although the title was re-used in 1975 for a late-night show, Tonight really ceased to be ten years earlier when, after some 1,800 editions, Cliff Michelmore could no longer say: “The next Tonight will be tomorrow night”.

    Cliff Michelmore passed away in March 2016, aged 96.

    Cliff Michelmore
    Derek Hart
    Alan Whicker
    Fyfe Robertson
    Trevor Philpott
    Kenneth Allsop
    Macdonald Hastings
    Christopher Brasher
    Julian Pettifer
    Brian Redhead
    Slim Hewitt
    Geoffrey Johnson Smith
    Polly Elwes
    Cy Grant
    Robin Hall
    Jimmie Macgregor

    Related Posts

    • Continental, The
      Continental, The
      1 9 5 2 - 1 9 5 3 (USA) The…
    • This Day Tonight
      This Day Tonight
      1 9 6 7 - 1 9 7 8 (Australia) Commonly…
    • Emergency
      Emergency
      1 9 5 9 (Australia) 16 x 30 minute episodes Sponsored…
    • Songs Of Praise
      Songs Of Praise
      1 9 6 1 - Current  (UK) The longest-running religious…
    • Nationwide
      Nationwide
      1 9 6 9 - 1 9 8 4 (UK) This…
    • Jack Paar Show, The
      Jack Paar Show, The
      1 9 5 3 - 1 9 5 7 (USA)…
    • Stars on Sunday
      Stars on Sunday
      1 9 6 9 - 1 9 7 9 (UK) You…
    • That Was The Week That Was (UK)
      That Was The Week That Was (UK)
      1 9 6 2 - 1 9 6 4 (UK) 36…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleTomorrow’s World
    Next Article Top Of The Form (Television Top Of The Form)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Liquidator, The (1966)
      Former tank sergeant Boysie Oakes (Rod Taylor) – codenamed […]
    • The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Book Artists
      14 July 2019 Artwork by illustrators from the classic Ladybird […]
    • Porter Wagoner Show, The
      1 9 6 0 – 1 9 8 1 (USA) 686 x 30 minute episodes Porter […]
    • Hawkins
      1 9 7 3 – 1 9 7 4 (USA) 8 x 90 minute episodes Billy Jim […]
    • Hawaiian Shirts
      The Hawaiian shirt (sometimes known as the Aloha shirt), is a […]
    • Stone Poneys, The
      The Stone Poneys are now remembered only as Linda […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.