NOVEMBER 2, 1936, was a momentous day in the history of British culture for it was then that the BBC began its regular scheduled television service.

Since then technology has progressed and we no longer look at a small black and white screen but watch programmes in 3D, high definition and on a screen that can almost fill a wall.

The variety of programmes shown have also changed and the medium of television has, therefore, become a window on how the world has altered and is a valuable source of information on our evolving attitudes.

This lovingly researched book is a fascinating documentation of nearly 4,000 entries of programmes and TV stars, where we can read about our childhood favourites and programmes that have accompanied us throughout our lives.

This fourth edition has been fully revised and brought up to date with an interesting introduction and well-written entries that are easy to read.

For anyone interested in TV in any capacity, this is a wonderful book to own.