Ontelly

The Third Programme: High Culture for All

Logo for The Third Programme: High Culture for All

Francine Stock narrates a documentary chronicling the story of BBC's Third Programme. Introduced in 1946, the station was unlike anything else on the airwaves. Broadcasting only the very best of high culture, the Third Programme captured a new ideal - that elite culture was good for the whole nation. Surprisingly, it was a vision shared by both left and right.