Programme Archive
On the 10th May 1981 a baby was born after having been successfully operated on whilst still in the womb. The paediatric surgeon who developed the technique was Dr Michael Harrison. |
The hugely popular game show started on Japanese TV in 1986. Contestants were faced with all sorts of physical challenges which often resulted in slapstick failure. It soon became an international success. |
Birmingham Alabama was one of the most segregated cities in the USA in 1963. In May that year thousands of black schoolchildren responded to a call from Martin Luther King to protest against segregation at the height of the civil rights movement. It became known as the Children's Crusade. Gwendolyn Webb was 14 years old at the time. |
Tennis champion Monica Seles was stabbed during a match in Germany on April 30th 1993. She was world number one but the attack set her career back for some time. Jens-Peter Hetch of the German Tennis Federation was there and he has been sharing his memories of the day with Ashley Byrne. |
The lighthouse on Skellig Michael off the south west coast of Ireland was continuously occupied by lighthouse keepers for more than 150 years until its automation in 1987. Skellig Michael has now become a tourist attraction since its ancient monastery was used as a location in recent Star Wars films. The last keeper of the light there was Richard Foran who has been speaking to Catherine Harvey about life on the remote island. |
Zoe Leyland was born in Australia on April 11th 1984. As an embryo, she'd been frozen for 8 weeks before being successfully implanted into her mother's womb. Dr Alan Trounson was part of the team who pioneered the technology to freeze embryos, he's been speaking to Ashley Byrne. |
In April 1986, the legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus made history by becoming the oldest player ever to win the Masters. Aged 46, the "Golden Bear" took the lead with just one hole to go. Ashley Byrne talks to Tsuneyuki Nakajima, a Japanese golfer who was in contention throughout one of the most exciting tournaments ever played at Augusta. |
In 1974, the Tanzanian Filbert Bayi won one of the greatest 1500-metre races of all time at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. Bayi led from the front and held off a strong field to win gold and set a world record. Bayi is a legendary figure in Tanzania, where he now runs an AIDS charity. He talks to Ashley Byrne. |
In the 1970s, historian Sir Brian Harrison embarked on a huge project to record the experiences of women who had been part of the UK suffrage movement in the early part of the 20th Century. Jane Garvey listens through some of the 205 tapes to get an idea of their lives as well as the risks and sacrifices the women made in their fight for equality. |
Tens of thousands of people died in India in 1974 during the world's last major smallpox epidemic. Individual cases had to be tracked down and quarantined to stop the deadly disease spreading. Ashley Byrne has spoken to Dr Mahendra Dutta and Dr Larry Brilliant who took part in the battle to eradicate smallpox once and for all. |
The touchscreen smartphone changed mobile technology for ever. It was unveiled on January 9th 2007 by the Apple boss Steve Jobs. Within a few years smartphones had changed the way billions of people lived their lives. Ashley Byrne has been speaking to Andy Grignon a senior developer on the project. |
The game has become a holiday tradition with families around the world since its launch in 1981. Ashley Byrne has been speaking to the designer of Trivial Pursuit, Michael Wurstlin, about how it was first created. |