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{{Short description|UK arts TV programme (1978–2010, 2012–)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2010}}
{{Infobox television
| image = South bank show.jpg
| image_size = 256
| genre = Arts
| presenter = [[Melvyn Bragg]] (1978–2023)
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| opentheme = Variation on [[Niccolò Paganini|Paganini]]'s "[[Caprice No. 24 (Paganini)|24th Caprice]]" by [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]
| num_series = 45
| num_episodes = 805 (+ 3 specials)
| runtime = 60mins <small>(inc. adverts)</small>
| company = [[London Weekend Television|LWT]]
|
| network2 = [[Sky Arts]]
| first_aired = {{start date|df=y|1978|1|14}}
| last_aired = {{end date|df=y|2010|5|30}}
| first_aired2 = {{start date|df=y|2012|5|27}}
| last_aired2 = present
}}
'''''The South Bank Show''''' is a British [[television]] arts magazine series originally produced by [[London Weekend Television]] and broadcast on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on [[Sky Arts]].<ref name="rt revival">{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-04-02/sherlock-and-twenty-twelve-up-for-south-bank-awards|title=Sherlock and Twenty Twelve up for South Bank Awards|work=RadioTimes}}</ref> 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, it was announced that Bragg would be leaving the series after 45 years.<ref>{{cite web| last=Walker| first=Amy| title=Melvyn Bragg to step down from South Bank Show after 45 years| url=https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2023/aug/20/melvyn-bragg-to-step-down-from-south-bank-show-after-45-years| website=[[The Guardian]]| date=20 August 2023| access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref>
==History==
===ITV (1978–2010)===
The programme was a replacement for ''[[Aquarius (UK TV series)|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 (UK TV series)|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.
For much of its life, the show was produced by [[London Weekend Television]] (LWT) for the ITV network.
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,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/06/itv-the-south-bank-show-melvyn-bragg "ITV to axe The South Bank Show when Melvyn Bragg retires next year"], ''The Guardian'' (London), 6 May 2009</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | url= http://living.scotsman.com/books/Interview-Melvyn-Bragg--Man.5640953.jp | title=Interview: Melvyn Bragg - Man out of time |date= 9 November 2009 | work=[[The Scotsman]] | author=Chitra Ramaswamy | access-date=9 November 2009| quote='It did [shock me] a bit, especially from [ITV chairman] [[Michael Grade|Michael [Grade]]],' says Bragg before steeling himself. 'I think it's a mistake. But there you go. These things happen. You move on.'}}</ref><ref>See also Bragg's book of reminiscences, ''The South Bank Show: Final Cut''. Hodder, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-4447-0552-2}}</ref>
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]].<ref>[https://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections/collection/2442 "South Bank Show Production Archive"], University of Leeds, 18 November 2020</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jul/19/south-bank-show-sky-arts | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Maggie | last=Brown | title=Lord Bragg takes South Bank Show to Sky Arts | date=19 July 2010}}</ref> [[Sky Arts]] broadcasts ''South Bank Show'' archive editions and hosted the [[South Bank Sky Arts Award]]s 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.<ref name="rt revival"/>
Since 2012 most series only have around 4–6 episodes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=The South Bank Show |url=https://www.skygroup.sky/title-the-south-bank-show |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114232242/https://www.skygroup.sky/title-the-south-bank-show |archive-date=14 January 2023 |access-date=14 February 2023 |website=Sky Group}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Six Outstanding Women Top the Line-Up for South Bank Show 2018 |url=https://www.skygroup.sky/article/Six-Outstanding-Women-Top-the-Line-Up-for-South-Bank-Show-2018 |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=www.skygroup.sky |language=en-gb}}</ref>
==Theme music and visuals==
[[File:Hands of God and Adam.jpg|thumb|250px|The iconic image of the Hand of God giving life to Adam, used since the series' inception.]]
The [[theme music]] is taken from [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]'s ''[[Variations (Andrew Lloyd Webber album)|Variations]]'' composed in 1977 for his brother, the cellist [[Julian Lloyd Webber]]. This is based on the theme from [[Niccolò Paganini|Paganini]]'s "[[Caprice No. 24 (Paganini)|24th Caprice]]". The brand image of the programme is an animated version of a detail from [[Michelangelo]]'s [[Sistine Chapel ceiling]] painting, specifically the image of the Hand of God giving life to [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]]. It shows the two hands meeting, generating a [[lightning]] bolt.
{{Clear}}
==Subjects==
There have been many subjects of the show,<ref name="Ep Guides">{{cite web|title=The South Bank Show (a Subjects & Air Dates Guide)|url=http://epguides.com/SouthBankShow/|website=epguides.com|access-date=19 July 2017|language=en}}</ref> including:
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
;1970s
* [[Paul McCartney]] in 1978
* [[Ken Dodd]] in 1978
* [[John Peel]] in 1979
* [[Satyajit Ray]] in 1979
* [[Francis Ford Coppola]] in 1979
* [[Rough Trade Records]] in 1979
* [[Talking Heads]] in 1979
;1980s
* [[Arthur Miller]] in 1980
* [[Sir William Walton]] in 1981
* [[Laurence Olivier|Sir Laurence Olivier]] in 1982
* [[Catherine Cookson]] in 1982
* [[Peter Gabriel]] in 1982
* [[Julian Lloyd Webber]] in 1982
* [[Gene Hackman]] in 1983
* [[Oscar Peterson]] in 1984
* [[Anthony Caro]] in 1984
* [[Weather Report]] in 1984
* [[Elisabeth Vellacott]] in 1984
* [[Alec Guinness|Sir Alec Guinness]] in 1985
* [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]] in 1985
* [[Simon Rattle]] in 1985
* [[John Cleese]] in 1986
* [[Michala Petri]] in 1986
* [[Fay Godwin]] in 1986
* [[Anthony Green (painter)|Anthony Green]] in 1987
* [[Maria Callas]] in 1987
* [[Eric Clapton]] in 1987
* [[The Smiths]] in 1987
* [[Penguin Cafe Orchestra]] in 1987
* [[John Houseman]] in 1988
* [[Paul Bowles]] in 1988
* [[Ben Elton]] in 1989
* [[John Zorn]] in 1989
* [[Robert Redford]] in 1989
;1990s
* [[Mark Morris (choreographer)|Mark Morris]] Dance Group in 1990
* [[Pet Shop Boys]] in 1990
* [[Terry Gilliam]] in 1991
* [[Stan Laurel]] in 1991
* [[Douglas Adams]] in 1992
* [[Richard Attenborough|Sir Richard Attenborough]] in 1992
* [[George Formby]] in 1992
* [[Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]] in 1992
* [[Viviana Durante]] in 1992
* [[Anthony Hopkins]] in 1992
* [[Billy Connolly]] in 1992 and 2010
* [[Sylvie Guillem]] in 1993
* [[Paul Simon]] in 1993
* [[Clive Barker]] in 1994
* [[David Mamet]] in 1994
* [[Coronation Street]] in 1995
* [[Miriam Makeba]] in 1995
* [[Clint Eastwood]] in 1995
* [[k. d. lang]] in 1995
* [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] in 1996
* [[John Galliano]] in 1996
* [[Elaine Paige]] in 1996
* [[Marlene Dietrich]] in 1996
* [[John Mills|Sir John Mills]] in 1996
* [[Bee Gees]] in 1997
* [[Björk]] in 1997
* [[Iain Banks]] in 1997
* [[Robin Rimbaud|Scanner]] in 1997
* [[Gillian Wearing]]/[[Gary Hume]] in 1998
* [[Will Self]] in 1998
* [[Bee Gees]] in 1999
* [[Cher]] in 1999
* [[Blur (band)|Blur]] in 1999
* [[Tracey Emin]] in 1999
;2000s
* [[Judith Weir]] in 2001
* [[Bernie Taupin]] in 2002
* [[Juan Diego Florez]] in 2002
* [[Ewan McGregor]] in 2003
* [[Dance Theatre of Harlem]] in 2004
* [[Ronnie Wood]] in 2004
* [[Malcolm Arnold|Sir Malcolm Arnold]] in 2004
* [[The Darkness (band)|The Darkness]] in 2004
* [[John Lennon's jukebox]] in 2004
* [[Iggy Pop]] in 2004
* [[Little Britain (sketch show)|Little Britain]] in 2005
* [[Alan Bennett]] in 2005
* [[Dusty Springfield]] in 2006
* [[Steve Reich]] in 2006
* [[J. G. Ballard]] in 2006
* [[George Michael]] in 2006
* [[Grayson Perry]] in 2006
* [[Gerhard Richter]] in 2006
* [[Jarvis Cocker]] in 2007
* [[Victoria Wood]] in 2007
* [[June Whitfield]] in 2007
* [[Annie Lennox]] in 2007
* [[Eric Clapton]] in 2007
* [[The Nutcracker]] (ballet) in 2007
* [[Nick Park]] in 2007
* [[Tim Burton]] in 2008
* [[Liza Minnelli]] in 2008
* [[James Bond]] in 2008
* [[Will Young]] in 2009
* [[Peter Kosminsky]] in 2009
* The [[Cambridge Footlights]] in February 2009<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itv.com/Entertainment/chatandtalent/SouthBankShow/TheCambridgeFootlights/default.html|title=Drama & Soaps|work=The ITV Hub}}</ref>
* The [[Wagner family]] in September 2009
* [[Coldplay]] in September 2009
* [[Pixar|Disney Pixar]] in October 2009
* [[Elbow (band)|Elbow]] in November 2009
* [[The Royal Shakespeare Company]] in December 2009
;2010s
* [[Jackie Kay]] in 2016
* [[Tracey Ullman]] in 2018
* [[Jed Mercurio]] in 2019
{{div col end}}
==Directors==
Directors who have made editions of the programme include:
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
*[[Rosie Alison]]
*[[Irshad Ashraf]]
*[[Jack Bond (director)|Jack Bond]]
*[[John Bulmer]]<ref>{{cite web |title=South Bank Show[01/04/78] |website=[[British Film Institute]] |url=https://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b83b75645 |access-date=13 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140805014304/https://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b83b75645 |archive-date=5 August 2014 }}</ref>
*[[Chris Dooks]]
*[[Don Featherstone (filmmaker)|Don Featherstone]]
*[[Andy Harries]]
*[[Mary Harron]]
*[[
*[[Margy Kinmonth]]
*[[Ken Loach]]
*[[Jeremy Marre]]
*[[Tony Palmer (director)|Tony Palmer]]
*[[Ken Russell]]
*[[
{{Div col end}}
==
From 18 September 2006, ITV released [[podcast]] of the interviews from the show, including extra material not included in the broadcast editions.<ref>{{cite news |title = ''The South Bank Show'' Podcast RSS |publisher = [[itv.com]] |url = http://download.itv.com/southbankshow/podcast.xml |access-date = 21 May 2013 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100127143608/http://download.itv.com/southbankshow/podcast.xml |archive-date = 27 January 2010}}</ref>
==
The programme has been awarded more than 110 awards (including 12 [[British Academy Television Awards|BAFTAs]], 5 [[Prix Italia]] and 4 [[Royal Television Society|RTS Award]]s). Pat Gavin's animated [[title sequence]]s have won two BAFTAs.
==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2016}}
The comedy series ''[[Dead Ringers (comedy)|Dead Ringers]]'' often parodied ''The South Bank Show''. It does this in a series of sketches called ''South Bank'', a cross between ''The South Bank Show'' and the American cartoon ''[[South Park]]'', set in the [[South Bank]] of London. In these sketches, Melvyn Bragg is [[Stan Marsh]], [[Alan Yentob]] is [[Kyle Broflovski]], [[Mark Lawson]] is [[Eric Cartman]] and [[Kenneth Branagh]] is [[Kenny McCormick]].
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 ''[[The A-Team|A-Team]]'' obsessive.
[[Harry Enfield]]'s TV film ''[[Norbert Smith - a Life]]'' is a parody edition of ''The South Bank Show''.
[[Ricky Gervais]] and [[Stephen Merchant]]'s second series of ''[[Extras (TV series)|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."
==Transmission==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Series
! rowspan="2"|Episodes
! colspan="2"|Broadcast date
! rowspan="2"|Network
|-
! First aired
! Last aired
|-
| 1
| 24
| {{Start date|1978|1|14|df=y}}
| {{End date|1978|7|22|df=y}}
| rowspan="33"|[[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]]
|-
| 2
| 24
| {{Start date|1978|11|26|df=y}}
| {{End date|1979|6|24|df=y}}
|-
| 3
| 19
| {{Start date|1979|12|2|df=y}}
| {{End date|1980|7|6|df=y}}
|-
| 4
| 26
| {{Start date|1980|11|9|df=y}}
| {{End date|1981|6|28|df=y}}
|-
| 5
| 27
| {{Start date|1981|11|1|df=y}}
| {{End date|1982|5|30|df=y}}
|-
| 6
| 26
| {{Start date|1982|10|17|df=y}}
| {{End date|1983|6|12|df=y}}
|-
| 7
| 23
| {{Start date|1983|10|16|df=y}}
| {{End date|1984|6|24|df=y}}
|-
| 8
| 26
| {{Start date|1984|10|7|df=y}}
| {{End date|1985|6|16|df=y}}
|-
| 9
| 24
| {{Start date|1985|10|6|df=y}}
| {{End date|1986|5|4|df=y}}
|-
| 10
| 26
| {{Start date|1986|10|5|df=y}}
| {{End date|1987|4|19|df=y}}
|-
| 11
| 25
| {{Start date|1987|10|4|df=y}}
| {{End date|1988|4|24|df=y}}
|-
| 12
| 24
| {{Start date|1988|9|25|df=y}}
| {{End date|1989|3|24|df=y}}
|-
| 13
| 25
| {{Start date|1989|9|17|df=y}}
| {{End date|1990|4|22|df=y}}
|-
| 14
| 23
| {{Start date|1990|9|2|df=y}}
| {{End date|1991|3|29|df=y}}
|-
| 15
| 25
| {{Start date|1991|9|15|df=y}}
| {{End date|1992|6|14|df=y}}
|-
| 16
| 25
| {{Start date|1992|10|4|df=y}}
| {{End date|1993|8|22|df=y}}
|-
| 17
| 26
| {{Start date|1993|9|12|df=y}}
| {{End date|1994|5|29|df=y}}
|-
| 18
| 22
| {{Start date|1994|9|18|df=y}}
| {{End date|1995|6|25|df=y}}
|-
| 19
| 20
| {{Start date|1995|9|10|df=y}}
| {{End date|1996|7|28|df=y}}
|-
| 20
| 21
| {{Start date|1996|9|15|df=y}}
| {{End date|1997|7|20|df=y}}
|-
| 21
| 22
| {{Start date|1997|10|5|df=y}}
| {{End date|1998|8|30|df=y}}
|-
| 22
| 16
| {{Start date|1998|11|8|df=y}}
| {{End date|1999|4|4|df=y}}
|-
| 23
| 21
| {{Start date|1999|9|26|df=y}}
| {{End date|2000|7|2|df=y}}
|-
| 24
| 25
| {{Start date|2000|10|1|df=y}}
| {{End date|2001|8|19|df=y}}
|-
| 25
| 19
| {{Start date|2001|10|7|df=y}}
| {{End date|2002|8|4|df=y}}
|-
| 26
| 26
| {{Start date|2002|10|13|df=y}}
| {{End date|2003|9|21|df=y}}
|-
| 27
| 13
| {{Start date|2003|10|19|df=y}}
| {{End date|2004|6|27|df=y}}
|-
| 28
| 22
| {{Start date|2004|8|22|df=y}}
| {{End date|2005|5|15|df=y}}
|-
| 29
| 19
| {{Start date|2005|8|7|df=y}}
| {{End date|2006|6|11|df=y}}
|-
| 30
| 25
| {{Start date|2006|9|10|df=y}}
| {{End date|2007|7|29|df=y}}
|-
| 31
| 19
| {{Start date|2007|9|2|df=y}}
| {{End date|2008|7|13|df=y}}
|-
| 32
| 15
| {{Start date|2008|9|13|df=y}}
| {{End date|2009|5|24|df=y}}
|-
| 33
| 21
| {{Start date|2009|9|14|df=y}}
| {{End date|2010|5|30|df=y}}
|-
| 34
| 4
| {{Start date|2012|5|28|df=y}}
| {{End date|2012|6|18|df=y}}
| rowspan="12"|[[Sky Arts]]
|-
| 35
| 6
| {{Start date|2013|4|18|df=y}}
| {{End date|2013|5|23|df=y}}
|-
| 36
| 6
| {{Start date|2014|5|22|df=y}}
| {{End date|2014|6|26|df=y}}
|-
| 37
| 6
| {{Start date|2015|2|24|df=y}}
| {{End date|2015|7|15|df=y}}
|-
| 38
| 6
| {{Start date|2016|6|10|df=y}}
| {{End date|2016|7|20|df=y}}
|-
| 39
| 6
| {{Start date|2017|7|17|df=y}}
| {{End date|2017|8|27|df=y}}
|-
| 40
| 6
| {{Start date|2018|11|7|df=y}}
| {{End date|2018|12|12|df=y}}
|-
| 41
| 4
| {{Start date|2019|5|5|df=y}}
| {{End date|2019|8|6|df=y}}
|-
| 42
| 4
| {{Start date|2020|11|20|df=y}}
| {{End date|2020|12|20|df=y}}
|-
| 43
| 4
| {{Start date|2021|6|24|df=y}}
| {{End date|2021|7|15|df=y}}
|-
| 44
| 4
| {{Start date|2022|7|13|df=y}}
| {{End date|2022|8|3|df=y}}
|-
| 45
| 5
| {{Start date|2023|7|5|df=y}}
| {{End date|2023|8|29|df=y}}
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Specials
|-
! Special
! Broadcast date
! Network
|-
| ''British Comedy Special''
| {{Start date|1994|11|14|df=y}}
| [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]]
|-
| ''30th Anniversary Special''
| {{Start date|2018|1|14|df=y}}
| rowspan="2"|[[Sky Arts]]
|-
| ''Vincent and Theo''
| {{Start date|2019|9|30|df=y}}
|}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110208121535/http://www.itv.com/southbankshow/ ''The South Bank Show'' at itv.com] (Archive)
*[https://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections/collection/2442 South Bank Show Production Archive at the University of Leeds]
*[http://epguides.com/SouthBankShow/ Complete list of subjects from epguides.com]
*{{IMDb title|id=0077082|title=The South Bank Show}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCb90JpvxY Variations performance] by Julian Lloyd Webber and Colosseum II, from [[YouTube]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Bank Show, The}}
[[Category:1978 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1970s British documentary television series]]
[[Category:1980s British documentary television series]]
[[Category:1990s British documentary television series]]
[[Category:2000s British documentary television series]]
[[Category:2010s British documentary television series]]
[[Category:2020s British documentary television series]]
[[Category:Arts in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:ITV documentaries]]
[[Category:Sky UK original programming]]
[[Category:London Weekend Television shows]]
[[Category:Television series about art]]
[[Category:Television series by ITV Studios]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]
[[Category:British television series revived after cancellation]]
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