Television was barely out of the cradle when Ann and Harold arrived on screens, marking a massive milestone as the first proper drama serial ever broadcast. It focuses on the domestic lives of the two title characters as they go through the various stages of a blooming romance. Ann Todd plays the leading lady who finds herself swept up in a courtship with the charming lead male played by William Hutchinson. The story moves through their initial meeting and follows the pair all the way to their wedding day.
While modern audiences are used to sprawling epics, this was a much tighter affair with short episodes that kept the focus firmly on the central relationship. It was a bold experiment for the BBC at the time, proving that viewers would actually come back week after week to follow a continuous storyline rather than just watching one-off plays. Because it aired live in the late thirties, no footage remains of this pioneer of the soap opera format, but its place in broadcasting history is set in stone. It gave audiences a relatable, sweet look at love during a time when the medium of television was still a mystery to most of the public.
Production Details
UK / BBC / 5x20 minute episodes / Broadcast 12 July – 9 September 1937
Writer: Louis Goodrich
Producer: Lanham Titchener
Main Cast
William Hutchinson as Harold Warden
