Evolving Content for the Small Screen, from Radio to Early Television Formats

This chapter shows how the progressive evolutionary framework used by the small group of left-wing intellectuals introduced in Chap. 2 continued to be central to post-war content on evolution, whether religious or secular in its outlook. By situating the BBC’s only ever report on evolution (1952), and the first-ever dedicated television series on the subject (1958) in the wider context of science broadcasting at the BBC, the chapter shows how Huxley’s scientific humanist approach was transferred to the next generation of science popularisers and producers. The chapter shows how on both radio and television, the focus of this content was on grand-historical narratives and the implications of evolutionary science for modern society, rather than didactic attempts to inform audiences about contemporary evolutionary biology.