When did afternoon television begin

A.� The government lifted restrictions on broadcasting hours in 1972 which meant the BBC and ITV could cater for housewives at home.

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Q.� What were the first lunchtime programmes

A.� Emmerdale Farm led the way for daytime soap opera drama. Yorkshire Television asked playwright Kevin Laffan to write a 26-part serial to be shown to housewives twice a week at 1.30pm. It was so successful, it was moved to mid-afternoon, and then it was given a high tea slot, so workers could catch it. Late night repeats drew in larger audiences in country regions than Match of the Day.�The programme was originally set in the village of Arncliffe in Littondale. YTV then moved to Esholt near Bradford. These days it is filmed in a multi-million pound purpose-built studio on the outskirts of Leeds and the 'Farm' has been dropped from the programme's title.

General Hospital was the other home-made soap to start as afternoon restrictions were lifted. Made by ATV, it was very similar to Emergency - Ward 10. Surgery, romance and problem-solving among doctors, nurses and patients began at lunchtimes for half-hour sessions twice a week. By 1975 ATV had built a bigger set at Elstree and changed it to a weekly one hour session. The show finished in January 1979.

At lunchtimes Granada introduced Crown Court, a series of fictitious trials dramatised over three half-hours on consecutive days with panels of viewers playing 'jurors' and announcing their verdicts at the end of the Thursday edition.

The BBC's response was Pebble Mill at One, a magazine programme featuring short, shallow interviews, music, cookery, fashion and fill-in items. The series, much-mocked, was axed in 1986 when the BBC's Daytime programming introduced Neighbours and Kilroy.

At weekends, Peter Jay began presenting London Weekend's Weekend World, a mix of interviews with politicians and analyses of social and economic trends. Brian Walden took over in 1977 and in 1986 Matthew Parris, another former MP, took over for the programme's last two years.

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Q.� What did afternoon telly means for kids

A. It opened up a whole new world for pre-school and teenage children. For younger children, ITV introduced Rainbow, a sort of chat-show for the under-fives with first actor David Cook as host, then Geoffrey Hayes (former Detective Constable Sctaliff in Z Cars). Dame Judi Dench was an occasional storyteller in the beginning and later Stephanie Beacham arrived. The early puppets were Moony, a planitive mauve puppet, and Sunshine, a more aggressive yellow one. The famous trio though were Zippy, George, a pink hippo, and Bungle, a huge bear with actor John Leeson inside.

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By Katharine MacColl