Open Door (TV programme)

Open Door is a programme produced by the BBC's Community Programme Unit. It was first broadcast on 2 April 1973 and ran for a decade. The programme gave people brief control of the airwaves and was a platform for the public to talk about its own issues and give their own views without editorial input from the BBC.^[1] The programme was later replaced by Open Space.

Background[edit]

Community Programme Unit (CPU)[edit]

Broadcast[edit]

Episodes[edit]

Series overview[edit]


Series	Episodes	Originally aired
1	13	Monday 2 April 1973
2	12	Monday 24 September 1973
3	12	Sunday 27 January 1974
4	6	Monday 13 May 1974
5	12	Monday 23 September 1974
6	17	Monday 27 January 1975
7	20	Monday 8 September 1975
8	16	Saturday 31 January 1976
9	18	Monday 20 September 1976
10	14	Monday 31 January 1977
11	14	Monday 19 September 1977
12	13	Monday 30 January 1978
13	26	Monday 18 September 1978
14	20	Saturday 22 September 1979
15	6	Thursday 11 September 1980
16	8	Wednesday 25 February 1981
17	18	Saturday 30 January 1982
18	8	Thursday 2 September 1982

Series 1 (1973)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
1	1	"Saint Mungo Community Trust"	2 April 1973 (1973-04-02)
Features the Saint Mungo Community Trust, a charity trust concerned with homelessness. The episode explains how the Trust sets up houses that offer refuge to those who would have no alternative. Insight from Jim Horne, who runs the Trust, and shows how the Trust operates a nightly hot soup service at different locations in London.
2	2	"Liberation of Lifestyle and the Responsible Society"	9 April 1973 (1973-04-09)
Features 'The Responsible Society', a non-religious organisation believing that society has a right and role in defending certain principles of social responsibility. The group presents their view by discussing arguments on medical and social issues.
3	3	"Black Teachers"	16 April 1973 (1973-04-16)
4	4	"Teachers in Dentistry"	30 April 1973 (1973-04-30)
5	5	"Feedback"	7 May 1973 (1973-05-07)
6	6	"East End Channel One"	14 May 1973 (1973-05-14)
7	7	"How to Stop Ring Roads"	21 May 1973 (1973-05-21)
8	8	"Transex Liberation Group"	4 June 1973 (1973-06-04)
9	9	"Where is poetry? What is poetry?"	11 June 1973 (1973-06-11)
10	10	"Spring is here and the time is right for planting the streets"	18 June 1973 (1973-06-18)
11	11	"RAFT: Recifivists Anonymous Fellowship Trust"	25 June 1973 (1973-06-25)
12	12	"Bogside Community Association"	2 July 1973 (1973-07-02)
13	13	"Cleaners Action"	9 June 1973 (1973-06-09)

Series 2 (1973)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
14	1	"Mars Sector 8 calling..."	24 September 1973 (1973-09-24)
15	2	"Battered Wives"	1 October 1973 (1973-10-01)
16	3	"Legal Profession"	8 October 1973 (1973-10-08)
17	4	"Tower Hamlets Truants/The Bootstrap Union"	15 October 1973 (1973-10-15)
19	5	"The London Trade Unions and Old Age Pensioners Joint Committee"	22 October 1973 (1973-10-22)
20	7	"Countryside Crisis"	5 November 1973 (1973-11-05)
21	8	"U & I Club: Urinary Infection in Your Home"	12 November 1973 (1973-11-12)
22	9	"So You Want to Go on the Stage?"	19 November 1973 (1973-11-19)
23	10	"Women as Priests?"	26 November 1973 (1973-11-26)
24	11	"The Gipsy Council"	3 December 1973 (1973-12-03)
25	12	"Down Your Ward"	10 December 1973 (1973-12-10)

Series 3 (1974)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
26	1	"Starting to Happen"	27 January 1974 (1974-01-27)
27	2	"Parent-to-Parent Information on Adoption Services"	3 February 1974 (1974-02-03)
28	3	"King's College Post-graduate Discussion Group"	10 February 1974 (1974-02-10)
29	4	"One in a Thousand"	17 February 1974 (1974-02-17)
30	5	"Muscle Mania?"	24 February 1974 (1974-02-24)
31	6	"The British Association of Retired Persons"	25 February 1974 (1974-02-25)
32	7	"The Homeopathic Research and Educational Trust"	4 March 1974 (1974-03-04)
33	8	"Can we ever make our society less divided?"	11 March 1974 (1974-03-11)
34	9	"It's Driving Us Barmy!!!"	18 March 1974 (1974-03-18)
35	10	"Black Workers' Rights Group"	25 March 1974 (1974-03-25)
36	11	"Jericho"	1 April 1974 (1974-04-01)
37	12	"Black Feet in the Snow"	8 April 1974 (1974-04-08)

Series 4 (1974)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
38	1	"Nobody's Child"	13 May 1974 (1974-05-13)
39	2	"The Auxuliary Fire Service (1938-1968)/The Good Death"	20 May 1974 (1974-05-20)
40	3	"Picture Power/The British Go Association"	3 June 1974 (1974-06-03)
41	4	"Life for the World Trust"	10 June 1974 (1974-06-10)
42	5	"The Barnsley and District Art Society"	17 June 1974 (1974-06-17)
43	6	"The Whetley Voice"	24 June 1974 (1974-06-24)

Series 5 (1974)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
44	1	"The George Arthur Road Action Group"	23 September 1974 (1974-09-23)
45	2	"The Nite Blues Steel Band/A Town Divided"	29 September 1974 (1974-09-29)
46	3	"Grapevine"	6 October 1974 (1974-10-06)
47	4	"Science for People"	13 October 1974 (1974-10-13)
48	5	"Hove Ratepayers Association"	27 October 1974 (1974-10-27)
49	6	"Karate Do/Anarchists"	27 October 1974 (1974-10-27)
50	7	"Wapping Parents' Action group"	3 November 1974 (1974-11-03)
51	8	"Freedom Under Law"	10 November 1974 (1974-11-10)
52	9	"Scouting - The Myth and the Reality"	17 November 1974 (1974-11-17)
53	10	"Mrs Eleanor Cook/Mr George Pluckwell"	1 December 1974 (1974-12-01)
54	11	"Design Action"	8 December 1974 (1974-12-08)
55	12	"Gingerbread"	15 December 1974 (1974-12-15)

Series 6 (1975)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
56	1	"South Place Ethical Society"	27 January 1975 (1975-01-27)
57	2	"Amazing Equal Play Show"	3 February 1975 (1975-02-03)
58	3	"One Every 20 Seconds"	10 February 1975 (1975-02-10)
59	4	"Smells Like Burnt Pork"	17 February 1975 (1975-02-17)
60	5	"Women Ask Questions"	24 February 1975 (1975-02-24)
61	6	"Stirabout Theatre Company"	3 March 1975 (1975-03-03)
62	7	"Association for Neighbourhood Councils"	17 March 1975 (1975-03-17)
63	8	"The Cromarty Firth"	24 March 1975 (1975-03-24)
64	9	"Meridan Motorcycle Co-operative"	21 April 1975 (1975-04-21)
65	10	"Asians in Britain: Part 1"	28 April 1975 (1975-04-28)
66	11	"Asians in Britain: Part 2"	5 May 1975 (1975-05-05)
67	12	"The International Arts Centre (IAC)"	12 May 1975 (1975-05-12)
68	13	"Tolmers Village Association"	19 May 1975 (1975-05-19)
69	14	"The Whiterock Co-operative of West Belfast"	2 June 1975 (1975-06-02)
70	15	"The All Children Together Movement"	9 June 1975 (1975-06-09)
71	16	"Hill of Harmony"	16 June 1975 (1975-06-16)
72	17	"Who's Killing the Mother of Arts?"	23 June 1975 (1975-06-23)

Series 7 (1975)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
73	1	"Forum - Unheard Voices: Unemployed from Ellesmere Port"	8 September 1975 (1975-09-08)
74	2	"Forum - Unheard Voices: National Council of Women"	9 September 1975 (1975-09-09)
75	3	"Forum - Unheard Voices: The Afro-Caribbean Group of Kentish Town"	10 September 1975 (1975-09-10)
76	4	"Forum - Unheard Voices: Naval and Military Club"	11 September 1975 (1975-09-11)
77	5	"Forum - Unheard Voices: North Gawber Colliery Miners' Welfare"	12 September 1975 (1975-09-12)
78	6	"Forum - Unheard Voices: Conclusion"	13 September 1975 (1975-09-13)
79	7	"Gentle Ghost - an Eye to the Future"	20 September 1975 (1975-09-20)
80	8	"Routes of Conflict"	27 September 1975 (1975-09-27)
81	9	"More than a Place to Live"	4 October 1975 (1975-10-04)
82	10	"Four different groups"	11 October 1975 (1975-10-11)
83	11	"Help for the Blind by the Blind"	18 October 1975 (1975-10-18)
84	12	"The Pre-School Playgroups Association"	25 October 1975 (1975-10-25)
85	13	"So You Think It's a Free Country"	1 November 1975 (1975-11-01)
86	14	"So You Think It's a Free Country"	8 November 1975 (1975-11-08)
87	15	"North Devon Farm Workers: An everyday story"	15 November 1975 (1975-11-15)
88	16	"Hunt Saboteurs Association/Great Masters"	22 November 1975 (1975-11-22)
89	17	"Take Five Girls"	29 November 1975 (1975-11-29)
90	18	"Trubunal"	6 December 1975 (1975-12-06)
91	19	"Much of the Day"	13 December 1975 (1975-12-13)
92	20	"So this is Christmas"	20 December 1975 (1975-12-20)

Series 8 (1976)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
93	1	"The Vegan Society: To a Brighter Future"	31 January 1976 (1976-01-31)
94	2	"All Work and No Play"	7 February 1976 (1976-02-07)
95	3	"The Kite and Cambridge"	14 February 1976 (1976-02-14)
96	4	"The Cautionary Tale of Emmanuel Blob"	21 February 1976 (1976-02-21)
97	5	"The British Campaign to Stop Immigration"	28 February 1976 (1976-02-28)
98	6	"More than Enough"	6 March 1976 (1976-03-06)
99	7	"Anything! Anytime! Any problem is no problem"	13 March 1976 (1976-03-13)
100	8	"A Child with Something Extra"	20 March 1976 (1976-03-20)
101	9	"Ponies for Sale! 50 Pence!"	3 April 1976 (1976-04-03)
102	10	"Are we Special?"	10 April 1976 (1976-04-10)
103	11	"Split-Up"	24 April 1976 (1976-04-24)
104	12	"Speak with One Voice"	1 May 1976 (1976-05-01)
105	13	"Once Upon a Line"	8 May 1976 (1976-05-08)
106	14	"Fluoridation and Truth Decay/The Real Forgotten"	15 May 1976 (1976-05-15)
107	15	"Who Gets the Benefit?"	22 May 1976 (1976-05-22)
108	16	"Looks Back"	29 May 1976 (1976-05-29)

Series 9 (1976)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
109	1	"Liverpool - Housing"	20 September 1976 (1976-09-20)
110	2	"Liverpool - Racialism"	21 September 1976 (1976-09-21)
111	3	"Liverpool - Education"	22 September 1976 (1976-09-22)
112	4	"Liverpool - Move"	23 September 1976 (1976-09-23)
113	5	"Liverpool - Unemployment"	24 September 1976 (1976-09-24)
114	6	"All Against the Bomb"	1 October 1976 (1976-10-01)
115	7	"A Place to Live"	8 October 1976 (1976-10-08)
115	8	"Vote for Good Health"	15 October 1976 (1976-10-15)
116	9	"I'm sorry, I didn't see you/Flower Arranging"	22 October 1976 (1976-10-22)
117	10	"Gie's a Break"	29 October 1976 (1976-10-29)
118	11	"The Forgotten Marshes"	5 November 1976 (1976-11-05)
119	12	"Schools of Our Choice?"	13 November 1976 (1976-11-13)
120	13	"A Time to be Living"	20 November 1976 (1976-11-20)
121	14	"The Right to Return"	26 November 1976 (1976-11-26)
122	15	"Glad to be Gay?"	3 December 1976 (1976-12-03)
123	16	"Science Fiction Goes to School"	10 December 1976 (1976-12-10)
124	17	"Save Our Theatre"	17 December 1976 (1976-12-17)
125	18	"Jim and Maggie"	31 December 1976 (1976-12-31)

Series 10 (1977)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
126	1	"Thank God we were never disbanded"	31 January 1977 (1977-01-31)
127	2	"Social Workers - who needs them?"	7 February 1977 (1977-02-07)
128	3	"A Black Experience"	14 February 1977 (1977-02-14)
129	4	"Feet First"	28 February 1977 (1977-02-28)
130	5	"To Live in Peace"	7 March 1977 (1977-03-07)
131	6	"The Medicine Makers"	14 March 1977 (1977-03-14)
132	7	"A Good Old Daze"	21 March 1977 (1977-03-21)
133	8	"Marriage Guidance"	28 March 1977 (1977-03-28)
134	9	"EGA Stays OK"	18 April 1977 (1977-04-18)
135	10	"The Cardboard Camera Show"	25 April 1977 (1977-04-25)
136	11	"A Matter of National Heritage"	2 May 1977 (1977-05-02)
137	12	"Internment in the Divis"	9 May 1977 (1977-05-09)
138	14	"To be Seventeen in Belfast"	23 May 1977 (1977-05-23)

Series 11 (1977)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
139	1	"Radical Alternatives to Prison"	19 September 1977 (1977-09-19)
140	2	"Is there a future for the self-employed?"	26 September 1977 (1977-09-26)
141	3	"My Name is Legion"	3 October 1977 (1977-10-03)
142	4	"A Working Experiment"	10 October 1977 (1977-10-10)
143	5	"Children in Harmony"	17 October 1977 (1977-10-17)
144	6	"A Case Against School Spying"	24 October 1977 (1977-10-24)
145	7	"Hunting the Wild Fox"	31 October 1977 (1977-10-31)
146	8	"I Will Make You a Name"	12 November 1977 (1977-11-12)
147	9	"Mr Sunshine/Look to, Treble's Going"	14 November 1977 (1977-11-14)
148	10	"A Better Legal System"	21 November 1977 (1977-11-21)
149	11	"Black Future"	28 November 1977 (1977-11-28)
150	12	"Family Crisis"	5 December 1977 (1977-12-05)
151	13	"The Other Cinema: Which Parade's Gone By..."	23 May 1977 (1977-05-23)
152	14	"Looks Back 1977"	19 December 1977 (1977-12-19)

Series 12 (1978)[edit]

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
153	1	"A Square Deal for Pensioners"	30 January 1978 (1978-01-30)
154	2	"A Woman's Right to Choose"	13 February 1978 (1978-02-13)

Series 13 (1978)[edit]

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No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date

Series 14 (1979)[edit]

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No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date

Series 15 (1980)[edit]

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No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date

Series 16 (1981)[edit]

Series 17 (1982)[edit]

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No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date

This is a caption
No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date

Series 18 (1982)[edit]

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No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date

^[2]

Reception[edit]

Controversy[edit]

References[edit]

^ O’Hagan, Sean (24 January 2023). "Black teachers, trans women, cleaners and cons: how the BBC's Open Door allowed 'real people' to let rip". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
^ "Collections Search | BFI | British Film Institute". collections-search.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2024.

External links[edit]

Open Door programme made in 1974 about the community of Jericho, Oxford
One of us? Opening Doors In 1973, the BBC launched Open Door, a bold experiment in 'access' TV

This article related to a BBC television programme is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[OHagan-1] O’Hagan, Sean (24 January 2023). "Black teachers, trans women, cleaners and cons: how the BBC's Open Door allowed 'real people' to let rip". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

[:0-2] "Collections Search | BFI | British Film Institute". collections-search.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2024.

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