World in Action (ITV 1963-1998)

This long-running weekly current affairs programme won respect and popularity for its willingness to delve into everyday concerns. Devoting a full half-hour to a single issue, World in Action took the cameras and presenters out of the studio and up close to its subjects. The programme developed a hard-edged investigative style covering domestic and worldwide news, and also fought a successful campaign to set free six men falsely accused of IRA pub bombings in Birmingham.

Triva: The ‘Seven Up!’ series, which has continued to follow a group of seven-year-old children, started life on World in Action. That brand’s global appeal was such that it inspired a 2007 episode of The Simpsons – ‘Springfield Up’.

production details
UK | ITV – Granada | x30 minutes | Broadcast From 7 January 1963 – 7 December 1998

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