Tempo (1961)

ITV's seminal arts programme, Tempo ran for eight years through a decade which saw a creative explosion within all aspects of the performing arts. Its fluid style of presentation allowed an almost open-ended remit, enabling it to cover subjects as diverse as cinema, music, dance, photography, writing – and much more besides. At a time when television was being criticised for dumbing down, Tempo – more than any other series – showed that ITV could indeed go highbrow whilst still remaining populist – a philosophy and outlook that was to continue into the 1970s and beyond with its successors Aquarius and The South Bank Show.

• First Air Date: 1961-10-15
• Last Air Date: 1962-12-16
• Total Seasons: 7
• Total Episodes: 83
• Episode Runtime: 30 min.
• Network: ITV1
• Creator: Mike Hodges