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Then, Now, Next

by Annika Allen
HistorySociety & Culture
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Latest episodes

  • 6. Front and Center: The TV Presenters that Influenced the Nation

    October 21, 2026 · 56 min

    TV presenters are the people we welcome into our living room, day in and day out. We see their familiar faces on TV more than we see our own friends and family sometimes and being a TV presenter in the UK represents historic visibility and…

  • 5. Black Women Leading The Way Behind The Scenes

    October 14, 2026 · 42 min

    When Channel 4 shut down its multicultural unit in 2002, Black British stories became something TV offered once a decade, if at all. But Black British women weren’t waiting for permission. In this episode of Then, Now, Next, Annika Allen…

  • 4. Music TV; The Mobos, The Lick and Channel U

    October 7, 2026 · 50 min

    In the 90s Black music was everywhere and was moving from the underground scene to the mainstream, all through radio the rise of music television in the UK. Music TV quickly became one of the most visible spaces for Black British culture…

  • 3. Joy As Resistance: The Impact of Desmond’s

    September 30, 2026 · 33 min

    The 80s saw a real transformation of Black representation on TV - instead of the assimilationist TV of the 70s that poked fun at ethnic minorities, Black stories were taking centre stage on the small screen and making a huge impact.  It…

  • 2. Making Space: The Rise of Channel 4’s Multicultural Unit

    September 23, 2026 · 30 min

    The 80s was a time of deep tension and transformation for the Black community in Britain. Tragic events such as the New Cross Fire and the lack of response from the police showed that the institutions that were supposed to protect the…

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  • 1. Breaking Through

    September 16, 2026 · 32 min

    The reality for the Windrush generation arriving in Britain from the 1950s was a harsh one; there was a the fight for jobs, for affordable and livable housing and basic dignity; and that hostility shaped what audiences saw on screen. For…

  • Welcome To Then, Now, Next

    September 9, 2026 · 3 min

    Welcome to Then, Now, Next. The 8 part documentary series telling the story of 70 years of Black British television, told by the people who built it. The series drops on 16th September 2026. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…

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About the show

70 years of Black British television, told by the people who built it. Then, Now, Next traces seven decades of Black British life on screen; from the first Black reporter on screen, Barbara Blake Hannah and the racist caricatures of The Black and White Minstrel Show, through Channel 4's multicultural unit who had £8M to spend on Black and Asian programming, the era defining Desmond's, and the rise of Black women as commissioners and show runners, the popularity of music television, including MTV's The Lick, to the making of today's Black led shows such as Supacell and Dreaming Whilst Black. Host Annika Allen Gray (All3Media's Head of Diversity) talks to the presenters, producers and commissioners, who fought for space on the small screen, and the ones now building their own platforms instead of waiting for a green light. Each episode moves through a different chapter: the fight to be seen, the fight to be heard, and the fight to own the story. Featured in this series are: Trisha Goddard, Richard Blackwood, Tamara Howe, June Sarpong, Sheila Nortley, Trevor Nelson, Shurwin Beckford, Trix Worrell, Sarah Asante and many more. The 8 episode series launches on 16th September. You can watch the interviews with the contributors in full in the Black Leaders in TV YouTube Channel. For more information visit blackleadersintv.com/ and follow us on Instagram @blackleadersintv Then, Now, Next is funded by the Royal Television Society's Shiers Trust Award. Hosted by Annika Allen Gray (@annikaallen) and produced by Leanne Alie (@leannealie). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.