Witness History
Witness History
British reality TV is born
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December 16, 2020
10 minutes
Available for over a year
The first British fly-on-the-wall documentary series aired on the BBC in 1974. It was called The Family and followed the lives of the Wilkins family in Reading. Marian Wilkins - now Archer - was the eldest daughter in The Family and has been speaking to Bethan Head about what it was like to be followed by cameras and have her wedding broadcast on television.
Photo: Screengrab from the first episode of The Family (1974).