''See Hear'' is a monthly magazine programme for deaf and

hard-of-hearing Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken ...

people in the United Kingdom, broadcast on Wednesday mornings at 8.00am. The programme focuses on the British and the worldwide

deaf community Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

and covers a broad range of topics from areas such as education, deaf people's rights, technology and language. The programme is presented entirely in BSL and is

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

with voice-over and

subtitles Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

in English. This allows both deaf and hearing people (who may be learning sign language) to understand the programme. ''See Hear'' is currently the fifth longest-running BBC programme.

History

1980s

''See Hear'' was launched on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 11 October 1981. It was broadcast with open

, and was presented in sign by Martin Colville, a hearing CODA, and a Deaf presenter Maggie Woolley. The programme was originally broadcast on Sunday afternoons during lunchtime. As the series went from strength to strength different topics, such as discussions, chat shows, and special editions focussing on technology and education for Deaf people were added that ran alongside the original magazine. Over the years ''See Hear'' appeal within the Deaf community increased, and with it the involvement of Clive Mason, the series' longest serving presenter who joined in 1984. Clive was prominently involved with the ''See Hear''

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

and pantomime specials written by Terry Ruane and the late

Dorothy Miles Dorothy "Dot" Miles (19 August 1931 – 30 January 1993, née Squire) was a Welsh poet and activist in the deaf community. Throughout her life, she composed her poems in English, British Sign Language, and American Sign Language. Her work laid t ...

, two deaf people with strong backgrounds in Theatre. By the late 1980s the show was focussed on the important issues and concerns of members of the Deaf community. As the show's popularity grew more Deaf staff were recruited to work on the show, both behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera. As the show neared its 10th anniversary, the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

, along with other Deaf organisations felt that it needed a change to keep it fresh. ''See Hear'' took a brief

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...

from broadcast, while the format of the show was revamped. The new format had a broader scope than the previous one, because the producers felt that Deaf people were interested in different activities and experiences outside of their own community. When ''See Hear'' was broadcast following the new format the audience almost doubled. The new format was a success, and with this the BBC recognised BSL as a language.

1990s

During the 1990s, ''See Hear'' was moved from the Sunday lunchtime slot to the Saturday morning slot. At this time the show was once again revamped, with new titles and music created for it. The show was also moved to the Light House in Wolverhampton and new presenter Lara Crooks joined the staff. It was renamed ''See Hear on Saturday''. Since the time of this revamp, the show has constantly upgraded itself to keep up with the changes within the deaf community. From 5 February 1990, a recorded version of the '' BBC Breakfast News'' 7.00am bulletin from BBC One was shown on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

for 15 minutes from 8.00 am – 8.15 am with sign language and subtitles under the name ''See Hear Breakfast News''. From 9 October 1995, it moved to 7.00am which was a simulcast with BBC One, with ''Children's BBC'' following at 7.15am. By February 1996, Children's BBC began at 7.30 am with ''Breakfast News'' starting at 7.15am instead of 7.00am. Starting on 6 October 1997 the programme returned to its 7:00am slot from 1995, with CBBC beginning at 7.15am. This practice stopped in April 1998, thus, the weekday CBBC block began on BBC Two full time from 7.00am. Sign language on Breakfast continues to appear from 7.00 am onwards on BBC News.

2000s

In 2001, ''See Hear'' celebrated its 20th anniversary with three new TV projects: ''Switch'', a drama series that revolved around the lives and relationships of people in the deaf community; ''The House on the Hill'' for young Deaf children, written by viewer Amy Possart and presented by Lesley McGilp and Julian Peedle-Calloo, and ''Hay's Way'', showcasing the history of various cities around the UK through deaf

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and historian John Hay's visits. Five years later, ''See Hear'' celebrated its 25th anniversary with a retrospective of ''See Hears 25-year history. In October, coinciding with the 25th anniversary, ''See Hear'' switched from open

, in use since 1981, to closed subtitles, which has to be activated for subtitles to appear on screen. At the end of the 2006–2007 series, it was announced that ''See Hear'' would move its usual broadcast day from Saturday to Wednesday.

2010s

As of January 2013, ''See Hear'' airs on BBC Two on the first Wednesday of every month at around 8:00am, although this schedule would sometimes be altered if any events occur in the schedule (e.g. Christmas & New Year). William Mager was appointed to produce the 33rd series in July 2013, which makes him See Hear's first deaf series producer since Terry Riley's departure in 2008. The following year, the 34th series was commissioned to be aired weekly until March 2015.

References

External links

* *
BBC Ariel interview with William Mager
{{sign language navigation 1981 British television series debuts 1980s British television series 1990s British television series 2000s British television series 2010s British television series 2020s British television series BBC Television shows Deaf culture in the United Kingdom Sign language television shows Deafness Deaf culture British Sign Language Television shows about deaf people