The Nation’s Favourite Beatles Number One

The Nation’s favourite Beatles number one.

TV alert: As part of the promotion for the re-release of The Beatles ‘1’ album on CD and the new BluRay/DVD editions, ITV in the UK has scheduled a new two hour programme called ‘The Nation’s Favourite Beatles Number One’ on Wednesday 11th November at 8:00pm.

The programme uses extraordinary footage from a number of sources, including ITV’s own archives and rare and exclusive footage from Apple – from the only surviving clips of the band playing in Liverpool’s iconic Cavern club in 1962, to the band’s final, public performance on the roof of the Apple building seven years later.

The programme also features appearances from Beatles fans like Michael Palin, Sandie Shaw, David Tennant, Twiggy, Björn Ulvaeus and Sue Johnston, who was a Cavern club regular herself, talking about the tracks.

Across 120 minutes, this prime-time celebration of the biggest and most influential band the world has ever seen uses extraordinary footage from a number of sources, including ITV’s own archives and rare and exclusive footage from the Beatles’ company Apple Corps – from the only surviving clips of the band playing in Liverpool’s iconic Cavern club in 1962, to the band’s final, public performance on the roof of the Apple building seven years later.

Produced by Shiver, ‘The Nation’s Favourite’ format has previously counted down the hits of musical sensations and genres including Abba, Elvis, Queen, and Motown.

The Nation’s Favourite Beatles Number One is commissioned for ITV by Priya Singh, Commissioning Editor, Factual and Richard Klein, Director of Factual.

Commissioning Editor Priya Singh said: “The Beatles are a band that have defined popular culture and music for decades and so we’re thrilled to be celebrating their hits on ITV. Everyone’s got a favourite Beatles number one – but which is yours and which will be the nation’s?”

The programme is executive produced by Mark Robinson and produced by Stephen McGinn and John Piper.

Executive Producer Mark Robinson said: “The Beatles have had more number one singles in the UK than any other band. It’s a tough call to even start predicting what might be voted the nation’s favourite.

“It’s extraordinary to think that The Beatles’ output changed so dramatically within seven years – these are 27 songs that chart that extraordinary revolution in popular music”.

Producer of a large number of The Beatles’ promotional clips was Tony Bramwell, for The Beatles’ film company Subafilms which later became Apple films. He has also been interviewed for the programme, talking about the “litte films I made”.