BBC's Songs of Praise Marks 65th Anniversary With Special Broadcast

The long-running religious television program 'Songs of Praise' is celebrating its 65th anniversary with a commemorative episode airing on BBC One and iPlayer. Since its debut on October 1, 1961, the show has produced over 3,240 episodes, featuring worship music recorded in more than 2,000 diverse locations, including churches, cathedrals, and public venues across the United Kingdom.

Hosted by Aled Jones and Pam Rhodes, the anniversary special was filmed at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, a site notable for hosting the BBC’s first live church service in 1924. The program reflects on the show's history through archive footage, including appearances by figures such as Dolly Parton and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The episode also features a spoken word performance by Dai Woolridge, filmed at the Tabernacle Baptist Chapel in Cardiff, where the inaugural episode was recorded.

A highlight of the broadcast is a posthumous duet between Aled Jones and the late presenter Sir Harry Secombe. Using 1996 vocal recordings, the pair perform the song "I Believe." Jones noted that the collaboration served as a tribute to Secombe, whom he credited as a significant influence on his own career and a source of inspiration during his youth.