Of course, it wasn't TV as we know it. No Strictly, no X Factor... 

Back then there was just one channel, known as the BBC Television Service, and at the stroke of 3pm on 2nd November 1936, it began airing to just a few hundred viewers. 

The first broadcast took place at Alexandra Palace and the machinery looked liked something out of an early episode of Doctor Who...

But it was a big occasion – marked by an extra special edition of Radio Times packed with features on the brand new medium of television.

Take a closer look at RT's famous cover and you'll recognise the Alexandra Palace transmitter mast that made it all possible. 

And while today at 3pm on BBC1 you'll find an edition of Escape to the Country...

...back in 1936, the new BBC channel opened with a speech from BBC chairman Mr RC Norman followed by a performance from West End musical star Adele Dixon. 

The new BBC channel broadcast for just two hours a day – from 3-4pm and 9-10pm, with listings carried each week in the trusty Radio Times.

But a lot can change in 80 years and TV is now a 24-hour affair stretched across hundreds of channels packed with non-stop programming to entertain millions of viewers each day.

Just think how far we've come...