16 February – The "Toddlers' Truce" (an arrangement whereby there were no television broadcasts between 6pm and 7pm, to allow parents to put their children to bed) is abolished - it has been a major stumbling block to the success of ITV.
19 February – ITV begins showing medical soap opera Emergency – Ward 10 made by ATV; it will run continuously two evenings a week until 1967.
3 March – The United Kingdom enters the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, with "All" performed by Patricia Bredin. The United Kingdom finish in third place.
April
1 April – British current affairs programme Panorama broadcasts the famous Spaghetti trees hoax report.[1]
21 April – Historical documentary series Men, Women and Clothes begins airing. It is the first BBC programme filmed in colour, although it can only be transmitted in black and white.
24 April – The Sky at Night appears for the first time, presented by Patrick Moore. It continues to air with Moore as presenter until his death in December 2012.
May
No events.
June
2 June - BBC Television broadcasts the final of the 1957 European Amateur Boxing Championships live from Prague. For the first time, the BBC broadcasts an event held in a Communist state, which was also relayed to the rest of the Eurovision network in other Western European countries.[2]
September – The first broadcasts of regional news bulletins take place.
18 September – The sports programme Scotsport begins airing on Scottish Television, although the programme was originally called Sports Desk.[3] By the time it ends in 2008 it is recognised as the world's longest running television sports magazine.
24 September – The ITV Schools and BBC Schools services, broadcasting programmes for schools and colleges, both go on air.
30 September – Regional television news bulletins for the north of England begin from Piccadilly's studio N in Manchester.[4]