Café Continental

For the Australian series, see Cafe Continental (Australian TV series).

Café Continental is a British television variety show on the BBC Television Service from 1947 to 1953. Broadcast live from the BBC's studios at Alexandra Palace, the programme opened with a "Maître d'hôtel" known as Pere Auguste, who welcomed the television audience to the "cafe" set and told them that "your table has been reserved, as always."

Overview

Devised and produced by Henry Caldwell, Café Continental was broadcast on Saturday evenings at 8 pm. Lasting for 45 minutes, the episodes attracted many famous singers and dancers of the day: Josephine Baker appeared in an edition broadcast on 26 June 1948 and the Italian vocal group Quartetto Cetra appeared the same year.

Episode status

Three scattered episodes from 1950 are known to exist. Introduced by Helene Cordet.

References

Bibliography

• Vahimagi, Tise. British Television: An Illustrated Guide. Oxford. Oxford University Press / British Film Institute. 1994. ISBN 0-19-818336-4.