This is a list of British television related events from 1973. Events January 4 January – The world record-breaking long-running comedy series Last of the Summer Wine starts as a 30-minute pilot on BBC1's Comedy Playhouse show. The first series run starts on 12 November and the programme runs for 37 years until August 2010. 6 January – Sesame Street, goes to air on UTV, the first time the series is transmitted on television in Northern Ireland. 9 January – BBC1 broadcasts the sitcom Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. 11 January – The Open University awards its first degrees. February 5 February – Elisabeth Beresford's children's characters The Wombles are adapted into a stop motion animated television series which begins airing on BBC1. The series is narrated by Bernard Cribbins with music composed by Mike Batt . 15 February – The first episode of the sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, starring Michael Crawford as the bumbling Frank Spencer, airs on BBC1. March 14 March – Are You Being Served? begins its first regular series, six months after the pilot episode had been broadcast as part of the Comedy Playhouse series. 25 March – The pilot episode of Open All Hours airs as part of Ronnie Barker's series Seven of One on BBC1. March – Experimental Ceefax teletext transmissions begin. April 1 April – Ronnie Barker stars in Prisoner and Escort, the pilot episode of Porridge, airs as part of Seven of One on BBC1. 30 April – Children's science fiction drama The Tomorrow People is shown for the first time on ITV. May 5 May–28 July – BBC2 begins screening The Ascent of Man. It is written and presented by Jacob Bronowski and is accompanied by a bestselling book. May – Sesame Street airs on Westward Television for the first time, originally on Sundays until next Summer when it will be shown on Saturdays. 20 May – BBC2 air the first episode of the US Korean War comedy series M*A*S*H, based on the 1970 movie and starring Alan Alda. 26 May – The magazine show That's Life! makes its debut on BBC1, presented by Esther Rantzen. June 13 June – The long-running children's sports themed game show We Are the Champions begins on BBC1. July 13 July – BBC1 show Jack the Ripper, a 6-part spin-off crime series featuring the fictional BBC