Inspector Morse is on the stamp for ITV's crime shows

Crime show Inspector Morse and comedy Rising Damp are among those appearing on the stamps, which will feature six programmes from different TV genres.

The Avengers will represent cult TV, while global hit Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is the gameshow stamp.

The South Bank Show will represent arts and Emmerdale has already won a viewers' vote for soap choice.

It beat competition from Coronation Street and The Bill.

1960s hit The Avengers is also part of the stamp series

ITV's inaugural broadcast took place on 22 September, 1955.

The channel is also celebrating by making programmes including The Story of ITV: The People's Channel, and ITV's 50 Greatest Shows.

Julietta Edgar, head of Royal Mail Special Stamps, said: "The programmes that have been chosen to feature on the stamps are all truly first class and we expect these stamps will be a very popular issue.

"The stamps are a fantastic way for the whole of the UK to get involved in ITV's 50th anniversary celebrations and collect their very own piece of TV history."