This was a decade of major international conflict and the BBC found itself torn between covering conflicts in the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland, Tiananmen Square, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, stretching resources immensely.
In Africa reporter Michael Buerk alerted the world through BBC News to a famine of biblical proportions in Ethiopia, leading to Bob Geldof's international Live Aid phenomenon in 1985 masterminded by the BBC.
July 1981 - The Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
Charles and Diana's wedding had an estimated global TV audience of 750 million, making it the most popular programme ever broadcast.
It was full of iconic and memorable moments, making its mark on a generation, and was one of the BBC's biggest outside broadcasts of the decade.
January 1982 - The BBC Microcomputer is launched
The BBC Micro inspired a generation of children and youngsters to use computers.
It also stimulated the new media and computer games industry worldwide. Government backing and its own dedicated programme on BBC Two helped to make the computer a success, rapidly taken up in homes and schools.
January 1983 - Breakfast Time – the UK's first breakfast TV service
Presented by Frank Bough, Selina Scott and weatherman Francis Wilson, Breakfast Time was launched ahead of ITV's breakfast service, TV-AM changing TV schedules forever.
The BBC surprised its rival when it launched a lightweight sofa based show with the emphasis on studio guests, keep fit, horoscopes and news headlines.
February 1985 - EastEnders - the BBC's most watched programme
One of Britain's most successful television soap operas reached number one in the ratings within 8 months of its launch and has consistently remained amongst the top 5 programmes thereafter. The episode on Christmas Day 1986 where Den Watts serves Angie with divorce papers gained a record audience of 30 million viewers.
The BBC bought part of the old ATV studios at Elstree to build a permanent set for the series.
July 1985 - Live Aid - a new global campaign phenomenon
The creation of Live Aid from BBC TWO's Live Aid - Against All Odds
Live Aid, a multi-venue rock music concert, was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for Ethiopia famine relief.
It was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time with an estimated 400 million viewers, across 60 countries, watching the live broadcast.
