BBC1 Evening News 15 June 1976

[TheMasterNo6]

I'd have fucked her...

[sparkygl0s]

100mph is nothing now, but back then it was quick. My first car, a Triumph Herald, was flat out at about 75mph. Even at that speed it was not safe. With drum bakes all round it took an age to stop.

[Rentaghost76]

Jesus christ, how tawdry and shite was the UK in the 70s??

And I bet that old biddy is long gone to the great driving test in the sky...

[knitware]

Lol, a 100mph sports car, ooh.......

[OXLEYCRUSHER]

Nice to see the old film editing!

[RoadCone411]

I wouldn't have been very happy if that were my Mini that she banged the door into!

[GER08ify]

The news as read by Justin Webb's dad!!

[Thomas828]

30th June 2011: News Flash: a 111-year-old woman has passed her driving test on the 253rd attempt in a Ferrari Testarossa.

[jonno673]

there can't have been much news about on this day!

[dcanmore]

She is still alive and has failed her test for the 53rd time... in a purple TVR lol!

[AshleyMarkPomeroy]

Cor, I would have been three months old! My word, that tie.

[radiodarkhorse]

I would of been 5 when this was broadcast

[cthulhu11111111]

wtf was that all that happened that day?

[jmorkey]

Brilliant ton up Gran with what in those days was the shape of things to come i wonder if she ever passed her test or wether the car is still locked up in her garage very low mileage all hail to her she must of been a hoot to know.

And love them or hate the TR7 it does look cool

[jamie1707]

I used to own a TR-7 and I'm amazed the poor woman didn't kill herself in the bloody thing.

RE the news reader: did the BBC not have make up people back in those days, or were huge bags under the eyes considered fashionable?

[oldirtymick]

@xontell, the UK would and still do use miles per hour as their measure of speed

[ProjectFlashlight612]

Wow, she managed to start a TR7 without it blowing a cog! She must have magic

powers. :)

[xontell]

Why do they call it a 100 mph sports car and not refer to it in a metric system measurement with kilometers? just wondering

[amarone1956]

Please take me back to those days!

[kamikazie1974]

i was 2 years old on that very day!!!!

[Kitchiegeorgedotcom]

If the old dear tried bribing the Instructor with carnal pleasure, maybe she would pass ?

[BillyIsATwat23]

Silly moo

[renault4play]

Yay for the Renault 4 halfway through!

[victoriahunter4444]

It was my 5th birthday on that very day,and the strange thing is i own an N reg Mini!!!

[victoriahunter4444]

I WAS 5 YEARS OLD ON THAT VERY DAY,AND THE WEIRD THING IS I OWN AN "N" REG MINI!!! The Bull ov The Shed.

[victoriahunter4444]

I WAS 5 YEARS OLD THAT DAY,AND THE WIERD THING IS I OWN AN N REG MINI!!!

[Beethoven80]

Failure #4: Hitting a Mini when opening the door.

[dminalba]

4 days b4 I was born!

[Feisty1967]

He couldn't get a tan if he tried with that complexion.

[GreatBarrWolf]

Some of the blame must lie with her driving instructor for her to have failed 17 times , poor old dear.

[grahamgregson]

haha ya can never trust them TR7s! (H)

[redwest01]

it seems like a spoof! very funny though!

[Feisty1967]

My brother still has a TR7 (a red one) and as far as I'm aware it works perfectly.

[UK31337]

11 years before I was born :D

[mackinl]

next time a tr8

[laceup1967]

"...hundred-mile-an-hour sports car." Not so difficult to attain in a Tr-7. The brakes didn't work and most of the parts would have fallen off at 60 mph, making the wretched thing considerably lighter.

[blagger56]

Always always wanted a TR7. Never could afford one. LOVED the tartan seats though...

[Nitshill]

It was my 30th Birthday, I could only afford a Ford Cortina !!

[extremedaniel96]

spongebob lol

[redwest01]

disastrous idea. Fancy taking that kind of car for your test

[shnthm1985]

She kerbed it on the way out of the test centre and drove off down the middle of the road!

[dracula0091]

my car can do 200 mph

[drpoxy]

Re: The driving test story. The vehicle does not appear to be displaying 'L' plates front or rear - an offence under The Road Traffic act. Therefore I'm surprised that the DoT Examiner allowed the test to begin as they always used to verify the condition of the vehicle prior to undertaking a test.

[lifedoessucks]

...you need to get out more!

[gpo746]

1976 was a Really hot summer....look at peter woods face around his eyes..you can tell he has been wearing sunglasses!

[Darwinion]

She probably failed when she bumped the door into that Mini. Stupid old git!

[chinapig71]

When he says 'sports' car I guess he is not referring to the sport of motor racing...

[Panthera0nca]

Triumph TR7's RULE!

[Forestamtul]

I think he's no longer alive either thats so sad.

[flanneryged]

I was refering to how long she could have drove it before it "Broke Down" that was about equal to 1000 miles,then some component

or other would expire with tedious regularity.

The Darned things were a utterly pathetic

attempt to live on the reputation of the much better TR6/TR5/TR4 ETC.

[MrSyrett]

Must of been a slow news day *BONG* Old woman fails driving test again *BONG*

[flanneryged]

I don't believe that,there is "no way" she could 1000 miles in a TR7.The damned

thing would have broken down every time

she got to the end of her own Street!!.I know of some people who are still under

Medical Treatment after buying one of these heaps of crap.Amyway what a stupid choice for a test Car.

[Forestamtul]

that lady who failed the test would be 109 if she lived I think she has passed away some time ago.

[glee2460]

I actually remember seeing this item when it was originally aired. Often in general conversation I've referred to it when the subject of driving tests has come up, pretty accurately quoting the lady's "Oh no, I like fast cars!" dismissal of the suggestion that she take her next test in a lower powered vehicle. Funny thing is I'd obviously misheard where she was from, remembering it as "Wales" instead of "Wells". All these years I'd thought that she didn't sound very Welsh!

[webboffin]

Woah, a 100 mph sports car ! lol

If that woman was 76 then she be 109 years old now. Do you think she is still trying for her test?

[snapey82]

i like how she dings the green mini when she opens the door lol

[mattpoole]

Yes I have that somewhere - audio only - I'll upload it anon...

[Visionism]

Actually I think the most newsworthy thing about that first item was the fact that someone managed to complete a driving test in a TR7 without it breaking down.

[blazer666del]

@Visionism LMAO.......Utter piles of crap good old BL

[TheBottledair]

@Visionism Yes and I've only seen about 2 of them ever in my life on the road today.

[jeremyj887]

Do you have any more BBC News bulletins from the 1970s? I remember the opening sequence and the newsreaders so well. If you have any more bulletins it would be great if you could put them up. Many thanks.

[barryoaten1]

i remember 76 being the year of the drought and the hot summer but i never remembered those newsreaders talking so poshly,lol.

[dminalba]

i was born 4 days later

[fifiragdoll]

Peter Woods was always the one who had to go up to the bar in the BBC club, as he could carry five pints back to the table at the same time. He'd carry three, and balance one under each eye.

[nathan909]

Holy shit what is wrong with peter o'tooles eyebags

[blade0954]

nice to see peter woods again

[YORKIE230557]

HaHa,110 mph-thats walking pace these days

[nwlman]

is that old girl still alive i wonder

[mistofoles]

I doubt it, she'd be 109!

[PULSE88]

LOL

[themachman19691]

see years ago there wasnt murders and rapes in the news so they had to fill it with a woman who failed her driving test.ahh the good old days.

[anonUK]

@themachman19691

No murders and rapes in the 1970s? Maybe not on the Planet Zarg.

[hellsbellsmcfc1]

@themachman19691 yeah, apart from that nice lorry driver, Peter Sutcliffe eh...

[MrSyrett]

@themachman19691 No rapes or murders - apart from Dennis nielson, fred west, trevor hardy etc. Those rose tinited glasses can be really blinding can't they

[4272005]

@MrSyrett Yorkshire Ripper and you would be hard pushed to get a ton out of a TR7 :-)

[0FindGlory]

Gosh there is a face from the past.

[eclectica1]

Ahhh, the unmistakeable tones of Peter O'Sullevan at the beginning...racing commentary has never been the same since his retirement.

[bryemycaz]

Ill have to find out if shes a relation of my wifes. We are from Kings Lynn and She was a Hardy before we got married.

[GBCOne]

An "and finally" presented by a newsreader who didn't ad lib or gesticulate. If only the modern lot did the same and didn't try to be informal :-(

[WeezerFan4Ever]

lol I wasn't expecting that. Out of all the places it showed Kings Lynn.

[AustinSomerset]

Peter Woods died just a few years ago. I found out through the one small obituary in the paper - but I don't recall it being marked on Radio 4 or the general news that week. Shame. One of the (well, my, originals) with Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendal.

[visiononforever]

This was my 8th birthday!

[eddyafritz]

LOL

[davidmcn]

It was my 4th birthday! Which is really the only reason I posted it.

[VirgLondon]

it was a couple of months after my 4th birthday, last I heard the old woman was on her 100th test attempt in a ferarri but still fails

[CrustyBiker]

@davidmcn Lol I just spotted this after watching 1980's Christmas adverts this was the actual Day in which I was born, now I know I was born on a Tuesday lol!

[CrustyBiker]

@davidmcn Oh and one thing i think is a bit special with our Birthdays is, even though our Birthday is not in the dead centre of the year, I used to get people to remember my Birthday like this....

A year has 12 months whats half of that? 6, which is month of June.

June has 30 days, whats half of that? 15 so there you have it no need forget your birthday again....

[linkachu64]

@davidmcn My mum was 4 when this was on the air. Love watching old programming, and I am 21 in 2011. Probably won't find alot of 21 year old's who are the same.

[redhairkid]

This was the day I left school!