Bryony Hannah, Jessica Raine and Helen George.
Thursday 23 August 2018
1956 named best year in which to be born
Sixties and Seventies best decades to be a teenager, while the Sixties and Eighties are favourites for music
Survey commissioned by TV channel Drama to celebrate Call the Midwife, set in the late 50s, which is showing over the bank holiday weekend from Friday (25 August) from 1pm on Drama
The year 1956 has been voted the best year in which to be born - with children of the 1950s more content than any subsequent generations, according to new research.
The study of 2,000 British adults showed that a huge 42% of Brits believe 1956 was the best year to be born. Top reasons include peace time after World Wars, being born after the NHS was set up and the end of food rationing, according to the survey commissioned by UKTVs Drama channel, to celebrate period TV favourite Call the Midwife, showing all bank holiday weekend from Friday (25 August) at 1pm.
And a staggering 88% of those born in the 1950s admit their generation has been luckier than others, which is far more than those born in later decades - with best things about being born in the 1950s including job security (48%), space to play outside (47%) and the birth of rock n roll (40%).
Babies born in 1956 were typically aged ten when England won the World Cup, 13 when man landed on the moon and are likely to have benefited from the property price boom and final salary pensions.
It also meant being a teenager in the 1960s and 1970s, which 58% of those surveyed consider the best decades to have been a teen - with the 1960s viewed as the best decade for music.
In fact, over a third (35%) of those quizzed named the 1960s as the best decade for music in the last 70 years, thanks to the likes of The Beatles, Tamla Motown and The Rolling Stones, followed by just under a quarter (23%) who named the 1980s, as identified by hits by Madonna, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.
Third was the 1970s (16%), due to the invention of ground-breaking genres like Disco and Punk, fourth was the 90s (9%), the decade of Britpop and The Spice Girls, and fifth was the sounds of the 1950s (7%), made famous by Elvis Presley and the birth of rock n roll.
Call the Midwife, which stars Miranda Hart and Jessica Raine, is set in a 1950s convent in Poplar, East London. Midwives and nuns work alongside each other, coping with the medical problems in an East End still reeling from the effects of the war.
The research also shows that Baby Boomers - those born from the 1940s to early 1960s - are recognised as the generation which has been most fortunate with money. They are seen as having benefited from rising house prices, low education costs, strong pension schemes and being able to take early retirement.
And an overwhelming 77% of those born in the 1950s do not believe their life could have been any better had they been born at any other time - while just 56% of those born in the 1960s and 1970s and 37% of those born in the 1980s would agree.
A quarter of those from the 1960s (22%) wish theyd been born in the 50s and 32% of 1970s babies would like to have been born 10 or 20 years sooner. Meanwhile, a third of those born in the 1980s (29%) are convinced their lives would have worked out more favourably had they been born at least 20 years earlier.
The list of advantages which make others envious is lengthy: key benefits of being born around 1956 are seen as being amazed by watching man land on the Moon (45%), benefiting from early retirement and final salary pension schemes (43%) and falling infant mortality rates (35%).
Seeing England win the World Cup would also have been considered a bonus for 31%, 24% said benefiting from rising property prices and getting to eat loads of sweets as a kid was popular with 16%.
Of those born in the 1950s, a third (33%) acknowledge that they have been luckier than both those born before and after them. Meanwhile, an additional 37% admit they are luckier than those born in the 1940s and 30s while 18 per cent confess they pity the various trials and tribulations of younger people.
Emma Ayech, channel director for Drama, said:
The 1950s was a defining era for Britain, as the country finally shook off the years of post-war austerity and paved the way for the exciting new world of the Swinging Sixties, which arguably still resonates today. Call the Midwife is a much-loved show which gives fascinating insight into the late 50s and beyond, and when you explore the fascinating social history of the era its no wonder Brits have a fondness for the decade.
Call the Midwife all bank holiday weekend from Friday (25 August) at 1pm on Drama.
__
For further information, please contact Tony Meenaghan, 023 8045 8800 / 07736 017 971
Notes To Editors:
Research commissioned by TV channel Drama/conducted by Mortar: 2,000 British adults surveyed, August 2018.
About Drama
Freeview 20, Sky 158, Virgin 128, BT, TalkTalk 020 and on demand via UKTV Play. Drama is a channel that is passionate about bringing Britain the best in quality drama. From period through to contemporary and comedy, the channel is a treasure trove of classic and modern drama which showcases the greatest stories ever told. With programmes including favourites Call the Midwife, Pride and Prejudice, New Tricks and Silent Witness, and new offerings such as The White Princess, Red Tent, The Brokenwood Mysteries and Mercy Street, viewers can indulge in a handpicked range of the nations most celebrated TV dramas.
drama.uktv.co.uk / @dramachannel
About UKTV
UKTV is a commercial broadcaster reaching nearly 40m viewers every month.
The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Bryony Hannah, Jessica Raine and Helen George.
