The BBC’s long-running religious programme ‘Songs of Praise’ is marking its 65th anniversary with a special episode celebrating its history and changing place in British broadcasting.
First aired on October 1, 1961, the programme has since produced over 3,240 episodes, recording hymns and worship songs in more than 2,000 churches, chapels and cathedrals across the UK, as well as in locations ranging from beaches and stadiums to concert halls and cruise ships.
The anniversary programme, presented by Aled Jones and Pam Rhodes, will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday.
It was filmed at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, which is itself marking 300 years since its founding.
The church also has a long association with broadcasting, having hosted the BBC’s first live church service in 1924.
The episode will look back at some of the people, music and communities featured on ‘Songs of Praise’ over the past six-and-a-half decades while also considering how the programme is reaching new audiences.
Among the specially commissioned elements is a performance by Dai Woolridge, an award-winning spoken word artist, whose anniversary poem incorporates archive material from previous programmes.
It was filmed at Tabernacle Baptist Chapel in Cardiff, where the first edition of ‘Songs of Praise’ was recorded in 1961.
Jones will also perform a posthumous duet with Sir Harry Secombe, using vocals the late ‘Songs of Praise’ presenter recorded for the programme in 1996.
Jones, who knew him personally, described him as a major influence on his own career.
“Sir Harry Secombe was such an inspiration to me growing up in North Wales, not just as a singer, but also as a presenter on ‘Songs of Praise’,” he said. “He really was the best, a real beacon of joy. I feel so blessed to have known him and to have sung with him as a boy.”
He continued, “I just wish we could have duetted together a few more times," adding that the new performance of “I Believe” had given him an opportunity to sing with Sir Harry again through modern recording technology.
“I didn’t expect our voices to blend together so brilliantly,” he said. “It was a joy.”
The anniversary programme will draw on decades of archive footage, including appearances by the late Dolly Parton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Andrea Bocelli.
Over the years, the programme has taken congregational singing beyond traditional church settings, including large-scale gatherings at venues like Old Trafford, the Millennium Stadium and Wimbledon’s No 1 Court.
Hymns featured in the anniversary episode will represent all four nations of the UK and a range of worship traditions.
They include the Welsh hymn “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”, alongside contemporary worship from a growing church in Lincoln.
One hymn recorded at a Belfast church will move between footage filmed more than four decades apart, alternating between recordings made in 1984 and 2025.
The programme has also reflected wider changes in British Christian worship.
While traditional hymn singing remains central, more recent editions have included gospel, contemporary worship, acoustic and folk-influenced music, choirs and contributions from a wide range of denominations.
‘Songs of Praise’ was among the early mainstream British television programmes to give significant airtime to black gospel music, including a major gospel celebration broadcast from Southwark Cathedral in 1984.
The programme now stages an annual ‘Sing Gospel’ special.
More than 270 presenters have appeared on ‘Songs of Praise’ since its launch, including Delia Smith, Sir Cliff Richard, Alan Titchmarsh and Dame Thora Hird.
Its current team of presenters includes Jones, Rhodes, the Rev Canon Kate Bottley, Laura Wright, Sean Fletcher, Claire McCollum and Mark De-Lisser.
Rhodes, who joined the programme in 1987, is its longest-serving presenter, while Jones has presented it for 26 years.
Between them, the pair have now spent a combined 65 years presenting the programme.
While ‘Songs of Praise’ continues to attract a regular television audience, producers say social media has become an increasingly important means of reaching people who do not watch the programme on BBC One.
Its content received around 10 million views across social media in 2025, with that figure expected to rise to around 20 million in 2026.
According to the BBC, 80% of people viewing its content on social media are not part of its television broadcast audience.
Archive clips have also found new audiences online. A recently shared extract from a 2003 interview with Dolly Parton attracted around 700,000 views within days, while the programme’s 2025 “Big School Assembly Singalong” became its most-watched event content and was later showcased on Channel 4’s ‘Gogglebox.’
