Model 20T6 television made by Ferranti Ltd

Model 20T6 television made by Ferranti Ltd, Moston, c.1956.

Regular television broadcasts in Britian began in the 1930s, after experimental transmission from the 1920s. In 1936 the Manchester-based firm Ferranti began producing televisions, often called "televisors" at the time, at their Moston factory, but television broadcasts in Britain ceased during the Second World War and only restarted in 1946. At first television was an expensive luxury for a small number of people, but it started to become more popular in the 1950s, particularly with the live broadcast of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.

Televisions at this time used an electronic component called a cathode ray tube to show the picture. However, the tubes were difficult to make in large sizes, so early televisions often had small screens. The Model 20T5 was a projection television, which reflected the picture from a small cathode ray tube onto a larger screen for people to watch. The Model 20T5 was launched around 1955 at a cost of around £100, but many people would have rented these expensive devices or bought them by instalments on hire-purchase.