12 April 1937 (1937-04-12)[1] – 15 October 1949 (1949-10-15)[2]
Cabaret Cruise is a livevariety programme series broadcast 1937–39, 1946 and 1949 on BBC Television. It was one of several spin-offs from the BBC series Cabaret. Its distinctive feature was that it was set on the fictional ship RMSSunshine, constructed in the studio. All 15 episodes were presented by British naval officer and broadcaster Commander Campbell and produced by Harry Pringle.[3]
An episode had been planned for October 1939;[4] it was not broadcast, because BBC Television suspended operations with the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939. In 1940, Pringle relocated to Australia. He was in England 1946–47 between spells of employment at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and in 1949 on leave of absence, and produced episodes on both occasions.
^The show was broadcast live. Methods for recording live television did not exist until late 1947, and were used very rarely by the BBC until around 1953–55.