The occasional television specials soon developed into a regular series with a 45-minute nonstop format of Mississippi tunes and country-and-western songs. The series was devised and produced by Inns and featured music conducted by George Mitchell and the Television Toppers Dance Troupe. The series showcased the Mitchell Minstrels as well as solo performances from entertainers such as Tony Mercer, John Boulter, and Dai Francis. During the early years, various comedians such as Lesley Crowther, Stan Stennett, and George Chisholm acted as “fillers” between the slick song-and-dance routines.

The Black and White Minstrel Show won the 1961 Golden Rose of Montreux. The variety series could almost always guarantee an audience of at least 16 million and frequently managed to top 18 million viewers. At a time when the variety show was a popular television genre for the whole family, The Black and White Minstrel Show established itself as one of the world’s greatest musical programs on television. The music from the show broke sales records, and the stage show was equally popular. Robert Luff’s production opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1969 and established itself in The Guinness Book of Records as the stage show seen by the largest number of people. At this time, the creation had gained considerable international respect and kudos. The Black and White Minstrel Show’s success was marked by its regular Saturday night transmissions over a vast period. The program managed to maintain its freshness, its manic pace, and its nostalgic premise on a weekly basis.

What accounts for such immense popularity? Part of the explanation was undoubtedly the pleasure many received from the program, with its meticulously choreographed dance routines and popular songs and melodies. Inns combined white dancers with black-faced singers, and this was believed to be visually striking, particularly when color television was introduced in 1967. The Black and White Minstrel Show harked back to a specific period and location—the deep American South, where coy white women could be seen being wooed by docile, smiling black slaves. The black men were, in fact, white artists “blacked-up.” The racist implications of the premise of the program were yet to be widely acknowledged or publicly discussed, but it was this aspect that contributed signifcantly to the program’s eventual demise.

Many believed that a large part of “minstrel humor” is based on caricaturing Black people and depicting them as being both stupid and credulous. This image was thought to be insensitive and inappropriate in an increasingly multiracial and multicultural Britain. The Black and White Minstrel Show is important in the context of British television because it outlines how racist representations became part of public debate and how performance is linked to social context. The program revealed tensions between the television controllers, critics, and audience. Many were angry because during this time there were very few other representations of Black people on British television. On May 18, 1967, the Campaign against Racial Discrimination delivered to the BBC a petition signed by both Black and white people, which requested that the program be taken off television. Despite the controversy, the program continued until July 1, 1978. Ultimately, its removal from the air coincided with the demise of the popularity of the variety genre on British television.