The Old Grey Whistle Test The Old Grey Whistle Test The Old Grey Whistle Test (usually abbreviated to Whistle Test or OGWT) was a British television music show. It was commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco 2", which ran between September 1970 and July 1971, while continuing to feature non-chart music. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers. The original producer, involved in an executive capacity throughout the show's entire history, was Michael Appleton. According to presenter Bob Harris, the programme derived its name from a Tin
Ashes to Ashes (TV series) second and third series, 1980s background music (some of which had been used during the show) was available to UK digital TV viewers by using the red button immediately after the show. Clips from "Top of the Pops", "The Old Grey Whistle Test" and other 1980s BBC TV music programmes, introduced by Philip Glenister in his guise as DCI Gene Hunt, were looped for the remainder of the evening of transmission. Based on overnight returns, "The Guardian" reported that audience figures for the 7 February 2008 broadcast of the first episode—in a 9 pm slot on the flagship channel, BBC