From 1966 to 1971, Birt worked for Granada Television, where he devised and produced the magazine programme "Nice Time" before joining Granada's "World in Action" current affairs series. Birt persuaded Mick Jagger, who had just spent three nights in Brixton prison for possession of drugs, to participate in a 1967 edition of "World in Action" in which Jagger conversed with the editor of "The Times" (William Rees-Mogg) and the Bishop of Woolwich (John A. T. Robinson), among others. It was hailed as a "dialogue between generations." With Gus Macdonald, Birt became joint editor of "World in Action" in 1969.