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STAR WARS Return of the Jedi UK Première on ITV, Boxing Day, Christmas 1989

Gareth McCarthy

16,994 views

Disney's Robin Hood has just finished, then the YTV Christmas Line, a safety film about heaters, an advert for Return of the Jedi, the start of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, adverts for what's coming up later on ITV on Boxing Day and then the start of the UK première of Return of the Jedi and also the advert stings for RotJ.

When premières on TV were worth getting excited about!

18 Comments

@nicky29031977 2 years ago

The fact that it wasn't shown on Christmas day but Boxing day suggests the whole SW saga was all wearing a bit thin.

@two-moonz2953 8 years ago

I remember watching this in Sheffield. It was last time I would spend Christmas with my family. The following year I would move to Canada. Thank you for this and the memories!

@byronlaw7909 13 years ago

Ruthless People was a very fast premiere for those days.

@JoeScaramanga 13 years ago

George and Mildred... in 1989? That must have been at least 10 years old, and they showed it in prime time?

@NorthernStar1982 3 years ago

Back here 33 years later. My fave star wars film of the whole saga. I can remember watching it boxing day. And our VHS recorder failing to record because I forgot to push record and play. 80s technology eh?

@javiergomez9970 12 years ago

When its christmas, trains do not run on christmas day and boxing day

@danielwilliamson6180 7 years ago

ROTJ aired on ITV 30 years before the upcoming release on Star Wars: Episode 9.

@56postoffice 1 year ago (edited)

I taped this premiere in 1989. Strange that the only Star Wars film that never had its premiere during Christmas was the first film. That was shown on a Sunday in October 1982. "The Empire Strikes Back" was shown on Christmas Day the previous year (1988) to "ROTJ." Back when movie premieres on TV were truly big ratings events.

@carlesq. 8 years ago

Great memories thanks for sharing

@JayArgonaut 14 years ago

Wow! I remember these promos but for LWT/Thames version and watching this première of ROTJ. Thanks for sharing.

@systemanic 13 years ago

Why was Return of the Jedi (& Empire, shown the previous year) aired so late on? I've always thought they premiered much earlier than this considering that were released 80 & 83. Love the Christmas Line thing lol, we forget we had no internet back than. I remember Jedi coming on that year, just sticks in my mind for some reason.

@MovieCarpet 10 years ago

I remember seeing a few xmas promos for ROTJ premiere on I only to be shocked to discover lt was being shown at 2.30pm on Boxing Day, as well as cut, to spend more time promoting that Ronald Dahl film Champion of the World, starring Jeremy Irons and Robbie Coltrane, which aired at 5.20pm. Why didn't they simply swap the films around, giving ROTJ better air time, like ITV did with its predecessors? Who gives a hoot about a kids film on poaching?!

@JoeScaramanga 13 years ago

Indeed... sadly it was cut to shreds

@xanderathome 11 years ago

We had this but the HTV southwest equivalent on Betamax ! lol I remember the adverts. but this was back in the day when they had film advents so you knew what you were watching not like now where they have a sponcer talking bollocks