Get Ahead
Get Ahead was a BBC Television programme running from 1958 to 1962 which offered a prize of £5,000 (equivalent to c. £100,000 in 2011). This was awarded to a contestant's idea for an entrepreneurial project for a profitable business. It was an early forerunner of programs such as Dragons' Den on BBC2.
The program was sponsored by the News Chronicle, as a form of indirect advertising which would not have been permitted for commercial stations (such as ITV), as this was prohibited by the Television Act 1954.[1]
The programme was presented by Peter West. A panel of senior business experts judged the merit of the award and included Sir Miles Thomas, who had been chairman of BOAC[2] and the British offshoot of Monsanto, the American chemical company at the time.
