The main presenter during the pre-war era was Canadian actress Joan Miller who played the role of a "switchboard operator" similar to that of a telephone exchange, "connecting" the viewers to the particular guests and items being featured that week.
[3] She would be assisted by Leslie Mitchell and Jasmine Bligh, two of the BBC's three continuity announcers (the other being Elizabeth Cowell).
At that time the show had welcomed "1,450 items in which have taken part over 1,500 men, 660 women, the ghost of Alexandra Palace and a large number of animals of all kinds, including goats, snakes, lions and mice.
[6] Picture Page was produced live by the BBC from their Alexandra Palace television studio for the entirety of its run.
The first episode was actually broadcast on 8 October 1936, some three and a half weeks before the official opening of the service on 2 November, as part of the ongoing test transmissions during the prelude to the initiation date.