This week in Star Trek history: “Star Trek Night”

The U.S.S. Voyager on a promo for “Star Trek Night” on the U.K.’s BBC2

It was tonight, August 26th, back in 1996 that the BBC hosted “Star Trek Night” on BBC2 in the U.K. The television event celebrated both the 30th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise, as well as the British premiere of Star Trek: Voyager.

The night was hosted by Craig Charles, one of the stars of the sci-fi comedy show Red Dwarf, and the programming alternated between specialty Star Trek-themed segments and celebrities talking about what Star Trek meant to them. Among the stars lending their talents to the night were comedian Josie Lawrence, physicist Stephen Hawking, TV presenter Jonathan Ross, artist Damien Hirst, legendary radio presenter John Peel, and Black Grape band members Shaun Ryder and Kermit Leveridge.

Thanks to Memory Alpha, you can even still find a trailer for “Star Trek Night” on YouTube.