Instead of TV, radio was a much more affordable form of entertainment. Since most people didn't own a TV, they relied on cinemas to keep them informed and entertained . The war took a popular role in the development of pop music. One of the most popular singers of this time was Vera Lynn who sang songs like "We'll meet again" and "The White cliffs of Dover".
Dancing was one of the most popular hobbies during the war; ballrooms and church halls were always packed with people dancing. Due to the shortage of men, sometimes girls would dance with other girls .
At home, children listened to the radio. For many of them, their favourite programme was 'Children's Hour' at teatime. Children listened to music and comedy shows too, though perhaps not to the 'Radio Doctor' telling people how to stay healthy.
People played records on a gramophone. Records in those days were black shiny discs that were easily broken. At the cinema ('the pictures') you usually saw two films, plus a cartoon and a news film. There were Saturday morning film clubs for children to watch Regular TV broadcasts. Only a small area in the south-east of England was able to receive broadcasts and therefore there were only a few TV sets. They mostly were owned to rich people as they were very expensive. The screens were tiny compared to today's, and could only be seen in black and white. Programmes were only broadcast for a short time each day. All TV broadcasts stopped completely on 1st September 1939 at the outbreak of war and didn't start again until June 1945. Some people have said that troop entertainment was vital to win the war.
The entertainment served as a way of reminding the troops what they were fighting for: home, safety and freedom. Having something from home while they were abroad was very important to the soldiers in World War Two because they longed for home.