It may be the age of High Definition and red button control but dozens of Dagenham TV viewers are literally channelling a bygone era – by watching their favourite shows in black and white.

Figures released this week by TV Licensing show that 74 households in the Dagenham area had monochrome permits at the start of this year.

It is almost 46 years since colour was first transmitted but the traditional-thinking viewers are among 13,000 across the country to not have upgraded their licences.

Victoria Sykes, spokesperson for TV Licensing in London and the South East, described the number as “remarkable” adding that Britain’s viewing public had become vastly technology-driven, with more than 40 per cent of households owning HDTVs and Britons leading the world in accessing programmes online.

It is now “almost impossible” to replace black and white TVs and those in use require digital set top boxes, TV and radio technology historian John Trenouth said.

He added: “The continued use of black and white TV sets, despite the obstacles, is more likely to be driven by economics than by nostalgia.”

The cost of a monochrome licence is £49 a year whereas a regular one costs £145.50.

Dagenham was in the top ten areas in the south east for monochrome licences.