Events

• 1 January – ITV
  ITV
  ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
  
   introduces a third weekly episode of Emmerdale
  Emmerdale
  Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
  
  .
• 6 January – Channel 4
  Channel 4
  Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
  
   closes down
  Sign-off (broadcast)
  Sign-off is the sequence of operations involved when a radio or television station shuts down its transmitters and goes off the air for a predetermined period; generally this occurs during the overnight hours...
  
   for the last time. From 6am, the channel broadcasts 24 hours a day.
• 3 February –
  • Trouble launches and Bravo changes its identity.
  • The Family Channel relaunches as Challenge TV.
• 10 March – Dave Spikey
  Dave Spikey
  Dave Spikey is an English comedian, actor, writer and film producer, currently residing in Chorley, Lancashire....
  
   becomes the 6th host of the final series of ITV weekday morning game show Chain Letters
  Chain Letters
  Chain Letters was a British television game show produced by Tyne Tees Television. The show was filmed at their City Road studios in Newcastle Upon Tyne and broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom between 7 September 1987 and 25 April 1997. Three contestants competed to win money by changing letters...
  
  on the same year as it's 10th Anniversary.
• 30 March –
  • Channel Five, the UK's fifth and last terrestrial
    Terrestrial television
    Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
    
     channel, launches at 6.00pm. The first faces seen are the Spice Girls
    Spice Girls
    The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
    
    , who perform 1-2-3-4-5, a rewritten version of the Manfred Mann
    Manfred Mann
    Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
    
     song 5-4-3-2-1.
  • ITV
    ITV
    ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
    
     airs the comedy pilot Cold Feet
    Pilot (Cold Feet)
    Cold Feet is a British television pilot directed by Declan Lowney. It stars James Nesbitt and Helen Baxendale as Adam and Rachel, a couple who meet and fall in love, only for the relationship to break down when he gets cold feet. John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst appear...
    
    . It returns for a full series
    Cold Feet
    Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...
    
     in 1998 and runs for five years.
• 1 April – At 4:40am Channel 5 begins a rerun of the Australian soap Prisoner: Cell Block H
  Prisoner (TV series)
  Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
  
  . This is ths series' first networked screening in the UK as, during its earlier run on ITV
  ITV
  ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
  
   scheduling of the programme had varied from region to region.
• 5 April – The Grand National
  Grand National
  The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
  
   is delayed after a suspected IRA
  Provisional Irish Republican Army
  The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
  
   bomb threat. The race is run on Monday 7 April at 5:00pm. It is the last of 50 Nationals (including the void race of 1993) to be commentated on by Peter O'Sullevan
  Peter O'Sullevan
  Sir Peter O'Sullevan is a retired horse racing commentator for the BBC from 1947 to 1997, and correspondent for the Press Association, Daily Express and Today.-Early life:...
  
  .
• 8 April – BBC journalist Martin Bell
  Martin Bell
  Martin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician...
  
   announces that he is to stand as a candidate against Neil Hamilton
  Neil Hamilton (politician)
  Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...
  
   in the Tatton constituency
  Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)
  - Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Sources :* Data for the 2005 election are from the .* Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/....
  
   on an anti-corruption platform.
• 25 April – Chain Letters
  Chain Letters
  Chain Letters was a British television game show produced by Tyne Tees Television. The show was filmed at their City Road studios in Newcastle Upon Tyne and broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom between 7 September 1987 and 25 April 1997. Three contestants competed to win money by changing letters...
  
  closes down after 10 years of broadcast.
• 1 May – UK General Election night: for the first time, the brothers David Dimbleby
  David Dimbleby
  David Dimbleby is a British BBC TV commentator and a presenter of current affairs and political programmes, most notably the BBC's flagship political show Question Time, and more recently, art, architectural history and history series...
  
   and Jonathan Dimbleby
  Jonathan Dimbleby
  Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, a political commentator and a writer. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of British TV presenter David Dimbleby.-Education:Dimbleby was educated at Charterhouse School, a...
  
   anchor rival results programmes on BBC 1
  BBC One
  BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
  
   and ITV
  ITV
  ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
  
   respectively. The same arrangement will occur for the general elections in 2001 and 2005.
• 3 May – Katrina and the Waves
  Katrina and the Waves
  Katrina and the Waves was an English pop rock band, best known for their 1985 hit "Walking on Sunshine" and their 1997 Eurovision Song Contest victory with the song "Love Shine a Light".-Pre-history: The Waves and Mama's Cookin' :...
  
   win the Eurovision Song Contest
  Eurovision Song Contest 1997
  The Eurovision Song Contest 1997, was the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest and it was held at the Point Theatre Dublin, Ireland, on 3 May 1997. Boyzone member Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley were the presenters of the show....
  
   with the song Love Shine a Light, the first time the UK has won the competition since 1976
  1976 in British television
  This is a list of British television-related events in 1976.-Events:*3 April – The 21st Eurovision Song Contest is won by Brotherhood of Man, representing the United Kingdom, with their song "Save Your Kisses for Me"....
  
   and 1981
  1981 in British television
  This is a list of British television related events from 1981.-Events:*5 January – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the television version of Douglas Adams' radio comedy of the same name debuts on BBC2....
  
  .
• 25 June – The Independent Television Commission
  Independent Television Commission
  The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
  
   (ITC) award the sole DTT
  Digital terrestrial television
  Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
  
   broadcast licence to British Digital Broadcasting.
• 3 July – Peter Snow
  Peter Snow
  Peter Snow, CBE is a British television and radio presenter. He is the grandson of First World War general Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow, and cousin of Jon Snow, the main presenter of Channel 4 News, nephew of schoolmaster and bishop George D'Oyly Snow, and the brother-in-law of historian-writer Margaret...
  
   presents Newsnight
  Newsnight
  Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
  
  for the last time, though he will continue to make occasional appearances as a political analyst until 2005.
• 5 July – ITV screens the comedy pilot The Grimleys. A full series
  The Grimleys
  The Grimleys is a nostalgic comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series....
  
   begins in 1999 and airs for three series until 2001.
• 31 August –
  • Sky 2, and Granada Talk TV
    Granada Talk TV
    Granada Talk TV was a channel owned and operated by Granada Sky Broadcasting, a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting and Granada Television. It launched on 1 October 1996 with the other channels of the bouquet...
    
     cease broadcasting.
  • BBC1
    BBC One
    BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
    
     continues to air through the whole night in the UK for the first time (apart from general election
    General election
    In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
    
    s), simulcast
    Simulcast
    Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
    
    ing with BBC World News
    BBC World
    BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...
    
     to bring news updates of Diana, Princess of Wales
    Diana, Princess of Wales
    Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
    
    's car accident. In the days following her death regular programming is abandoned in order to allow for coverage of events.
• 6 September – The live broadcast of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales is watched by 2.5 billion viewers worldwide. The ceremony's footage goes down in the Guinness World Records as the biggest TV audience for a live broadcast. In the UK, 32.10 million viewers watch the broadcast. It is the UK's second most-watched broadcast of all time, behind 1966's World Cup final.
• 3 October – The 'Cow II' ident is seen for the final time on BBC One after six years in use.The BBC logo changes from parallelogram to square
• 4 October – BBC One adopts new "hot air balloon" globe identifications to coincide with the introduction of the network's new corporate logo. See BBC One 'Balloon' idents.
• 27 October – UK Living changes its name to Living TV, to distance itself from the forthcoming UKTV
  UKTV
  UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
  
   network.
• 1 November – The UKTV network is launched in the UK. Existing channel UK Gold
  UKTV Gold
  GOLD is the original channel of the UKTV network, broadcasting to the United Kingdom and Ireland. It launched on 1 November 1992 as UK Gold, and is currently available on Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV and terrestrial subscription via Top Up TV. It shows repeats of classic programming from the BBC...
  
   is joined by UK Horizons
  UK Horizons
  UK Horizons was a television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel was in existence between 1997 and 2004.-Launch:...
  
  , UK Arena
  UKTV Drama
  Alibi is a digital television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in it's current format on 7 October 2008...
  
   and UK Style
  UKTV Style
  Home is an interior home and garden-oriented lifestyle television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in it's current format on 30 April 2009...
  
  .
• 4 November – BBC News Online
  BBC News Online
  BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
  
   is launched.
• 8 November – BBC One closes down for the last time, making BBC Two
  BBC Two
  BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
  
   England's last terrestrial channel to still closedown at night. From the next day, BBC News 24
  BBC News 24
  BBC News is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989...
  
   broadcasts on BBC1 through the night.
• 9 November – BBC News 24
  BBC News 24
  BBC News is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989...
  
   is launched, the BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
  's first new UK channel since BBC Two in 1964.
• 1 December –
  • The original 4 Sky Box Office
    Sky Box Office
    Sky Box Office may refer to:* Sky Movies Box Office, BSkyB's Pay Per View system available in the UK, previously known as Sky Box Office.* SKY Box Office, SKY Network Television's Pay Per View system available in New Zealand....
    
     channels launch.
  • Konnie Huq
    Konnie Huq
    Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008...
    
     presents her first episode of the UK children's programme Blue Peter
    Blue Peter
    Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
    
    . She will go on to be the longest running female presenter and third longest overall in the shows' history, presenting for eleven years before leaving in January 2008
    2008 in television
    The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2008. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel launches.-January:-February:-March:-April:-May:-June:-July:-August:...
    
    .
• 9 December – CNBC Europe
  CNBC Europe
  CNBC Europe is a business and financial news television channel, the pan-European sister station of CNBC. The network is owned and operated by NBC Universal and headquartered in London, where it shares the Adrian Smith-designed 10 Fleet Place building with Dow Jones...
  
   announces its intention to merge with the Dow Jones news channel in Europe, European Business News.
• 20 December – The ITC award the three pay-TV digital multiplex licences to British Digital Broadcasting.

BBC One

• 20 February – Chalk
  Chalk (TV series)
  Chalk is a British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series, both written by Steven Moffat, were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997...
  
  (1997)
• 31 March – Teletubbies
  Teletubbies
  Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series targeted at pre-school viewers and produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Ragdoll's creative director Anne Wood CBE and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was...
  
  (1997–2001, 2007–present)
• 7 April – 50/50
  50/50
  50/50 is a British children's game show that is broadcasted on BBC1. It was broadcast from 7 April 1997 to 12 July 2005. It has two schools in the UK put forward 50 students...
  
  (1997–2005)
• 10 May – Jonathan Creek
  Jonathan Creek
  Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
  
  (1997–2004, 2009-2010)

BBC Two

• 19 September – Ground Force
  Ground Force
  Ground Force was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh and was produced by Endemol for the BBC.-Production:...
  
  (1997–2005)
• 3 November – I'm Alan Partridge
  I'm Alan Partridge
  I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...
  
  (1997–2002)
• November - Robot Wars
  Robot Wars (TV series)
  Robot Wars is a British game show modelled on a US-based competition of the same name. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 1998 until 2003, with its final series broadcast on Five in 2003 and 2004. Additional series were filmed for specific sectors of the global market, including two series of Robot...
  
  (1997–present)

ITV

• 23 March – Midsomer Murders
  Midsomer Murders
  Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
  
  (1997–present)
• 6 April – Where the Heart Is
  Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)
  Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...
  
  (1997–2006)
• 8 September – Noah's Ark
  Noah's Ark (UK TV series)
  Noah's Ark is a British television series, which aired on ITV. It was first broadcast on 8 September 1997. The final episode was aired on 13 October 1997. There were 6 episodes in the first series. A second series aired in 1998.-Overview:...
  
  (1997–1998)
• 19 October – Trial & Retribution
  Trial & Retribution
  Trial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police proceduraltelevision drama series that began in 1997. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect. Each episode of the Trial & Retribution series is broadcast over two nights. The...
  
  (1997–present)

Channel 5

• 30 March – Family Affairs
  Family Affairs
  Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
  
  (1997–2005)
• 30 March – The Jack Docherty Show (1997–1999)
• 31 March – 100% (game show) (1997–2001)
• 31 March – Whittle
  Whittle (UK game show)
  Whittle was a UK game show for Channel 5 and it was hosted by comedian Tim Vine.The show aired throughout the channel's first two broadcasting years, from 31st March 1997 to 21st June 1998...
  
  (1997–1998)
• 5 April – Night Fever (1997–2002)

Changes of network affiliation

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

• Captain Pugwash
  Captain Pugwash
  Captain Pugwash is a fictional pirate in a series of British children's comic strips and books created by John Ryan. The character's adventures were adapted into a TV series, using cardboard cut-outs filmed in live-action , also called Captain Pugwash, first shown on the BBC in 1957, a later colour...
  
  (1957–1975 BBC, 1997–2002 ITV)
• Blankety Blank
  Blankety Blank
  Blankety Blank is a British comedy game show based on the 1977–1978 Australian game show Blankety Blanks ....
  
  (1979–1990, 1997–2002)
• Blockbusters (1983–1993 ITV, 1994–1995 Sky1, 1997 BBC, 2000–2001 Sky1)

1950s

• Panorama
  Panorama (TV series)
  Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
  
  (1953–present)
• Take Your Pick
  Take Your Pick
  Take Your Pick was a UK game show originally broadcast by Radio Luxembourg in the early 1950s. The show transferred to television in 1955 with the launch of ITV, where it continued until 1968...
  
  (1955–1968, 1992–1998)
• What the Papers Say
  What the Papers Say
  What The Papers Say is a BBC radio programme that originally ran for many years on British television.Its first incarnation was the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama...
  
  (1956–2008)
• The Sky at Night
  The Sky at Night
  The Sky at Night is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show has had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24 April 1957, making it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.The...
  
  (1957–present)
• Blue Peter
  Blue Peter
  Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
  
  (1958–present)
• Grandstand
  Grandstand (BBC)
  Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock...
  
  (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street
  Coronation Street
  Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
  
  (1960–present)
• Songs of Praise
  Songs of Praise
  Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional Christian hymns. It is a widely watched and long-running religious television programme, one of the few peak-time free-to-air religious programmes in Europe Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional...
  
  (1961–present)
• World in Action
  World in Action
  World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
  
  (1963–1998)
• Top of the Pops
  Top of the Pops
  Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
  
  (1964–2006)
• Match of the Day
  Match of the Day
  Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
  
  (1964–present)
• The Money Programme
  The Money Programme
  The Money Programme is a finance and business affairs television programme on BBC2.It was first broadcast on 5 April 1966 and presented by "commentators" William Davis, Erskine Childers and Joe Roeber. At this time David Attenborough was the controller of BBC2...
  
  (1966–present)

1970s

• Emmerdale
  Emmerdale
  Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
  
  (1972–present).
• Newsround
  Newsround
  Newsround is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972, and was one of the world's first television news magazines aimed specifically at children...
  
  (1972–present).
• Last of the Summer Wine
  Last of the Summer Wine
  Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
  
  (1973–2010).
• Wish You Were Here...?
  Wish You Were Here...?
  Wish You Were Here...? is a British television show that was first broadcast on 7th January 1974 on ITV. It was a series of 30 minute shows about travel and holidays. The show was broadcast during peak viewing hours and had gained a significant viewing audience in the UK...
  
  (1974–present).
• Arena
  Arena (TV series)
  Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. It has run since 1 October 1975, and over five hundred episodes have been made. Arena covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Bob Dylan to the Ford Cortina car...
  
  (1975–present).
• Grange Hill
  Grange Hill
  Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
  
  (1978–2008).
• Antiques Roadshow
  Antiques Roadshow
  Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979...
  
  (1979–present).
• Question Time
  Question Time (TV series)
  Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
  
  (1979–present)

1980s

• Timewatch
  Timewatch
  Timewatch is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29th September 1982 and is produced by the BBC, the Timewatch brandname is used as a banner title in the UK, but many of the individual...
  
  (1982–present)
• Brookside
  Brookside
  Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
  
  (1982–2003)
• Right to Reply
  Right to Reply
  Right to Reply was a British television series shown on Channel 4 from 1982 until 2001, which allowed viewers to voice their complaints or concerns about TV programmes...
  
  (1982–2001)
• The Bill
  The Bill
  The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
  
  (1984–2010)
• EastEnders
  EastEnders
  EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
  
  (1985–present).
• The Cook Report
  The Cook Report
  The Cook Report was a British current affairs television programme shown on ITV, produced for the network by Central Television from 1987 to 1998.-History:...
  
  (1985–1998)
• Crosswits
  Crosswits
  Crosswits is a British TV quiz show, originally hosted by Barry Cryer, then comedian Tom O'Connor took over until the show ended in 1998....
  
  (1985–1998)
• Telly Addicts
  Telly Addicts
  Telly Addicts is the name of a BBC1 game show hosted by Noel Edmonds, broadcast from 3 September 1985 until 29 July 1998 and produced at the BBC's Pebble Mill Studios...
  
  (1985–1998)
• Comic Relief (1986–present).
• The Chart Show
  The Chart Show
  The Chart Show is a music video programme which ran in the UK on Channel 4 between 1986 and 1988, then on ITV between 1989 and 1998. The production company was Video Visuals, and was credited as "A Yorkshire Television Presentation" from 1993 and 1998...
  
  (1986–1998, 2008–2009)
• Casualty
  Casualty (TV series)
  Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
  
  (1986–present).
• ChuckleVision
  ChuckleVision
  ChuckleVision is a popular British television series shown mainly on CBBC. New episodes are always first aired on BBC One, and occasionally episodes are shown on BBC Two. The first episode was shown on 26 September 1987. It follows the adventures of the Chuckle Brothers & the Patton Brothers, who...
  
  (1987–present).
• London's Burning
  London's Burning
  London's Burning was a British television drama programme produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network that focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch at a fictional fire station called Blackwall.It was broadcast between 1986 and...
  
  (1988–2002)
• On the Record (1988–2002)
• Fifteen to One
  Fifteen to One
  Fifteen to One was a popular general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It ran from 4 January 1988 to 19 December 2003, and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's run it was presented and produced by William G. Stewart...
  
  (1988–2003)
• This Morning
  This Morning (TV series)
  This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
  
  (1988–present).
• Birds of a Feather
  Birds of a Feather
  Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...
  
  (1989–1998)

1990s

• Drop the Dead Donkey
  Drop the Dead Donkey
  - Major characters :* Gus Hedges — The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, and yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors, he swiftly transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel...
  
  (1990–1998)
• 2point4 children
  2point4 children
  2point4 Children is a 1990s British sitcom that was created and written by Andrew Marshall. It follows the lives of the Porter family; an average family that is persistently faced with surreal situations and sheer bad luck....
  
  (1991–1999)
• Noel's House Party
  Noel's House Party
  Noel's House Party was a BBC television light entertainment show hosted by Noel Edmonds that was broadcast live on Saturday evenings throughout the 1990s. It was set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo. The show was broadcast during the...
  
  (1991–1999)
• Heartbeat (1992–2010)
• Men Behaving Badly
  Men Behaving Badly
  Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
  
  (1992–1998)
• The Big Breakfast
  The Big Breakfast
  The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
  
  (1992–2002)
• Breakfast with Frost
  Breakfast with Frost
  Breakfast with Frost was a talk show hosted by Sir David Frost on the BBC on Sunday mornings. The news presenter was Moira Stuart. The show ran for more than 12 years and exactly 500 editions between 3 January 1993 and 29 May 2005...
  
  (1993–2005)
• Wycliffe
  Wycliffe (TV series)
  Wycliffe is a British TV series, based on W. J. Burley's novels about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe . It was produced by HTV and broadcast on the ITV Network, following a pilot episode on 7 August 1993, between 24 July 1994 and 5 July 1998. The series was filmed in Cornwall, with a...
  
  (1994–1998)
• Time Team
  Time Team
  Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
  
  (1994–present)
• Father Ted
  Father Ted
  Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
  
  (1995–1998)
• Hollyoaks
  Hollyoaks
  Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
  
  (1995–present)
• Is It Legal?
  Is It Legal?
  Is It Legal? is a British television sitcom set in a solicitors office in Hounslow, west London, which ran from 1995 to 1998. It was produced by Hartswood Films and was shown on ITV for Series 1-2 and Channel 4 for Series 3...
  
  (1995–1998)
• Ballykissangel
  Ballykissangel
  Ballykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural community. It ran for six series, which were first broadcast on BBC One in the UK from 1996 to 2001...
  
  (1996–2001)

Ending this year

• Give Us a Clue
  Give Us A Clue
  Give Us a Clue is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1983, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two teams, one captained by Lionel Blair and the other by Una...
  
  (1979–1997)
• Chain Letters
  Chain Letters
  Chain Letters was a British television game show produced by Tyne Tees Television. The show was filmed at their City Road studios in Newcastle Upon Tyne and broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom between 7 September 1987 and 25 April 1997. Three contestants competed to win money by changing letters...
  
  (1987–1997)
• You Bet!
  You Bet!
  You Bet! was a British game show based around the format of the German show Wetten, dass..? developed by Frank Elstner. You Bet! ran on ITV, mostly on Saturday nights but sometimes on Fridays, between 20 February 1988 and 12 April 1997, initially hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1988 to 1990, then by...
  
  (1988–1997)
• Playdays
  Playdays
  Playdays was a children's television programme from the United Kingdom. The series ran from 17 October 1988 to 28 March 1997 on Children's BBC , and was aired in reruns until 2003. The show was the successor of Play School, and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational programme...
  
  (1988–1997)
• Harry Enfield's Television Programme
  Harry Enfield's Television Programme
  Harry Enfield's Television Programme was a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse...
  
  (1990–1997)
• The Brittas Empire
  The Brittas Empire
  The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Richard Fegen and Andrew Norriss. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre....
  
  (1991–1997)
• Soldier Soldier
  Soldier Soldier
  Soldier Soldier is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name.Produced by Central Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of seven series and 82 episodes from 1991 to 1997...
  
  (1991–1997)
• Talking Telephone Numbers
  Talking Telephone Numbers
  Talking Telephone Numbers was a British game show that was produced by Celador and Carlton Television and aired on ITV from 28 February 1994 to 22 December 1997, hosted by Phillip Schofield and Emma Forbes, then later Claudia Winkleman, with Cash Peters appearing in filmed inserts .The programme...
  
  (1994–1997)
• Pie in the Sky (1994–1997)
• Wipeout
  Wipeout (UK game show)
  Wipeout was a British game show based on the original US format that aired on BBC1 from 25 May 1994 to 3 December 2002. The show was originally hosted by Paul Daniels from 1994 to 1997, then Bob Monkhouse took over from 1998 to 2002.-Format:...
  
  (1994–1997, 1998–2002)
• Oh, Doctor Beeching!
  Oh, Doctor Beeching!
  Oh, Doctor Beeching! is a British television sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove, which, after a broadcast pilot on 14 August 1995, ran for two series from 8 July 1996, with the last episode being broadcast on 28 September 1997...
  
  (1995–1997)
• This Life
  This Life
  This Life is a BBC television drama that was produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two. Two series were broadcast in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007....
  
  (1996–1997)

Deaths

• 12 January – Jill Summers
  Jill Summers
  Honour Margaret Rosell Santoi Fuller, better known as Jill Summers , was a British music hall performer and comedienne born in Eccles, Lancashire...
  
  , 86, actress
• 19 June – Julia Smith
  Julia Smith
  Julia Smith was an English television director and producer.- Early career :London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series Suspense in 1962...
  
  , 70, television director and producer
• 26 June – Charlie Chester
  Charlie Chester
  Charlie Chester was a British comedian and TV and radio presenter, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller.- Life and career :...
  
  , 83, stand-up comedian and TV and radio presenter
• 24 July – Brian Glover
  Brian Glover
  Brian Glover was an English character actor, writer and wrestler. Glover was a professional wrestler, teacher, and finally a film, television and stage actor. He once said, "You play to your strengths in this game. My strength is as a bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshireman".-Early life:Glover was...
  
  , 63, actor
• 6 October – Adrienne Hill
  Adrienne Hill
  Adrienne Hill was an English actress.In 1965, she appeared in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as Katarina, a companion of the Doctor — who at that time was played by William Hartnell...
  
  , actor