| List of years in British television |
|---|
This is a list of events that took place in 2009 related toBritish television.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 January | Jonathan Creek returns with aspecial episode, the first episode of the series since 2004.[1] |
| "The Morning After", an episode ofThe Bill, airs on ITV1. It is a sequel to the series 20 episode "Dawn Morning Light". | |
| 2 January | BBC 2W closes as part of plans to achieve 3% savings atBBC Cymru Wales. Consequently, the digital version becomes asimulcast of BBC Two on analogue with fewer Wales opt-outs. |
| Celebrity Big Brother returns toChannel 4 for the first time since 2007, following theracism controversy that dominatedthat year's show.Participants includeLa Toya Jackson,Verne Troyer andUlrika Jonsson.[2] | |
| 3 January | TheBBC announce that 26-year-oldMatt Smith is to replaceDavid Tennant asThe Doctor in sci-fi dramaDoctor Who. Smith, who will take over in 2010, will be the youngest ever actor to play the title role.[3] |
| 12 January | Jeff Stelling andRachel Riley hostCountdown for the first time.[4] |
| 14 January | Launch of the BBC's Persian language news channel. |
| 20 January | BBC One airs live coverage of theinauguration ofBarack Obama as the 44thPresident of the United States.[5] |
| 22 January | TheDisasters Emergency Committee launches its Gaza Crisis Appeal following the recent conflict in the region. The BBC causes controversy by saying it will not be broadcasting the appeal as it would compromise its impartiality.[6]Sky News join the BBC in deciding not to air the appeal, but it is screened byITV,Channel 4 andChannel 5 on 26 January.[7] |
| 23 January | Friday Night with Jonathan Ross returns after hostJonathan Ross finishes his 12-week suspension following his role inThe Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row.[8] |
| Ulrika Jonsson wins thesixth series ofCelebrity Big Brother.[9] | |
| 26 January | UKTV Documentary is rebranded as "Eden". |
| 27 January | ITV confirms that five cast and crew fromHeartbeat were injured in a tractor accident while filming on location inGrosmont,North Yorkshire.[10] |
| 31 January | SingerJade Ewen is selected as the United Kingdom's entrant to the2009 Eurovision Song Contest in the final episode of the BBC's selection programmeEurovision: Your Country Needs You. Ewen will sing 'It's My Time', byAndrew Lloyd Webber, a song written specially for the contest.[11] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 February | Aday of extreme snow in parts of Britain, the biggest in 18 years, causes many TV programmes to broadcast with limited presenters and live audience shortages as people are unable to reach the studios. In ratings terms, news coverage gets very high ratings with over seven million watchingBBC News programmes.[12] |
| 4 February | Carol Thatcher is axed fromThe One Show after she referred to a tennis player as a "golliwog" during a backstage conversation while filming for the programme.[13] |
| A technical playout error during ITV1's coverage of the FA Cup Fourth Round replay between Everton and Liverpool results in coverage of the match being interrupted by an advertisement break towards the end of extra time, causing viewers to miss seeing Everton's winning goal as the feed is restored straight afterwards. ITV subsequently apologises for the error.[14] | |
| 5 February | To coincide with the 20th anniversary of Sky's launch, at 6amSunrise begins presenting from a new "multi-purpose" area of the Sky News Centre, formally known as the "shoebox". |
| 7 February | BBC Two screens the first part ofIran and the West, a landmark three-part documentary marking the 30th anniversary of theIranian Revolution.[15] |
| 9 February | ITV plc merges theITV Thames Valley andITV Meridian regions. |
| 10 February | George McGhee announces he is stepping down as BBC Controller of Programme Acquisition after six years, and will take a career break. His role will be temporarily filled by Sue Deeks, the current Programme Acquisition Head of Series.[16] |
| ITV airs an hour-long episode ofEmmerdale showing the funeral of long-standing characterJack Sugden, who was killed off-screen due to the death ofClive Hornby, the actor who played him, the year before. The episode seesSheila Mercier reprise her role as Jack's mother,Annie Sugden, who returns to the village of Emmerdale to attend his funeral, while the episode is dedicated to Hornby's memory.[17] | |
| 12 February | ITV plc merges theITV Anglia regions. |
| 16 February | Five US is rebranded as Five USA. Also on this day,ITV plc merges theITV West andITV Westcountry regions. |
| 17 February | UKTV People is rebranded as "Blighty". |
| 19 February | ITV plc merges theITV Yorkshire regions. |
| 23 February | ITV plc merges theITV Central regions. |
| Sky is criticised byOfcom for allowingDomino's Pizza to sponsorThe Simpsons because the deal breached the watchdog's rules banning the advertising of junk food while children's programmes are on air.[18] | |
| Corpus Christi College, Oxford wins the2008–09 series ofUniversity Challenge, beating theUniversity of Manchester 275–190. Corpis Christi are later disqualified after one of their team members is found to have no longer been a student, and the title awarded to Manchester. | |
| 24 February | An episode ofEastEnders is screened consisting entirely of black actors, the first time an episode of the soap has featured an entirely black cast in its 23-year history.[19] |
| 25 February | ITV plc merges theITV Border andITV Tyne Tees regions. |
| 26 February | Mat Follas wins the 2009 series ofMasterChef.[20] |
| February | ITV makes major cutbacks to its regional broadcasts in England. The separate sub-regional news programmes are merged into a pan-regional programme although more localised news continues to be broadcast as a brief opt-out during the early evening programme, and with the exception of a monthly political programme, all non-news regional programming in the English regions ends. |
| February | UTV's mid-morning weekday and lunchtime weekendUTV Live bulletins are axed when the station is permitted to reduce their weekly news output from five hours and twenty minutes to four hours.[21] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 March | UKTV History is rebranded as "Yesterday". |
| Corpus Christi College, Oxford are disqualified as champions of the2009 series ofUniversity Challenge after one of their contestants, Sam Kay, was found to no longer be a student. The runners-up, theUniversity of Manchester, are declared champions in their place.[22] | |
| ITV announces it is cutting 600 jobs after it reported a loss of £2.6 billion for 2008. The jobs will go from the company'sYorkshire studios inLeeds and from their headquarters in London.[23] | |
| Emmerdale announces the introduction of British soap's first regularblind character.Kitty McGeever will make her debut as wayward characterLizzie Lakely next month.[24] | |
| 9 March | From this week, ITV'sNews at Ten programme returns to being aired five nights a week (having previously aired Monday to Thursday only since its return, with an 11 pm bulletin on Fridays).[25] |
| 13 March | Highlights ofComic Relief 2009 include a spoof ofMamma Mia, and a re-imagining ofThe Office as an opera.[26] The telethon raises a record total in excess of £57 million at the climax of their telethon, surpassing the amount raised during the 2007 telethon by over £17 million.[27] |
| 16 March | Missing was broadcast as the first British Daytime serial on the BBC sinceDoctors since 2000. |
| 22 March | Ray Quinn and dance partnerMaria Filippov win thefourth series ofDancing on Ice.[28] |
| 23 March | STV relaunches its on-screen presentation.[29] |
| Scotland Today is relaunched asSTV News at Six.[30] | |
| 25 March | ITV announces that it will postpone the broadcast of the 2009National Television Awards until January 2010, and will axe theNational Movie Awards.[31] |
| Fern Britton announces she is to quitThis Morning after 10 years.[32] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 April | Six TV is defunct in Oxfordshire and Southampton after only 10 years of localised airing. |
| Trouble closes down after over 12 years of broadcasting and is replaced by Living +2.[33] | |
| Channel 4 airs the 1,000th edition ofDeal or No Deal.[34] | |
| 3 April | TheBBC is fined £150,000 because ofThe Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row. It is the biggest financial penalty ever imposed on the corporation for a single broadcast.[35][36] |
| 4 April | The BBC receives 1,477 complaints following a remark made by sports presenterClare Balding to the winning jockey at the2009 Grand National. Referring toLiam Treadwell's teeth she suggested that he could "get them done" with his prize fund.[37] Balding and the BBC later issued an apology. |
| 5 April | BBC One moves itsCountryfile programme to a 7 pm slot on Sunday evenings. The Sunday morning slot previously occupied by the show is taken over by a new outdoors activity show calledCountry Tracks.[38] |
| 6 April | Paramount Comedy 1 andParamount Comedy 2 are rebranded to Comedy Central and Comedy Central Extra. |
| 7 April | BBC Two suffers its second worse peaktime viewing audience since 2001, with a share of 5.3%.[39] |
| The BBC confirms thatDanniella Westbrook will return toEastEnders asSam Mitchell later in the year.[40] | |
| 8 April | The BBC apologises after a link was accidentally posted onThe Apprentice website revealing the identity of the candidate who would be fired in the evening's edition of the show.[41] |
| 8 April – 9 September | Analogue services are switched off in theWestcountry region. |
| 10 April | Channel 5 broadcasts Australian live action children's seriesHi-5 on theirMilkshake! block for the final time after 6 years due to losing rights and constant presenter changes. |
| 10–12 April | To celebrate its 21st birthday, three new episodes of the sci-fi sitcomRed Dwarf are broadcast onDave. EntitledRed Dwarf: Back to Earth, they are the first new episodes of the show since 1999. |
| 11 April | Unemployed 47 year oldSusan Boyle makes herBritain's Got Talent audition, performing "I Dreamed A Dream" out of the blue; her audition gains manyYouTube views overnight. |
| 23 April | ITV chief executiveMichael Grade announces he will step down by the end of 2009 and will become non-executive chairman.[42] |
| 25 April | Simon Amstell announces that he is to quit as host ofNever Mind the Buzzcocks after acting as host since 2006.[43] |
| 27 April | UTV launches a 30-minute late evening news and current affairs programme,UTV Live Tonight, which follows theNews at Ten on weekday nights from Monday to Thursday. The programme incorporates the station's late news bulletin alongside extended political and business coverage. |
| 30 April | UKTV Style is rebranded as "Home".[44] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 May | After fiveGurkha veterans who had applied for UK residency receive letters telling them their appeals have been rejected, the actressJoanna Lumley, who is the face of theGurkha Justice Campaign, confronted theMinister for ImmigrationPhil Woolas at the BBC Westminster studios about the issue. After she pursues him around the studio, the pair hold an impromptu press conference in which she pressures him into agreeing to further talks over the issue.[45][46] |
| ITV announces thatThe South Bank Show is to end in 2010 after 32 years followingMelvyn Bragg's retirement.[47] | |
| 8 May | It is announced thatRichard and Judy's series onWatch,Richard and Judy's New Position, will end early due to poor ratings. The show launched in October 2008 with 100,000 viewers, but audiences have dropped as low as 8,000. The last episode will air on 3 July.[48] |
| 12 May | BBC News Channel presenterCarrie Gracie discloses details of her annual salary during a heated debate on theMPs expenses row withLord Faulks. The revelation breaks with the BBC's protocol of not divulging how much individual members of staff are paid.[49] |
| 15 May | Three actors have been axed fromCoronation Street, it is reported.Jonathan Dixon (Darryl Morton),Nikki Patel (Amber Kalirai) andWanda Opalinska (Wiki Dankowska) will be leaving later in the year.[50] |
| 16 May | The2009 Eurovision Song Contest is held inMoscow,Russia, and seesGraham Norton taking on the role of presenter of the BBC's coverage followingTerry Wogan's decision to step down in 2008. The contest is the first to have the result decided by a combination of panels of experts and televoting in order to reduce instances of countries voting for their neighbours.[51][52] It is won by Norway'sAlexander Rybak with "Fairytale". |
| 17 May | ActressLeslie Ash is to join the cast ofHolby City as executiveVanessa Lytton, it is announced. The role sees her return to television five years after she contracted ahospital bug that left her partially paralysed. She will begin shooting her scenes in June and be seen on screen from October.[53][54] |
| 18 May | Portland TV is fined £27,500 by Ofcom for a programme broadcast by adult channelTelevision X2 in September 2008 that the watchdog deemed showed material equivalent toBBFC R18 content.[55] |
| 19 May | UKTV Gardens is replaced byReally.[44] |
| 20 May | David Tennant finishes filming his tenure ofDoctor Who as theTenth Doctor. |
| 25 May | TheCoach Trip returns toChannel 4 after 3 years of absence. |
| 27 May | Having originally planned to leave the series at the end of the year,Gray O'Brien, who playsTony Gordon inCoronation Street has extended his contract. He will take a break to appear in pantomime before returning to film a dramatic exit storyline.[56] |
| 28 May | EastEnders is to feature a storyline in which a maleMuslim character has a gay relationship, it is reported.Syed Masood (Marc Elliott) will also be seen sharing an on screen kiss withChristian Clarke (John Partridge) after falling for him.[57] |
| BBC One airsTourettes: I Swear I Can't Help It, a follow-up documentary to the 1989Q.E.D. filmJohn's Not Mad, dealing with people who haveTourette syndrome.[58][59][60] | |
| 30 May | Street dance troupeDiversity win thethird series ofBritain's Got Talent, beating bookies favouriteSusan Boyle into second place.[61] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 5 June | Ben Bradshaw is appointed asCulture Secretary following a Cabinet reshuffle, while SirAlan Sugar is to sit in theHouse of Lords as the Government'sEnterprise Tsar. The appointment leads to conflict of interest concerns because of Sugar's role onThe Apprentice, with Bradshaw's shadow,Jeremy Hunt raising the matter in theHouse of Commons on 8 June. Bradshaw does not believe there will be a problem as Sugar's BBC role is a non-political one.[62] |
| 7 June | Yasmina Siadatan wins thefifth series ofThe Apprentice.[63] |
| 12 June | It is announced thatPeter Sissons, who is thought to be Britain's longest serving newsreader, will retire in the summer after 45 years.[64] |
| 15 June | ITV announces that it has axed the science fiction dramaPrimeval to concentrate on producingpost-watershed drama.[65] However, plans for two more series were revealed in September after ITV agreed a deal withUKTV.[66] |
| 16 June | The long-awaitedDigital Britain report is published. It makes a number of recommendations with regard toBroadband access, Internet use andPublic Service Broadcasting.[67] |
| 18 June | Analogue services in the Caldbeck, Cumbria, Dumfries & Galloway and the Isle of Man are switched off. |
| The BBC confirms that Sir Alan Sugar will keep his role withThe Apprentice as it feels his role as Enterprise Tsar will not compromise the broadcaster's impartiality.[68] | |
| 19 June | After nearly 27 years,Countdown is filmed atThe Leeds Studios for the last time. Subsequent series were filmed atGranada Studios in Manchester until 2013 when it switched to filming indock10,MediaCityUK inSalford. |
| EastEnders begins airing a storyline in whichMuslim characterSyed Masood (Marc Elliott) begins a homosexual relationship withChristian Clarke (John Partridge). | |
| 22 June | UKTV Food is rebranded as "Good Food". rebrands.[69] |
| 23 June | Setanta Sports ceases broadcasting in the UK after going into administration.[70] |
| 25 June | TheBBC publishes the expenses of some of its top executives. Among the information to be revealed is that the corporation'sDirector GeneralMark Thompson claimed over £2,000 after cutting short his holiday in October 2008 to deal with the row overThe Russell Brand Show phone calls controversy.[71] |
| Channel 4 feigns a power failure during the broadcast of an episode of TNT, starringJack Whitehall andHolly Walsh, after a joke is made at the expense ofMichael Jackson. At the time of broadcast, reports of Jackson'sdeath were beginning to come through, so there had been no time to re-scrutinize any of the programming. Due to the time delay employed by many broadcasters, Channel 4 were able to, perhaps quite literally, pull the plug before the now-tasteless joke went public.[72] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 5 July | Reece Dinsdale, who playsJoe McIntyre inCoronation Street, has quit the soap because he did not wish to be typecast, theNews of the World reports.[73] |
| 6 July | Mecia Simson winsCycle 5 ofBritain's Next Top Model. |
| 7 July | Amemorial service for the singerMichael Jackson, whodied on 25 June, is broadcast live around the world, with an estimated audience of one billion.[74] |
| 9 July | It is announced thatAlesha Dixon will replaceArlene Phillips as one of the judges whenStrictly Come Dancing returns for itsseventh series later in the year.[75] |
| 10 July | Jayne Middlemiss wins the 2009 series ofCelebrity MasterChef.[76] |
| 14 July | BBC Trust chairman SirMichael Lyons announces that bonuses for the 10 most seniorBBC executives will be suspended indefinitely.[77] |
| 16 July | ITV repeatsMartin Bashir's 2003 documentaryLiving with Michael Jackson. The programme draws 3.64m viewers (a 15.4% share of the audience).[78] |
| ITV announces that its news and informationTeletext service will be discontinued within the next six months as a result of mounting losses and the inability to find a viable business model to continue. | |
| 17 July | Fern Britton presents her last edition of This Morning after 10 years.[79] |
| It is announced that Teletext games magazineGameCentral will cease broadcasting in December, along with all other Teletext editorial content. | |
| 22 July | TheCaldbeck group of transmitters have their final analogue signals turned off, completing the digital switchover of theBorder Television region.[80] |
| 23 July | ITV movesCoronation Street from its long-standing Wednesday evening slot to Thursday at 8:30. There is also a second episode ofEmmerdale replacing the Tuesday hour long episode, which reverts to 30 minutes.The Bill is also moved to a post-9pm slot to allow for more hard-hitting storylines. The changes are part of an overhaul of ITV's scheduling to make way for football coverage on Wednesdays.[81] |
| 28 July | TV presenterEsther Rantzen confirms that she will run for Parliament in theLuton South constituency at thenext general election.[82] |
| July | STV announces that it is withdrawing more ITV programmes from its schedules, such asThe Bill,Doc Martin,Midsomer Murders,Poirot,Lewis, instead preferring to concentrate on programming made within Scotland.[83] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 3 August | ESPN UK Launches in place of Setanta Sports |
| 5 August | Channel 4 announces that it will axe its lunchtime news bulletin as part of a cost-cutting exercise as from December. The 8:00 pmMore4 bulletin will also be scrapped.[84] |
| 6 August | ITV sells its stake in theFriends Reunited website for £25m, having paid £125m for it in 2005. The sale occurs as the company announces losses of £105m in the first half of 2009 and a record decline in advertising revenue.[85] |
| 12 August | Analogue services are switched off in theHTV Wales region. |
| 26 August | Channel 4 announces thatBig Brother will end in 2010 after series 11.[86] |
| 27 August | Mass production of televisions in the UK comes to an end after the last set rolls off the production line atToshiba's plant inPlymouth.[87] |
| 28 August | At theEdinburgh International Television FestivalNews Corporation ChairmanJames Murdoch delivers the MacTaggart Memorial Lecture in which he launches an attack on the BBC and UK media regulatorOfcom.[88] |
| 31 August | Jetix rebrands asDisney XD after the full purchase ofJetix Europe byThe Walt Disney Company. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4 September | Sophie Reade winsseries nine ofBig Brother.[89] |
| 9 September | Westcountry Television completes the digital switchover process with the turning off of all analogue signals from the Caradon Hill transmitter[90] |
| 19 September | British television premiere of theJames Bond filmCasino Royale on ITV1.[91] |
| 20 September | Jimmy Mulville, the head ofHat Trick Productions, announced that a pilot for an American version of the long-runningsatiricalpanel gameHave I Got News for You was to be made.[92] |
| 21 September | A week after Danniella Westbrook's return toEastEnders, a spokesman for the soap confirms she will be leaving the series again at the end of the year, her character, Sam Mitchell, having been brought back for a few months as part of a specific storyline.[93] |
| 22 September | ITV plc launches legal proceedings againstSTV (its Channel 3 counterpart in Scotland) for a quoted unpaid debt of £38 million from network programming contributions, following STV's practice of dropping a number of network programmes on the STV franchise. At the same time, STV claims it is also following procedures against ITV plc, for up to £40 million owed to STV under its advertising sales agreements.[94] |
| 29 September | ITV announces that it has struck a deal betweenWatch, Impossible Pictures, German broadcasterPro7 andBBC Worldwide to produce two new series ofPrimeval for transmission in 2011.[95] |
| 30 September | TheFreeview service is upgraded requiring 18 million households to retune their television sets.[96] The changes lead to several hundred complaints from people who have lost channels as a result of retuning their equipment.[97] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 October | London mayorBoris Johnson makes a cameo appearance in BBC One soapEastEnders. The episode is watched by 8 million viewers.[98] |
| 2 October | Mock the Week announces that two new series are being made, butFrankie Boyle will no longer appear on the show.[99] |
| Channel TV is fined £80,000 byOfcom over their part in the television phone-in scandal involving theBritish Comedy Awards.[100] | |
| 10 October | It is confirmed thatRed Dwarf will be commissioned a full series following the success ofRed Dwarf: Back to Earth. It will be recorded in 2010 forDave.[101][102][103] |
| 11 October | It is announced that there are plans to adapt theDouglas AdamsDirk Gently novels for television.[104] |
| 12 October | Following itsdirect-to-DVD special,Hero of the Rails, children's TV show,Thomas & Friends transforms into fullCGI animation instead of the usual toy models that were used from 1984 to 2008. |
| 13 October | Teletext Ltd confirms that GameCentral will continue as a website and mobile service after it is dropped from the television service in December.[105] |
| 14 October | Andrew Newman, head of entertainment and comedy atChannel 4 leaves his job to go to work forObjective Productions after working for the TV channel for over 10 years.[106] |
| 19 October | Alison King makes her return toCoronation Street asCarla Connor. |
| 22 October | British National Party leaderNick Griffin makes a controversial first appearance onQuestion Time after beinginvited onto the show by the BBC. The edition attracts eight million viewers,[107] twice the programme's usual audience. The programme also results in a large number of complaints to the BBC, while Griffin himself makes a formal complaint to the corporation for the way he believes he was treated on the show.[107] |
| Steve Groves wins the second series of BBC Two'sMasterChef: The Professionals.[108] | |
| ITV announces plans to drop the "bongs" ofBig Ben from the opening credits ofNews at Ten. Also confirmed are plans to relaunch theTonight programme in January 2010 withJulie Etchingham as its new presenter.[109] | |
| 26 October | The second and final series ofNumberjacks begins onCBeebies. |
| 28 October | It is announced by the BBC thatBarbara Windsor is to leaveEastEnders in 2010 after 16 years.[110] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4 November | Analogue BBC2 switched off in theGranada Television region.[111] |
| 5 November | Graham Cole makes his final appearance as Tony Stamp inThe Bill. |
| 10 November | The BBC confirms that thenext series ofThe Apprentice will be delayed from Spring 2010 to avoid clashing with thegeneral election.[112] |
| 18 November | FormerAsda chief executiveArchie Norman is appointed as chairman of ITV from January 2010.[113] |
| 20 November | ThePeter Kay's All Star Animated Band music video made its debut on that year'sChildren in Need, featuring over 50 children's TV characters past and present. It took 2 years to create the finished result. |
| 21 November | AthleteJade Johnson pulled out ofStrictly Come Dancing due to a knee injury she suffered in the previous week's dress rehearsal where she was given a bye to that night and chose to withdraw. |
| 24 November | Virgin Media enters into a strategic partnership withTiVo. Consequently, Virgin Media will be the exclusive distributor of TiVo services and technology in the United Kingdom.[114] |
| UK airdate of theUgly Betty episode "In the Stars" which features a cameo appearance from English singerAdele. The episode airs onE4 first, before being shown on Channel 4 on 30 November. | |
| 26 November | ITV takes full ownership of the breakfast TV serviceGMTV after purchasingDisney's 25% share in the channel.[115] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 December | The Winter Hill transmitter has its remaining analogue signals turned off, completing the digital switchover process in the Granada Television region.[111]Freeview HD begins transmission marking the worldwide operational debut of theDVB-T2 standard. |
| 4 December | TV chefGino D'Acampo wins theninth series ofI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[116] It is later reported that D'Acampo and fellow contestantStuart Manning will face criminal charges after they captured, killed and cooked a rat, while ITV apologises for the incident and says it will tighten up security on the show.[117] Charges against the pair, who turned to the rodent as a source of food to give themselves more protein after being put on reduced rations of rice and beans, are later dropped because production staff gave them permission to eat it. In February 2010, ITV are finedA$3,000 over the incident by a Court inNew South Wales.[118] |
| 8 December | ActorMark Eden, who playedCoronation Street villainAlan Bradley returns toBlackpool to unveil a plaque marking the 20th anniversary of the character's demise. Alan was killed off on 8 December 1989 in a storyline that saw him being hit by aBlackpool tram outside the town's The Strand Hotel.[119][120] |
| 11 December | CBeebies airs the last ever episode ofNumberjacks. |
| 13 December | BBC One airs an interviewFern Britton recorded withTony Blair as part of herFern Britton Meets... series. During the programme, the formerPrime Minister says that it would have been right to remove Iraqi presidentSaddam Hussein even without evidence he hadweapons of mass destruction.[121] |
| FootballerRyan Giggs is named this year'sBBC Sports Personality of the Year.[122] | |
| Joe McElderry wins thesixth series ofThe X Factor.[123] | |
| 16 December | ITV closes its news and information service onTeletext, leaving the ITV channel(s) without such a service for the first time in 35 years. |
| 19 December | BBC sports presenterChris Hollins and his dancing partnerOla Jordan win theseventh series ofStrictly Come Dancing.[124][125] |
| 23 December | SingerBoy George loses aHigh Court battle to overturn a ruling by theProbation Service that he could not appear on the final series ofCelebrity Big Brother.[126] |
| 25 December | The Royle Family returns for another Christmas special, attracting an audience of 10.2 million. The most watched show of the day isEastEnders, which overnight figures suggest is seen by 10.9 million.[127] |
| 26 December | BBC Two airs atelevision film adaptation ofHamlet, starringDavid Tennant in the eponymous role.[128] |
| Date | Debut | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 3 January | Demons[161] | ITV |
| 4 January | Above Suspicion | |
| 29 January | Paris Hilton's British Best Friend | ITV2 |
| 31 January | The Feelgood Factor | ITV |
| Good Arrows | ITV4 | |
| 2 February | Whitechapel | ITV |
| 3 February | Ladies of Letters | ITV3 |
| 21 February | The Colour of Money[162] | ITV |
| 22 February | Piers Morgan's Life Stories[163] | |
| 23 February | Law & Order: UK[164] | |
| 25 February | FM | ITV2 |
| 27 February | Al Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder[165] | ITV |
| 2 March | Bookaboo | CITV |
| 16 March | Taste the Nation | ITV |
| 19 March | The Justin Lee Collins Show | ITV2 |
| 1 May | Boy Meets Girl[166] | ITV |
| 4 May | Compulsion | |
| 18 May | Divided | |
| 26 May | The Hour | |
| 30 May | Mumbai Calling | |
| 29 June | The Chase | |
| 12 July | Monday Monday | |
| 13 July | The Fuse | |
| 23 July | Made in Scotland | STV |
| 26 July | Whatever It Takes | ITV |
| 17 August | Peter Andre: Going It Alone | ITV2 |
| 22 August | The Cube | ITV |
| 27 August | What Katie Did Next | ITV2 |
| 30 August | Wuthering Heights | ITV |
| 20 September | Trinity | ITV2 |
| 19 October | Murderland | ITV |
| 9 November | Collision | |
| 11 December | Mister Eleven | |
| 20 December | The Fattest Man in Britain | |
| 31 December | Sleep with Me |
| Date | Debut | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 13 February | Free Agents | Channel 4 |
| 5 March | Red Riding | |
| 22 March | Chris Moyles' Quiz Night | |
| 6 April | Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant | |
| 4 May | Endgame | |
| 11 May | Find Me a Family | |
| 17 May | The Unloved[167] | |
| 25 May | The Operation: Surgery Live[168] | |
| 7 July | You Have Been Watching[169] | |
| 17 July | True Blood | |
| 9 September | Derren Brown: The Events | |
| 30 September | Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue | |
| 7 October | When Boris Met Dave | More4 |
| 6 November | Campus | Channel 4 |
| 9 November | The Execution of Gary Glitter | |
| 12 November | Misfits | E4 |
| 13 November | PhoneShop | Channel 4 |
| 24 November | Cast Offs | |
| 27 November | The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret | |
| 29 November | The Queen |
| Date | Debut | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 23 March | Wordplay | Five |
| 6 April | Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom | |
| 7 August | You're Nicked! | |
| 7 September | Joshua Jones | |
| Disney | ||
| 14 September | Live from Studio Five | |
| 5 September | Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps | |
| 28 October | Britain's Best Brain |
| Date | Debut | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 5 February | No Signal! | FX |
| 16 February | Oops TV | Sky 1 |
| 9 March | Toyboize | Dave |
| 12 April | Skellig | Sky 1 |
| Olivia Lee: Dirty, Sexy, Funny | Comedy Central | |
| 10 May | Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened | G.O.L.D. |
| 31 May | The Take | Sky 1 |
| 6 July | Four Weddings | Living |
| 7 September | Blues and Twos | Really |
| 7 September | 999 | Really |
| 7 September | Rescue Heroes | Really |
| 7 September | Raw Blues | Really |
| 7 September | The Rockford Files | Alibi |
| 7 September | Chopper Coppers | Really |
| 7 September | Ambulance | Really |
| 28 September | Jungle Junction | Playhouse Disney |
| 1 October | Industrial Junkie | Quest |
| 4 October | Tarrant Lets the Kids Loose | Watch |
| 21 October | Grouchy Young Men | Comedy Central |
| 25 October | Nanoboy | Pop |
| Undated | Bunny Maloney | Kix |
| Clang Invasion | Pop | |
| Magi-Nation | Pop | |
| Toopy and Binoo | Tiny Pop | |
| Lab Rats Challenge | Pop | |
| SamSam | Pop | |
| G2G | Pop Girl |
| Date | Channel |
|---|---|
| 20 January | Investigation Discovery |
| 5 February | Living2 +1 |
| 16 February | ITV West Country |
| 25 February | ITV Tyne Tees & Border |
| 20 March | Discovery Shed |
| 19 May | Really |
| 1 July | Wedding TV Asia |
| 1 August | Nicktoons Replay |
| 3 August | ESPN |
| ESPN HD | |
| True Entertainment | |
| 30 September | Quest |
| 26 October | Viva |
| 16 November | CBS Action |
| CBS Drama | |
| CBS Reality | |
| 14 December | E4 HD |
| Date | Channel |
|---|---|
| 2 January | BBC 2W |
| 5 February | Trouble +1 |
| 8 February | ITV Thames Valley |
| 15 February | Westcountry Television |
| 25 February | Border Television |
| 1 April | Six TV (Oxford & Southampton) |
| Trouble | |
| Real Estate TV | |
| 19 May | UKTV Gardens |
| 15 June | Simply Movies |
| 23 June | Setanta Sports News |
| Setanta Golf | |
| Rangers TV | |
| Celtic TV | |
| 31 July | Nicktoonsters |
| 3 August | Showcase TV |
| 7 August | Arsenal TV |
| 26 October | TMF |
| 16 November | Zone Reality |
| Zone Romantica | |
| Zone Thriller |
| Date | Old Name | New Name |
|---|---|---|
| 26 January | UKTV Documentary | Eden |
| UKTV Documentary +1 | Eden +1 | |
| 16 February | Five US | Five USA |
| Five US +1 | Five USA +1 | |
| 17 February | UKTV People | Blighty |
| 24 February | Dave +1 | Dave ja vu |
| 2 March | UKTV History | Yesterday |
| UKTV History +1 | Yesterday +1 | |
| 16 March | Channel U | Channel AKA |
| Fizz | Starz TV | |
| 6 April | Paramount Comedy 1 | Comedy Central |
| Paramount Comedy 2 | Comedy Central Extra | |
| 30 April | UKTV Style | Home |
| UKTV Style +1 | Home +1 | |
| 22 June | UKTV Food | Good Food |
| UKTV Food +1 | Good Food +1 | |
| 1 July | MTV One | MTV |
| MTV One +1 | MTV +1 | |
| 31 August | Jetix | Disney XD |
| Jetix +1 | Disney XD +1 | |
| 30 November | Living2 | Livingit |
| Living2 +1 | Livingit +1 |
| Programme | Date(s) of original removal | Original channel | Date of return | New channel(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Krypton Factor[174] | 20 November 1995 | ITV | 1 January 2009 | N/A (Same channel as original) |
| Minder[175] | 10 March 1994 | 4 February 2009 | Five | |
| Grand Prix Highlights | 13 October 1996 | BBC One BBC Two | 27 March 2009 | BBC Three |
| Red Dwarf[176] | 5 April 1999 | BBC Two | 10 April 2009 | Dave |
| The Biggest Loser | 27 December 2006 | Living | 27 April 2009 | ITV |
| Blues and Twos | 22 November 1993 | ITV | 7 September 2009 | Really |
| Born to Be Different | 2004 13 September 2007 | Channel 4 | 28 April 2009 | N/A (Same channel as original) |
| The Chart Show | 22 August 1998 | ITV | 10 May 2009 | Channel 4 |
| Coach Trip | 30 June 2006 | Channel 4 | 25 May 2009 | N/A (Same channel as original) |
| Shooting Stars new series | 15 December 2002 | BBC Choice | 26 August 2009 | BBC Two |
| Programme | Date |
|---|---|
| BBC Wimbledon | 1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present |
| Programme | Date |
|---|---|
| Trooping the Colour | 1937–1939, 1946–2019, 2023–present |
| The Boat Race | 1938–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present |
| Programme | Date |
|---|---|
| Panorama | 1953–present |
| The Sky at Night | 1957–present |
| Blue Peter | 1958–present |
| Programme | Date |
|---|---|
| Coronation Street | 1960–present |
| Songs of Praise | 1961–present |
| University Challenge | 1962–1987, 1994–present |
| Doctor Who | 1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present |
| Match of the Day | 1964–present |
| The Money Programme | 1966–2010 |
| Programme | Date |
|---|---|
| Emmerdale | 1972–present |
| Mastermind | |
| Newsround | |
| Last of the Summer Wine | 1973–2010 |
| Arena | 1975–present |
| One Man and His Dog | 1976–present |
| The Krypton Factor | 1977–1995, 2009–2010 |
| Top Gear | 1977–present |
| Ski Sunday | 1978–present |
| Antiques Roadshow | 1979–present |
| Question Time |
| Programme | Date |
|---|---|
| Children in Need | 1980–present |
| Timewatch | 1982–present |
| The Bill | 1984–2010 |
| Channel 4 Racing | 1984–2016 |
| Thomas & Friends | 1984–present |
| EastEnders | 1985–present |
| Comic Relief | |
| Casualty | 1986–present |
| Fireman Sam | 1987–1994, 2005–2013 |
| ChuckleVision | 1987–2009 |
| This Morning | 1988–present |
| Red Dwarf | 1988–1999, 2009, 2012–present |
| The Simpsons | 1989–present |
| Programme | Date |
|---|---|
| Have I Got News for You | 1990–present |
| Heartbeat | 1992–2010 |
| A Touch of Frost | |
| ITV News Meridian | 1993–present |
| Shooting Stars | 1993–2002, 2009–2011 |
| Time Team | 1994–2013 |
| The National Lottery Draws | 1994–2017 |
| Top of the Pops 2 | 1994–2017 |
| Hollyoaks | 1995–present |
| Never Mind the Buzzcocks | 1996–2015 |
| Silent Witness | 1996–present |
| Y Clwb Rygbi, Wales | 1997–present |
| Midsomer Murders | |
| Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | 1998–2014 |
| Bob the Builder | 1998–present |
| Bremner, Bird and Fortune | 1999–2010 |
| British Soap Awards | 1999–2019, 2022–present |
| Holby City | 1999–2022[177] |
| Programme | Date |
|---|---|
| The Weakest Link | 2000–2012, 2017–present |
| Big Brother | 2000–2018 |
| Real Crime | 2001–2011 |
| I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | 2002–present |
| Harry Hill's TV Burp | 2002–2012 |
| Spooks | 2002–2011 |
| Daily Politics | 2003–2018 |
| QI | 2003–present |
| New Tricks | 2003–2015 |
| Peep Show | |
| Politics Show | 2003–2011 |
| The Royal | |
| This Week | 2003–2019 |
| Doc Martin | 2004–2022 |
| Hustle | 2004–2012 |
| Shameless | 2004–2013 |
| Strictly Come Dancing | 2004–present |
| The X Factor | 2004–2018 |
| The Andrew Marr Show | 2005–2021 |
| Come Dine with Me | 2005–present |
| It's Me or the Dog | 2005–2012 |
| Deal or No Deal | 2005–2016 |
| Dancing on Ice | 2006–2014 |
| Hotel Babylon | 2006–2009 |
| Numberjacks | |
| Robin Hood | |
| That Mitchell and Webb Look | 2006–2010 |
| Torchwood | 2006–2011 |
| Waterloo Road | 2006–2015 |
| Gavin & Stacey | 2007–2010 |
| The Sarah Jane Adventures | 2007–2011 |
| Would I Lie to You? | 2007–present |
| M.I. High | 2007–2014 |
| Outnumbered | |
| The Tudors | 2007–2010 |
| Trapped | |
| Skins | 2007–2013 |
| Britain's Got Talent | 2007–present |
| Ashes to Ashes | 2008–2010 |
| The Inbetweeners | |
| Merlin | 2008–2012 |
| Only Connect | 2008–present |
| Survivors | 2008–2010 |
| Wallander | 2008–2016 |
| Date | Name | Cinematic Credibility |
|---|---|---|
| 16 March | Lillia Turner | British actress (EastEnders) |
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