2008 in British television

Overview of the events of 2008 in British television

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This is a list of events that took place in 2008 related to British television.

## Events[edit]

### January[edit]

Date  | Event

|

2 January  | ITV announces that it will move its Sunday episodes of Emmerdale and Coronation Street. From the week beginning on 12 January, Coronation Street will have an additional Friday episode, while Emmerdale will air for an hour on Tuesdays. Dancing on Ice would move to a Sunday night slot.[1]
11 January  | ITV News at 10.30 is shown for the last time. News at Ten then replaces it from Mondays to Thursdays, and ITV Late News on Fridays.
14 January  | News at Ten returns to ITV with Sir Trevor McDonald and Julie Etchingham.[2] The programme will air four nights a week from Mondays to Thursdays, with an 11.00pm bulletin on Fridays.[3]
16 January  | Actress Leslie Ash wins a record £5 million out of court settlement from Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust after contracting a hospital acquired bug that left her partially paralysed while undergoing hospital treatment in 2004.[4]
22 January  | BBC Three has its identity relaunched, showcasing new shows such as Lily Allen and Friends.
23 January  | Konnie Huq presents her last episode of Blue Peter after over ten years, having become the longest-running female presenter and third longest-running overall in the shows' 50-year history.
31 January  | "Pretty Baby....", a unique episode of the soap opera EastEnders is broadcast, consisting of just one character (Dot Branning) with a single monologue in the form of a taped message to her husband. This 'one-hander' is a first in UK soap history.[5]
All the UKTV network channels such as UKTV Gold switch to widescreen.

### February[edit]

Date  | Event

|

6 February  | The BBC announces that children's drama Grange Hill is to be axed after exactly 30 years on air.[6]
7 February  | In an address to the Royal Television Society, the comedian Lenny Henry criticises the lack of ethnic diversity in the media.[7]
BBC One airs the debut episode of Ashes to Ashes, a spin-off series of Life on Mars.[8]
8 February  | After 22 years Neighbours is shown on BBC One for the last time.
11 February  | Australian soap opera Neighbours debuts in its new home on Five.
12 February  | The BBC Three "Blobs" are played out for the last time at 4 am. A new set of idents debuted the same day, this is the channels first ever rebrand since launching in early 2003.
14 February  | The Big Bang Theory debuts on Channel 4.
18 February  | Natasha Kaplinsky makes her Five News debut as Britain's highest paid newsreader, on a reported annual salary of £1 million.[9]
Carrie and David's Popshop debuts on CBeebies.
20 February  | It is announced that music video channel The Hits will be replaced by 4Music later in the year.
25 February  | BBC One soap EastEnders is reprimanded by Ofcom for the level of violence in an episode aired in November 2007 which saw a gang attack on a pub. The scenes, which showed a sustained level of violence, were deemed to be inappropriate for a pre-watershed audience.[10]
The Mr. Men Show debuts on Five.
27 February  | Launch of the black entertainment channel BET International.
28 February  | James Nathan wins the 2008 series of MasterChef.[11]

### March[edit]

Date  | Event

|

3 March  | Christ Church, Oxford wins the 2007–08 series of University Challenge, beating the University of Sheffield 220–170.
7 March  | The MS Society criticises a recent The Bill plotline as "grossly irresponsible" after it featured a multiple sclerosis patient being told about a fictional treatment for the condition.[12]
10 March  | A blanket ban on filming in and around Stormont Castle is lifted when the restrictions on the presence of cameras in the building are lifted, thus allowing proceedings in the Northern Ireland Assembly to be televised.[13]
ITV2 signs a deal with social networking site Bebo, allowing some of the channel's content to be aired free online.[14]
12 March  | Overnight viewing figures indicate that the debut episode of the US TV series Bionic Woman, which aired on ITV2 on 11 March was watched by 2.2 million viewers, giving the channel its largest audience to date.[15]
15 March  | Launch of BBC One's I'd Do Anything, a search for actors to appear in the West End musical Oliver!. Three boys will be chosen to play Oliver Twist and an actress to play the role of Nancy.[16]
16 March  | Suzanne Shaw and skating partner Matt Evers win the third series of Dancing on Ice.[17]
19 March  | BBC Four attracts its highest ever ratings after broadcasting the one-off drama The Curse of Steptoe, with 1.41 million viewers.
21 March  | Dirty Sexy Money makes its debut airing in the UK and proves to be a popular hit for Channel 4.
22 March  | ITV1 airs the Network television premiere of the 2005 musical film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
24 March
(Easter Monday)  | BBC Four broadcasts a revived, special two-hour-long episode of the 1960s satire The Frost Report.[18]
26 March  | American Hit Dramedy, Desperate Housewives finally makes its Fourth season debut. The show was due to start in the first two weeks of January, but this was shelved due to the WGA Strike.

### April[edit]

Date  | Event

|

1 April  | Patsy Palmer returns to EastEnders as Bianca Jackson nine years after leaving the series.
15 April  | ITV has decided to drop the second episode of the nine-part US supernatural drama Pushing Daisies because it only has scheduling space to show eight episodes before the start of Euro 2008. The second episode was the only one considered not crucial to the storyline, but it will be shown when the series is repeated.[19]
21 April  | BBC News has a major relaunch with BBC News 24 becoming BBC News and BBC World becoming BBC World News. All the news programmes on BBC One and BBC Two have also had new looks including all regional news programmes.
26 April  | A report in The Sun suggests seven characters will be axed from Coronation Street over the coming months. Those leaving include five members of the Morton family, who run the street's kebab shop, and Jack Ellis and Matthew Crompton, who play bookies Harry and Dan Mason.[20]
28 April  | Five Life is renamed to Fiver.

### May[edit]

Date  | Event

|

1 May  | VH1 takes on a general entertainment focus, matching the American network, though due to the American VH1's programmes being licensed to other networks or broadcasters, it also carries content from Channel 5 and MTV. VH1 completes its transition to a general entertainment format in October 2018, though music programmes continue in non-prime timeslots.[21]
6 May  | Freesat officially launches. ITV HD launches its full service.
19 May  | Kix! was launched in the UK for the first time.
20 May  | In a press release, the BBC announce that Russell T Davies is resigning as head writer and executive producer on Doctor Who following the fourth series, the 2008 Christmas special and a series of four hour-long episodes in 2009, after which he will be replaced by fellow writer Steven Moffat.
22 May  | Scotsport airs for the last time on Scottish television. By the time it ended it was recognised as the world's longest running sports television magazine.
24 May  | After Britain's entry in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest comes last, Sir Terry Wogan suggests he may step down as the BBC's Eurovision commentator because the contest is "no longer a music contest". Andy Abraham receives 14 points for the United Kingdom with "Even If", while the contest is won by Russia's Dima Bilan with "Believe", which scores 292 points. The result is partially due to the number of former Soviet states giving Russia the maximum 12 points, prompting Wogan to tell viewers that "Russia were going to be the political winners from the beginning" and to suggest "western European participants have to decide whether they want to take part from here on in because their prospects are poor".[22]
29 May  | It is announced that What the Papers Say, the second longest running programme on British television after Panorama, is to be axed by the BBC.
30 May  | Several newspapers report that George Galloway, MP has issued legal proceedings against The Bill for defamation after a storyline aired in November 2007 that featured a corrupt MP who smuggled antiques out of Iraq before the war, which Galloway alleges was a portrayal of him.[23][24]
ITV airs the 5000th episode of Emmerdale.[25]
31 May  | Jodie Prenger will play the role of Nancy in the West End musical Oliver! after winning BBC One's I'd Do Anything.[26]
Break dancer George Sampson wins the second series of Britain's Got Talent, netting a £100,000 prize and a chance to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.[27]

### June[edit]

Date  | Event

|

3 June  | All Virgin Media channels including Bravo (also Bravo 2), Living (also Living2), Challenge, Trouble and Virgin 1 switch to widescreen.
4 June  | MTV UK and several other MTV Networks Europe channels are fined £255,000 by Ofcom for "widespread and persistent" breaches of the broadcasting code, including breaking the pre-watershed content ban.
5 June  | The Big Brother 9 launch night proves to be not as good as Channel 4 had hoped with the loss of around 1 million viewers who had watched the previous year's launch night
6 June  | Sharon Osbourne quits as a judge on the ITV series The X Factor shortly before filming is due to begin on a new series.[28]
7–29 June  | Euro 2008 are held in Austria and Switzerland.
9 June  | Channel 4 apologises after broadcasting an episode of The Simpsons that included the use of the word "wankers" at 6.00 pm on 15 April. The incident, blamed on an administrative error, led to 31 viewers complaining to Ofcom that such language was unacceptable at a time when children would be watching.[29]
10 June  | Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole is revealed as Sharon Osbourne's replacement as a judge on The X Factor.[30]
11 June  | Lee McQueen wins the fourth series of The Apprentice.[31]
UKTV announces that, following the successful launch of Dave, it will rebrand all its channels from generic, UKTV-prefixed names to individual and separate brands.[32][33]
17 June  | Comedian Joan Rivers is asked to leave the ITV afternoon talk show Loose Women after swearing live on air. She was removed during the commercial break, and said that she didn't realise the show was going out live and thought her comments would be bleeped.[34]
23 June  | An EastEnders storyline involving the live burial of a character that aired over Easter is criticised as "offensive" by Ofcom. The scenes, which saw Tanya Branning getting revenge against her unfaithful husband Max by drugging and burying him, attracted 116 complaints from viewers. Ofcom says the episodes had "a seriously disturbing element to them".[35]

### July[edit]

Date  | Event

|

5 July  | The finale of the fourth series of Doctor Who is watched by 9.4 million viewers, this is the first time since the series' revival in 2005 that Doctor Who has the largest audience share in its timeslot.
7 July  | Alex Evans wins Cycle 4 of Britain's Next Top Model.
15 July  | ITV Central is fined £25,000 for contempt of court after running a news story about a trial that was about to start, which included details of a defendant's previous conviction for murder.[36][37]
More4 begins a season of Stanley Kubrick films. It is preceded by Citizen Kubrick, a documentary about the director by Jon Ronson. By way of promotion for the season, Channel 4 commissioned a 65-second promotion that included recreating the set of The Shining, complete with lookalikes of the cast and crew, the ad showing the set from Kubrick's perspective as he walks through it to take his seat in the director's chair before filming.[38]
22 July  | BBC Two Controller Roly Keating is appointed as the BBC's first director of archive content. He will take up the role in the autumn.[39]
23 July  | Des O'Connor announces that he will step down as presenter of Countdown.[40]
Portland Enterprises, owners of Television X: The Fantasy Channel are fined £25,000 by Ofcom for broadcasting "highly explicit sex material" after showing an R18 rated adult film in June 2007, something that broke Ofcom rules on the broadcast of adult content.[41]
Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton is named as a temporary co-presenter of Richard & Judy, presenting the show alongside Richard Madeley for a few days while his wife, Judy Finnigan recovers from a knee operation.[42] Bunton is succeeded by Myleene Klass, who also takes on Finnegan's role for a few days.[43]
25 July  | Carol Vorderman announces that she will quit as host of Countdown, two days after Des O'Connor announced his intention to leave the programme. Vorderman's manager said that she did not think she could go through the process of bonding with another co-presenter.[44]
Liz McClarnon wins the 2008 series of Celebrity MasterChef.[45]

### August[edit]

Date  | Event

|

8–24 August  | 2008 Summer Olympics are held in China.
15 August  | The music video channel The Hits closes and is replaced by 4Music later the same day.
Griff Rhys Jones announced as the new presenter of It'll Be Alright on the Night for the first time since Denis Norden's retirement from the show in 2006 after almost 30 years.
22 August  | After seven years with Channel 4, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan present their last edition of Richard & Judy. They move to new subscription channel Watch in the Autumn.
31 August  | Sky One, Sky Two and Sky Three rebrands to Sky1, Sky2 and Sky3 respectively.
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's Simon Mayo, television writer Jimmy McGovern describes the BBC as "one of the most racist institutions in England" because of the lack of ethnic people in prominent positions. The BBC responds by saying it is "actively seeking and nurturing ethnic talents both on and off the air."[46]

### September[edit]

Date  | Event

|

1 September  | Selina Scott is suing Five for age discrimination, it is reported, after she was considered but overlooked as a temporary replacement for Five News presenter Natasha Kaplinsky during her maternity leave.[47]
5 September  | Rachel Rice wins series nine of Big Brother.[48]
8 September  | A report by the Scottish Broadcasting Commission recommends that up to £75 million of public funds should be used to create a high quality Scottish television channel.[49]
15 September  | BBC One airs the final episode of Grange Hill.[50]
18 September  | BBC One screens its controversial documentary The Undercover Soldier that alleges instances of bullying in the British Army.[51][52] The show attracts relatively low ratings and the BBC is criticised by serving soldiers for the way the investigation was conducted.[53]
19 September  | BBC Alba, a Scottish Gaelic language digital television channel, is launched through a partnership between the BBC and MG Alba.
Derek Johnstone wins the first series of MasterChef: The Professionals,[54] and goes on to take a job at London's Le Gavroche restaurant with Michel Roux Jr.

### October[edit]

Date  | Event

|

1 October  | BBC Four Controller Janice Hadlow is appointed Controller of BBC Two, replacing outgoing incumbent Roly Keating from November.[55]
Scottish Media Group is rebranded STV Group plc. It does this because it wants to highlight its renewed focus on television.[56][57]
ITV1 screens the British terrestrial television premiere of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with overnight viewing figures indicating it to have an audience of 7.2 million viewers (a 29% audience share).[58]
6 October  | Five has its first major rebrand since 2002.
It is reported that an episode of Coronation Street, in which the character Tony Gordon made a jibe about Rangers, was changed following complaints from fans of the football club.[59]
7 October  | UKTV launches a new general entertainment channel called Watch and UKTV Gold was relaunched as a comedy channel G.O.L.D. (Go on Laugh Daily) and UKTV Drama was relaunched as a crime drama channel Alibi.
Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan begin presenting a new show Richard and Judy's New Position on Watch.
10 October  | EastEnders begins broadcasting the storyline The Secret Mitchell in which Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace) is revealed to be Ronnie Mitchell's (Samantha Janus) daughter.
16 October  | Longest-running children's television programme Blue Peter celebrates its 50th birthday.
23 October  | BBC One airs the 1000th edition of Question Time.
29 October  | During the live broadcast of the 2008 National Television Awards, David Tennant announces that he is quitting Doctor Who at the end of 2009.
30 October  | Following his involvement in The Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row, Jonathan Ross is suspended for 12 weeks without pay from all BBC shows, including his television programmes such as Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.[60] He also decided not to host the 2008 British Comedy Awards, broadcast on ITV.

### November[edit]

Date  | Event

|

2 November  | F1 on ITV airs for the last time, presented by Steve Rider, with commentators Martin Brundle and James Allen.
3 November  | Britain's favourite singing pigs Pinky and Perky return to CBBC with a brand new television series known as The Pinky and Perky Show brought to life with CGI animation. The series is updated with various brand new characters and a few old characters which were Morton Frog and Vera Vixen (but this time as the main antagonist) and follows the brothers and their misadventures in a television studio while working as presenters of a children's TV show.
4 November  | It is announced that an agreement has been struck for Sky's basic channels – including Sky1, Sky2, Sky3, Sky News, Sky Sports News, Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2, Sky Real Lives and Sky Real Lives 2 – to return to Virgin Media from 13 November 2008 until 12 June 2011. In exchange Sky will be provide continued carriage of Virgin Media Television's channels – Living, Living2, Bravo, Bravo +1, Trouble, Challenge and Virgin1 for the same period.[61] However, Trouble closed down in April 2009 and Sky brought Virgin Media Television (later Living TV Group) two years later. Bravo, Bravo 2, Challenge Jackpot and Channel One closed down on 1 January and 1 February 2011 respectively, along with the rebrandings of Living (now Sky Living), Livingit (then Livingit, now Sky Livingit), Living Loves (now Sky Living Loves) and Challenge's new slot on Freeview on 1 February 2011, which finally ended Living TV Group and extended the agreement as a permanent deal.
5 November  | A BBC Two Newsnight special on the election of Barack Obama in which presenter Jeremy Paxman famously addresses the rapper Dizzee Rascal as "Mr Rascal".[62][63]
6 November  | The digital switchover continues when the Scottish Borders region's analogue service is switched off. People served by the Selkirk transmitter will be the first substantial area to go fully digital.
12–13 November  | ITV airs Proof of Life, a two-part episode of The Bill to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary. The storyline features a crossover with the German police procedural Leipzig Homicide, and is aired on both UK and German television.[64]
13 November  | BSkyB's basic channels such as Sky1 and Sky News return to Virgin Media TV.
Debut of the six-part supernatural drama Apparitions on BBC One is about a Roman Catholic Church priest Father Jacob Myers (Martin Shaw) who examines evidence of miracles to be used in canonisation but also performs exorcisms. As he learns, Jacob's duties run deeper than just sending demons back to Hell; he later must prevent them all from escaping. The series continues on 18 December.
14 November  | Children in Need 2008 is broadcast on BBC One, hosted by Terry Wogan, Tess Daly and Fearne Cotton. Raising £20,991,216 by the end of the broadcast.
19 November  | Journalist John Sergeant pulls out of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing contest following controversy over his participation in the show. Sergeant has been consistently supported by the public despite receiving the lowest scores from the programme's panel of judges. Announcing his decision, Sergeant says winning would be "a joke too far". The BBC says it will refund anyone who voted for Sergeant while he was taking part.[65]
20 November  | Sir Trevor McDonald presents his last News at Ten after only 11 months at helm. Mark Austin takes over as head anchor.
QI broadcasts its last episode to be originally shown on BBC Two, as part of Children in Need. The series moves to BBC One during Christmas.
21 November  | It is announced that Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling and Oxford graduate Rachel Riley will replace Des O'Connor and Carol Vorderman as hosts of the next series of Countdown. Riley beat 1,000 applicants to win the role.[66]
The BBC Trust criticises another incident involving Jonathan Ross and bad language. The Trust rules that a remark made by Ross on an edition of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross aired in May in which he told the actress Gwyneth Paltrow he "would fuck her" was "gratuitous and unnecessarily offensive".[67]
STV announces its intention to opt out of ITV programmes they claim are not performing well in their broadcast region. These include series such as Sharpe's Peril, Al Murray's Happy Hour, Moving Wallpaper, Benidorm and The Alan Titchmarsh Show. ITV's coverage of the FA Cup is also dropped.

### December[edit]

Date  | Event

|

3 December  | The new Wallace and Gromit adventure, A Matter of Loaf and Death, premieres in Australia on the ABC before airing in the UK.
5 December  | Selina Scott has reached a settlement with Five after suing the channel for age discrimination, it is reported.[68]
Actor Joe Swash wins the eighth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[69]
It is announced that Graham Norton will take over from Terry Wogan as the presenter of the Eurovision Song Contest after Wogan, who has presented the BBC's coverage of the contest for 30 years, decided to relinquish the role.[70]
12 December  | Des O'Connor presents his last Countdown episode after over a year of presenting and Carol Vorderman also presents her last Countdown episode after 26 years of co-presenting.
13 December  | Alexandra Burke wins the fifth series of The X Factor.[71]
14 December  | Cyclist Chris Hoy is named as this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year.[72]
18 December  | Presenter Fiona Phillips leaves GMTV after nearly 16 years with ITV's breakfast broadcaster.[73]
20 December  | Tom Chambers and dancing partner Camilla Dallerup win the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing.[74]
25 December  | The Royle Family returns for a Christmas Special, attracting an audience of 11 million. The most watched show of the day is a new Wallace and Gromit adventure, A Matter of Loaf and Death, which airs on BBC One, and is seen by 14.4 million viewers.[75]
30 December  | Shooting Stars returns with a Christmas special and a clip show, the first new episodes since 2002 and Rab C. Nesbitt returns with a Christmas special, another new episode since 1999.[76]
31 December  | ITV airs Elton's New Year's Eve party, a live concert by Elton John from London's O2 Arena. Channel 5 airs an evening of programming dedicated to Bruce Forsyth, including An Audience with Bruce Forsyth.[77]
The 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is aired on ITV1 for the last time.

## Debuts[edit]

### BBC One[edit]

* 1 January – Sense and Sensibility
* 5 January –
* Basil's Swap Shop
* The One and Only
* 8 January – Mistresses
* 10 January – Fairy Tales
* 13 January – Lark Rise to Candleford
* 4 February – Frankenstein's Cat
* 7 February – Ashes to Ashes
* 17 February – The Last Enemy
* 10 March – Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
* 15 March – I'd Do Anything
* 28 March – The Passion
* 12 April – The Kids Are All Right
* 28 April – Out of the Blue
* 1 May – The Invisibles
* 30 June – Criminal Justice
* 5 July – Last Choir Standing
* 8 July – Bonekickers
* 30 July – Lost Land of the Jaguar
* 10 August – Britain From Above
* 26 August – Mutual Friends
* 11 September – The Planners Are Coming
* 14 September – Tess of the D'Urbervilles
* 18 September – The Undercover Soldier
* 20 September –
* Merlin
* Hole in the Wall
* 29 September – Chuggington
* 7 October Sunshine
* 12 October – Stephen Fry in America
* 19 October – Ian Fleming: Where Bond Began
* 24 October – Little Dorrit
* 3 November – The Pinky and Perky Show
* 13 November – Apparitions
* 23 November – Survivors
* 30 November – Wallander
* 25 December – A Matter of Loaf and Death

### BBC Two[edit]

Date | Programme

|

10 January  | Never Better
11 February  | Get Squiggling
28 February  | Empty
4 March  | Mad Men
10 March  | 10 Days to War
White Girl
11 May  | Wild China
28 May  | Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
10 July  | Lab Rats
19 July  | Help! Teach is Coming to Stay
30 July  | House of Saddam
12 August  | Sesame Tree
2 October  | Beautiful People
10 October  | The American Future: A History
22 November  | Einstein and Eddington

### BBC Three[edit]

Date | Programme

|

12 February  | Lily Allen and Friends
Phoo Action
31 March  | Dis/Connected
8 April  | The Wall
22 June  | MeeBOX
23 June  | Snog Marry Avoid?
10 August  | Spooks: Code 9
28 August  | The Wrong Door

### BBC Four[edit]

Date | Programme

|

31 January  | Art of Spain
17 March  | The Curse of Steptoe
2 April  | Hughie Green, Most Sincerely
12 June  | The Long Walk to Finchley
21 August  | Fossil Detectives
15 September  | Only Connect

### ITV (1/2/3/4/CITV)[edit]

Date | Programme

|

9 January  | Honest
10 January  | Moving Wallpaper
Echo Beach
12 January  | Thank God You're Here
14 January  | The Palace
4 March  | Bike Squad
5 March  | Rock Rivals
12 March  | Bionic Woman
14 March  | The Passions of Girls Aloud
23 March  | He Kills Coppers
28 March  | Teenage Kicks
6 April  | Headcases
20 April  | Beat the Star
8 May  | Midnight Man
4 June  | Bingo Night Live
28 June  | Who Dares, Sings!
1 September  | The Children
My Goldfish Is Evil
3 September  | Lost in Austen
18 September  | No Heroics
22 September  | A Place of Execution
13 October  | Wired
26 October  | Britannia High

### Channel 4[edit]

Date | Programme

|

2 January  | The Triple Nipple Club
14 January  | City of Vice
18 January  | Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live
22 January  | Supersize vs Superskinny
1 February  | Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong
22 February  | New Hero of Comedy
31 March  | Poppy Shakespeare
1 June  | Tony Robinson's Crime and Punishment
10 July  | Dexter
1 August  | The Kevin Bishop Show
Tonightly
24 August  | Stacked
25 August  | Wogan's Perfect Recall
17 September  | The Family
30 September  | Jamie's Ministry of Food
Dawn Porter: Extreme Wife
12 October  | Britain's Got the Pop Factor and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice
19 November  | The Devil's Whore
24 November  | The Ascent of Money

### Five[edit]

Date | Programme

|

25 February  | The Mr. Men Show
13 August  | Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure
5 September  | The What in the World? Quiz
8 October  | Paul Merton in India

### E4[edit]

Date | Programme

|

3 January  | Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
14 February  | The Big Bang Theory
1 May  | The Inbetweeners
27 October  | Dead Set
24 November  | Hollyoaks Later

### Sky1[edit]

Date | Programme

|

21 January  | Ross Kemp in Afghanistan
11 May  | Don't Forget the Lyrics!
31 August  | Hairspray: The School Musical

### Watch[edit]

Date | Programme

|

7 October  | Richard and Judy's New Position

### Dave[edit]

Date | Programme

|

27 October  | Argumental
30 October  | Batteries Not Included

### FX[edit]

Date | Programme

|

6 May  | The Colbert Report

### Other channels[edit]

Date | Debut | Network

|
|

4 February  | Phineas and Ferb | Disney Channel
24 March  | Chowder | Cartoon Network

## Changes of network affiliation[edit]

Programme  | Moved from  | Moved to

|
|

American Dad! (First run rights)  | BBC Three | FOX (2004–2021)
Little Miss Jocelyn | BBC Three | BBC Two
Gladiators | ITV1 | Sky One
Take Your Pick | Challenge
Small Talk | BBC One
Wipeout
FA Cup football and England Internationals | ITV1 & Setanta Sports
Neighbours | Five
Fireman Sam | CBeebies
Get 100 | BBC Two | BBC One & CBBC
The Weakest Link (Daytime version) | BBC One
Out of the Blue

Gavin & Stacey | BBC Three
Torchwood | BBC Two
Robot Wars | Challenge | Bravo
It's Me or the Dog | Channel 4 & More4 | Sky3 & Sky Real Lives
Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! | CITV | CBeebies

* ^1 It later moved to CITV in early 2009 for a brand newer series and then in late 2012 back to Channel 5.

## Channels[edit]

### New channels[edit]

Date  | Channel

|

1 February  | MTV One +1
17 March  | Sky Sports HD 3
20 March  | Sky Movies Premiere HD
28 April  | FX HD
19 May  | Kix!
9 July  | AAP TV
15 August  | 4Music
18 August  | Nicktoonsters
7 October  | Watch
Watch +1
5 November  | Crime & Investigation Network HD
1 December  | Disney Cinemagic HD
16 December  | MTVNHD

### Defunct channels[edit]

Main article: List of former TV channels in the United Kingdom § 2008

Date  | Channel

|

1 February  | MTV Flux
15 August  | The Hits

### Rebranding channels[edit]

Date  | Old Name  | New Name

|
|

21 April  | BBC News 24  | BBC News
28 April  | Five Life  | Fiver
31 August  | Sky One  | Sky 1
Sky Two  | Sky 2
Sky Three  | Sky3
7 October  | UKTV Drama  | Alibi
UKTV Drama +1  | Alibi +1
UKTV Gold  | G.O.L.D.
UKTV Gold +1  | G.O.L.D. +1

## Television shows[edit]

### Returning this year after a break of one year or longer[edit]

Programme  | Date(s) of original removal  | Original channel  | Date(s) of return  | New channel(s)

|
|
|
|

ITV News at Ten | 30 January 2004  | ITV1 | 14 January 2008  | N/A (Same channel as original)
Mr. and Mrs. as All Star Mr & Mrs | 2 July 1999  | 12 April 2008
Gladiators | 1 January 2000  | 11 May 2008  | Sky1
Superstars | 2005  | BBC One | July 2008  | Five
It'll Be Alright on the Night | 18 March 2006  | ITV1 | 20 September 2008  | N/A (Same channel as original)
Going for Gold | 9 July 1996  | BBC One | 13 October 2008  | Five
Rab C. Nesbitt | 18 June 1999  | BBC Two | 23 December 2008  | N/A (Same channel as original)

## Continuing television shows[edit]

### 1920s[edit]

Programme  | Date

|

BBC Wimbledon | 1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present

### 1930s[edit]

Programme  | Date

|

Trooping the Colour | 1937–1939, 1946–2019, 2023–present
The Boat Race | 1938–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present

### 1950s[edit]

Programme  | Date

|

Panorama | 1953–present
The Sky at Night | 1957–present
Blue Peter | 1958–present

### 1960s[edit]

Programme  | Date

|

Coronation Street | 1960–present
Songs of Praise | 1961–present
Doctor Who | 1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present
Match of the Day | 1964–present
Top of the Pops
The Frost Report | 1966–1967, 2008
The Money Programme | 1966–2010

### 1970s[edit]

Programme  | Date

|

Emmerdale | 1972–present
Newsround
Last of the Summer Wine | 1973–2010
Arena | 1975–present
One Man and His Dog | 1976–present
Top Gear | 1977–present
Ski Sunday | 1978–present
Antiques Roadshow | 1979–present
Question Time

### 1980s[edit]

Programme  | Date

|

Children in Need | 1980–present
Postman Pat | 1981, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2004–2008
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
Rab C. Nesbitt | 1988–1999, 2008–2014
The Simpsons | 1989–present

### 1990s[edit]

Programme  | Date

|

Have I Got News for You | 1990–present
Heartbeat | 1992–2010
A Touch of Frost
The National Lottery Draws | 1994–2017
Top of the Pops 2 | 1994–2017
Shooting Stars | 1995–2002, 2008–2011
Hollyoaks | 1995–present
Never Mind the Buzzcocks | 1996–2015
Silent Witness | 1996–present
Artur
King of the Hill | 1997–2010
South Park | 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
Family Guy | 1999–2002, 2005–present
SpongeBob SquarePants | 1999–present
Holby City | 1999–2022[78]

### 2000s[edit]

Programme  | Date

|

The Weakest Link | 2000–2012, 2017–present
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
Comedy Connections | 2003–2008
New Tricks | 2003–2015
Daily Politics | 2003–2018
Peep Show | 2003–2015
Politics Show | 2003–2011
QI | 2003–present
The Royal | 2003–2011
This Week | 2003–2019
Doc Martin | 2004–2022
Shameless | 2004–2013
Strictly Come Dancing | 2004–present
The X Factor | 2004–2018
8 Out of 10 Cats | 2005–present
The Apprentice
Love Soup | 2005–2008
Mock the Week | 2005–2022
More4 News | 2005–2009
The Jeremy Kyle Show | 2005–2019
The Andrew Marr Show | 2005–2021
Come Dine with Me | 2005-present
Deal or No Deal | 2005–2016
It's Me or the Dog | 2005–2012
The Apprentice: You're Fired! | 2006–present
Dancing on Ice | 2006–present
Hotel Babylon | 2006–2009
Lewis | 2006–2015
Numberjacks | 2006–2009
Robin Hood
The Slammer | 2006–2015
That Mitchell and Webb Look | 2006–2010
Ugly Betty
Torchwood | 2006–2011
Waterloo Road | 2006–2015
Star Stories | 2006–2008
The Sarah Jane Adventures | 2007–2011
After You've Gone | 2007–2008
The Alan Titchmarsh Show | 2007–2014
Jamie at Home | 2007–2008
In the Night Garden... | 2007–2009
Golden Balls
Gavin & Stacey | 2007–2010
The Graham Norton Show | 2007–present
Would I Lie to You?
M.I. High | 2007–2014
The Tudors | 2007–2010
Trapped
Skins | 2007–2013
Britain's Got Talent | 2007–present

## Ending this year[edit]

Date | Programme | Channel(s) | Debut(s)

|
|
|

13 January  | Sense and Sensibility | BBC  | 2008
8 February  | Jamie at Home | Channel 4  | 2007
3 March  | The Palace | ITV  | 2008
21 March  | Echo Beach
4 April  | The Passions of Girls Aloud
22 May  | Scotsport | STV  | 1957
What the Papers Say | BBC  | 1956
5 June  | HolbyBlue | 2007
15 June  | Headcases | ITV  | 2008
12 August  | Bonekickers | BBC
13 August  | Lost Land of the Jaguar
17 August  | All Grown Up! | Nickelodeon  | 2003
22 August  | Richard & Judy | Channel 4  | 2001
Tonightly | 2008
30 August  | Last Choir Standing | BBC
15 September  | Grange Hill | 1978
The Children | ITV  | 2008
24 September  | Lost in Austen
30 September  | Mutual Friends | BBC
5 October  | Tess of the D'Urbervilles
6 October  | A Place of Execution | ITV
8 October  | Supernanny | Channel 4  | 2004
9 October  | Fossil Detectives | BBC  | 2008
20 October  | Amazon
21 October  | Dawn Porter: Extreme Wife | Channel 4
27 October  | Wired | ITV
8 November  | Comedy Connections | BBC  | 2003
12 November  | The Commander | ITV
10 December  | The Devil's Whore | Channel 4  | 2008
18 December  | Apparitions | BBC
20 December  | Britannia High | ITV
21 December  | Northern Lights | 2004
After You've Gone | BBC  | 2007
25 December  | Out of the Blue | 2008

## Deaths[edit]

Date | Name | Age | Cinematic Credibility

|
|
|

3 January  | Natasha Collins | 31  | Presenter
Jack Aranson | 83  | Actor
5 January  | Rowan Ayers | 85  | Television producer (Late Night Line-Up, Old Grey Whistle Test, Points of View)
17 January  | Carole Lynne | 89  | Actress, widow of Baron Delfont
22 January  | Diane Chenery-Wickens | 48  | Television make-up artist
Kevin Stoney | 86  | Actor
26 January  | John Ardagh | 79  | Journalist and author
30 January  | Jeremy Beadle | 59  | Presenter (Game for a Laugh, Beadle's About, Chain Letters, Beadle's Hotshots, You've Been Framed!)
2 February  | Barry Morse | 89  | Actor (The Fugitive, Space: 1999)
Edward Wilson | 60  | Actor (When the Boat Comes In) director of the National Youth Theatre
19 February  | David Watkin | 82  | Cinematographer
Emily Perry | 100  | Actress
8 March  | Carol Barnes | 63  | Former ITN newscaster
16 March  | John Hewer | 86  | Actor
19 March  | Paul Scofield
20 March  | Brian Wilde | 80  | Actor (Last of the Summer Wine, Porridge)
25 March  | Tony Church | 77  | Actor
27 March  | Ronnie Letham | 58
2 April  | Sir Geoffrey Cox | 97  | Founder of ITN News at Ten
7 April  | Mark Speight | 42  | Presenter (SMart, Scratchy & Co.)
10 April  | Francis Coleman | 84  | Canadian-born British conductor, television producer and director
11 April  | Willoughby Goddard | 81  | Actor
15 April  | Hazel Court | 82  | Actress (The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven)
24 April  | Tristram Cary | 82  | Film and television composer
25 April  | Humphrey Lyttelton | 86  | Jazz musician, radio broadcaster (Host of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue)
1 May  | Bernard Archard | 91  | Actor
Terry Duggan | 76  | Comedian and actor
13 May  | Jill Adams | 77  | Actress
14 May  | Frith Banbury | 96  | Stage director and actor
16 May  | David Mitton | 69  | British TV animator/producer and director (Thunderbirds, Thomas & Friends, Tugs)
17 May  | Wilfrid Mellers | 94  | Composer and author
John Fitzsimmons | 68  | Roman Catholic priest and broadcaster
20 May  | Iona Banks | 87  | Actress
Margot Boyd | 94  | Actress (Marjorie Antrobus on The Archers)
23 May  | Alan Brien | 83  | Journalist and critic
24 May  | Rob Knox | 18  | Actor
Alan Towers[79] | 73  | Journalist and television presenter (Midlands Today)
30 May  | Chris Morgan | 55  | Journalist
Mike Scott | 75  | Television producer and presenter (The Time, The Place)
4 June  | Jonathan Routh | 80  | Co-star (Candid Camera)
5 June  | Angus Calder | 66  | Historian and writer
10 June  | David Brierly | 73  | Actor (Voice of K-9 on Doctor Who)
26 June  | Tony Melody | 85  | Actor
2 July  | Elizabeth Spriggs | 78  | Stage, television and film actress (Sense and Sensibility, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
3 July  | Clive Hornby | 63  | Actor (Emmerdale) aka Jack Sugden
4 July  | Charles Wheeler | 85  | Journalist and longest serving BBC foreign correspondent
7 July  | Hugh Mendl | 88  | Record producer
14 July  | Hugh Lloyd | 85  | Actor (Hancock's Half Hour)
Bryan Cowgill | 81  | Executive
27 July  | Bob Crampsey | 78  | Sportscaster
30 July  | Peter Coke | 95  | Actor and playwright (Paul Temple)
Jon Miller | 87  | Television presenter
6 August  | Jennifer Hilary | 65  | Actress
7 August  | Simon Gray | 71  | Playwright
10 August  | Terence Rigby | Actor
John Esmonde | British scriptwriter (The Good Life)
11 August  | Bill Cotton | 80  | BBC Television executive
18 August  | Bob Humphrys | 56  | Sports presenter (BBC Cymru Wales), brother of John Humphrys
29 August  | Geoffrey Perkins | 55  | Producer
31 August  | Ken Campbell | 66  | Actor
8 September  | Celia Gregory | 58  | Actress
19 September  | David Jones | 74  | Theatre and film director
20 September  | William Fox | 97  | Actor
1 October  | Ian Collier | 87  | Actor and singer
4 October  | Peter Vansittart | 88  | Writer
7 October  | Peter Copley | 93  | Actor
8 October  | Bob Friend | 70  | Sky News presenter
11 October  | Mark Shivas | Film and television producer
Russ Hamilton | 76  | Singer
18 October  | Peter Gordeno | 69  | Actor, singer and dancer
20 October  | John Ringham | 80  | Actor
22 October  | David Lloyd Meredith | 74
25 October  | John Axon | 48
31 October  | John Daly | 71  | Film producer
11 November  | Jack Scott | 85  | BBC Weatherman
16 November  | Reg Varney | 92  | Actor (On the Buses, The Rag Trade)
25 November  | Dudley Savage | 88  | Radio presenter
8 December  | Bob Spiers | 63  | Television director
Oliver Postgate | 83  | Animator
13 December  | Kathy Staff | 80  | Actress (Last of the Summer Wine, Crossroads)
18 December  | Jack Douglas | 81  | Actor

## Top 10 highest viewed programmes[edit]

Rank | Programme | Rating | Channel | Date

|
|
|
|

1  | Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death | 16.15m  | BBC One  | 25 December 2008
2  | The X Factor Results | 14.06m  | ITV  | 13 December 2008
3  | Britain's Got Talent: Final Result | 13.88m  | ITV  | 31 May 2008
4  | The X Factor | 13.77m  | ITV  | 13 December 2008
5  | Doctor Who | 13.10m  | BBC One  | 25 December 2008
6  | Coronation Street | 13.02m  | ITV  | 18 January 2008
7  | Strictly Come Dancing | 12.97m  | BBC One  | 20 December 2008
8  | Dancing on Ice | 12.02m  | ITV  | 16 March 2008
9  | Britain's Got Talent | 11.86m  | ITV  | 30 May 2008
10  | EastEnders | 11.73m  | BBC One  | 24 March 2008

### Notes[edit]

* A Matter of Loaf and Death is the highest viewed non-sporting event since an episode of Coronation Street in 2004 had 16.33 million.
* Coronation Street's audience was boosted due to the death of long running and popular character Vera Duckworth.
* The results shows of The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent are counted as separate programmes.

## See also[edit]

* 2008 in British music
* 2008 in British radio
* 2008 in the United Kingdom
* List of British films of 2008

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## External links[edit]

* List of 2008 British television series at IMDb

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