2007 in British television explained

This is a summary of the year 2007 in British television.

Events

January

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2 JanuaryThis Life returns for a ten-year reunion special.
Des O'Connor takes over from Des Lynam as co-presenter (with Carol Vorderman) of Channel 4's long-running quiz show Countdown.
3 JanuaryCelebrity Big Brother 5 is launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.[1]
The Bill airs a new set of opening titles, paying homage to the original 1984 opening titles. The titles also include shots of London, interspersed with police work and shots of Sun Hill Police Station. The break bumpers and music are also updated.
5 JanuaryLeslie Ash officially opens the Centre for Healthcare Associated Infections (CHIA), a national facility at the University of Nottingham dedicated to conducting research into superbug infections. Ash is also the Centre's patron.[2]
Former Big Brother contestant Jade Goody returns to the Big Brother House to take part in the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother. On the same evening musician Donny Tourette walks off the show after just 48 hours.[3]
7 JanuaryLaura Pearce, a 24-year-old civilian employee of Gloucestershire Constabulary, becomes the first contestant to win the £250,000 on the British version of Deal or No Deal.[4]
Hannah Waterman and Marti Pellow win the second series of BBC One's Just the Two of Us.[5]
Film director Ken Russell becomes the second contestant to leave Celebrity Big Brother in two days, following a row with Jade Goody.
8 JanuaryMichael Grade takes over as chief executive of ITV plc.[6]
The Calendar East and Calendar South regions are merged to form a new Calendar South region covering central and east Lincolnshire, east and south east Yorkshire, east Nottinghamshire and north Norfolk. The Calendar North region, broadcasting from the Emley Moor transmitter continues as before.
STV launches separate news services for the East and West of the STV Central region, initially as a five-minute opt out within the 6:00 pm edition of Scotland Today on weeknights.
9 JanuarySky News hires Meridian Tonight presenter Charlotte Hawkins to co-present Sunrise alongside Eamonn Holmes; she makes her debut on 15 January.[7]
12 JanuarySinger Leo Sayer becomes the third person to leave Celebrity Big Brother 5 after walking out of the show.[8]
13 JanuaryCoronation Street actor Antony Cotton wins the second series of ITV's Soapstar Superstar.[9]
ITV1 airs the British terrestrial television premiere of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The film achieves the highest audience of the day, with overnight figures indicating an audience of eight million.[10]
17 JanuaryProtests are held in India and the UK against Celebrity Big Brother after Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara are alleged to be racially abusive to Bollywood star, Shilpa Shetty. The programme has also attracted several thousand complaints from viewers to Ofcom, Channel 4 and the police, and is criticised by senior politicians both in the UK and India.[11] [12] [13]
19 JanuaryJade Goody is evicted from Celebrity Big Brother following the racism row. Goody and Shilpa Shetty had both faced eviction, with Goody receiving 82% of the public vote. During a post-eviction interview, from which the wider public is banned, Goody says that she is "embarrassed and disgusted" by her behaviour. She had also apologised to Shetty before leaving the Big Brother house.[14]
22 JanuaryBBC News 24 is re-branded with new titles and on-screen graphics.
26 JanuaryJo O'Meara is evicted from Celebrity Big Brother. Viewing clips of her behaviour in the Big Brother house during a post-eviction interview, she says that it looks "very bad", but says she is not a racist.[15]
28 JanuaryThe final edition of Grandstand, the flagship BBC sports programme, is aired after nearly 50 years on television screens.[16]
Shilpa Shetty wins the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother. During the live final, Danielle Lloyd apologises for her behaviour toward the actress during the series.[17]

February

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2 FebruaryPlans by Channel 4 to air a series of documentaries about masturbation in March are postponed after the event has attracted controversy and criticism from senior television figures. The programmes are to be shown separately at a later date and not as part of a season.[18]
Five airs the final episode of In the Grid.
9 FebruaryPaul Merton presents his last edition of Room 101.
14 FebruaryBBC One airs the biopic Veronica Guerin, starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin.[19]
Samuel Preston walks off live on an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks after insults about his wife Chantelle Houghton. Team captain Bill Bailey replaces him with a member of the audience, Ed Seymour.[20]
15 FebruaryMichael Starke, who played Sinbad in Brookside, is to join the cast of Coronation Street as take-away owner Jerry Morton. He will be seen onscreen from 18 March.[21]
18 FebruaryBBC Two launches 14 new idents designed by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and produced by Red Bee Media, with the "2" becoming a "Windows of the World" a portal through which the world is seen differently.
Richard & Judy is scrutinised when it is claimed that the winners were already chosen for its premium-rate phone-in quiz, "You Say, We Pay". This results in the start of the phone-in scandal.
20 FebruaryThe newly launched Virgin Media launches its new on-demand channel Virgin Central.[22]
FebruaryUTV in Northern Ireland splits UTV Live and UTV Life into separate programmes and all bulletins outside of the main early evening programme are retitled UTV News. This continues until April 2009.

March

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1 MarchA channel agreement between Virgin Media and BSkyB for Virgin to broadcast non-premium Sky channels ends at midnight. Virgin Media and Sky have failed to reach agreement on the issue and subsequently Sky One, Sky Two, Sky Travel, Sky Travel Extra, Sky Sports News and Sky News are removed from the Virgin line-up.
2 MarchThe Attorney General for England and Wales, Lord Goldsmith, obtains an injunction from the High Court preventing the BBC from broadcasting an item about investigations into the alleged cash for honours political scandal.
5 MarchITV's quiz channel ITV Play is implicated in the phone-in scandal. As a result, ITV allow independent auditor Deloitte to review programmes with phone-ins that generate revenue such as Dancing on Ice and The X Factor.
Shaun the Sheep first airs.
7 MarchThe BBC's correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Alan Johnston, who is the only foreign reporter from a major media organisation based in Gaza, is kidnapped. All the main Palestinian militant groups call for his release.
Louise Redknapp presents the controversial ITV documentary The Truth About Size Zero in which she attempts to drop to a size zero in 30 days by following a strict weight loss regimen in order to highlight eating disorder issues.[23] [24] [25]
Five's game show BrainTeaser is suddenly axed by the channel after five years. It is later revealed the sudden axing was in relation to the phone-in scandal, as the show's production company Endemol had faked on-air winners by posing production team members as such. Five is fined a record £300,000 by Ofcom over the incidents.
9 MarchThe BBC's Castaway returns for a second, but shorter, series.[26]
13 MarchITV Play is shut down permanently due to the phone-in scandal.
14 MarchBBC children's programme Blue Peter is now involved with the phone-in scandal, after it is discovered they used a girl who was visiting the studio to pose as a caller live on the show.
15 MarchSteven Wallis wins the 2007 series of MasterChef Goes Large.
16 MarchDuring Comic Relief night, the last ever episode of The Vicar of Dibley is broadcast. BBC One's Red Nose Day 2007 also includes a special episode of Mr. Bean, a celebrity edition of The Apprentice, and a Catherine Tate sketch in which Lauren Cooper meets Tony Blair while on work experience at 10 Downing Street.[27] [28]
17 MarchRugby player Kyran Bracken and skating partner Melanie Lambert win the second series of Dancing on Ice.[29]
18 MarchAfter 10 years, Formula One on ITV goes 16:9 widescreen, with the opening race, the Australian Grand Prix, watched by 600 million viewers.
19 MarchIn the Night Garden... premieres on BBC Two in the same month as the Teletubbies 10th anniversary.
20 MarchDancing on Ice reveals they lost 11,500 phone calls, as they were not delivered to Vodafone until next Monday morning (26 March)
22 MarchFour years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a special edition of BBC One's Question Time debates the war's legacy.[30]
26 MarchSinger Katherine Jenkins will make a cameo appearance in Emmerdale, the soap's producers confirm. Her appearance will be in May, and coincide with the resolution of the Tom King murder storyline.[31]
27 MarchMoira Stuart is replaced as presenter of the news bulletin during Sunday AM, leaving her without a regular news slot.[32] The decision to remove her from the programme prompts media allegations of ageism at the BBC, something which is rejected by Director-General Mark Thompson, who in April tells the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee that Stuart was replaced because of the changing role of television news presenting, which is moving towards television journalism rather than traditional news presenting.[33] Stuart continues to present for the broadcaster, but on 3 October, it is confirmed that she will leave BBC News.[34]
The teleshopping channel iBuy closes after just under two years on air.
30 MarchITV announces that Dermot O'Leary will replace Kate Thornton as host of The X Factor after Thornton was sacked from the programme after presenting three (and one celebrity) series.[35]
Five celebrates ten years of its launch.
31 MarchFreema Agyeman makes her debut as Doctor Who assistant Martha Jones as the science fiction drama returns for a third series. Any Dream Will Do, a search for someone to play Joseph in the Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat also debuts on BBC One.[36]
The Teletubbies celebrate their 10th anniversary.

April

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1 AprilThe Sky at Night celebrates 50 years with a special anniversary edition.
4 AprilSky Movies rebrands with each channel having its own genre.
5 AprilITV News announces the award of a new six-year contract from ITV, worth £250 million.
7 AprilDebut of ITV's Grease is the Word which will search for two actors to play Danny and Sandy in a new stage production of Grease.[37]
10 AprilBBC One airs the concluding episode of the second and final series of Life on Mars.[38]
13 AprilHave I Got News for You starts to produce a video podcast featuring unbroadcast material.
16 AprilThe University of Warwick wins the 2006–07 series of University Challenge, beating the University of Manchester 170–140.
21 AprilBBC sports journalist Jacqui Oatley becomes the first female commentator to appear on Match of the Day.[39]
23 AprilA BBC Panorama discloses that callers to GMTV's phone-in competitions may have been defrauded out of millions of pounds, because the telephone system operator, Opera Interactive Technology, had determined the winners before the phone lines had closed. GMTV responded by suspending the phone-in quizzes, but claims that "it was confident it had not breached regulators' codes". Opera Interactive also denies any wrongdoing.
24 AprilIt is announced that the BBC celebrity singing contest Just the Two of Us will not return for a third series.
30 AprilChannel 4 airs the Cutting Edge documentary Blind Young Things, a programme about students at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. The film won a Royal Television Society award for Channel 4 and the Cutting Edge team in 2008.[40]

May

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12 MaySerbia's Marija Šerifović wins the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest with "Molitva".
14 MayBBC One broadcasts "Scientology and Me" a Panorama investigation into Scientology by journalist John Sweeney. A clip from the programme of Sweeney losing his temper and shouting at a disruptive scientologist representative is widely released on the internet and by DVD by scientologists prior to airing.
16 MayLaunch of Freesat, a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc.
17 MayIn Emmerdale, the Tom King whodunit storyline reaches its conclusion as the identity of the killer is revealed.[41] The killer is Tom's son, Carl King (Tom Lister).[42] The episode also features a cameo appearance by singer Katherine Jenkins, who plays herself attending a village pageant as its guest of honour.[43]
24 MayOfcom rules that Celebrity Big Brother breached its code of conduct during the last series, and that Channel 4 made "serious editorial misjudgements" in the way it dealt with some of the incidents that sparked the racism row.[44]
29 MayITV axes its celebrity singing contest, Soapstar Superstar after two series, believing it to be too similar in format to The X Factor.[45]
31 MayThe BBC Trust approves plans for several BBC departments, including BBC Sport, to be moved to a new development in Salford.[46]

June

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4 JuneIt is announced that Dannii Minogue will replace Louis Walsh as a judge on the forthcoming series of The X Factor,[47] joining Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne. Walsh had intended to leave the show, but later decides to return after being invited back.[48]
7 JuneFollowing the Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy earlier in the year, a contestant on the eighth series of Big Brother is removed from the show after her use of the word "nigger" during a conversation with another contestant.[49]
8 JuneAdele Adkins, a 19-year-old singer from London makes her television debut on BBC Two's Later... with Jools Holland, performing her song "Daydreamer", becoming one of the first artists to appear on the show without having released a record because producer Alison Howe booked her after hearing a demo tape. Adele's debut album, 19, is released in January 2008.[50] [51] [52]
9 JuneLee Mead wins BBC One's Any Dream Will Do and will take the lead role of Joseph in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre from 17 July. ITV's Grease is the Word is won by Danny Bayne and Susan McFadden, who will play Danny and Sandy in a forthcoming production of Grease beginning at the Piccadilly Theatre on 8 August.[53]
Debut of Britain's Got Talent, a co-production between Talkback Thames and Simon Cowell's SyCo for ITV. The series is a search for a variety act to perform at this year's Royal Variety Performance. The winner will also receive a prize of £100,000.[54]
11 JuneThe Mirror reports that Emmerdale actress Adele Silva is to quit her role as Kelly Windsor.[55]
13 JuneSimon Ambrose wins the third series of The Apprentice.[56]
15 JuneA contestant on Britain's Got Talent is withdrawn from the contest after police contact the series to alert producers that he is on the Sex Offenders Register.[57]
Nadia Sawalha wins the 2007 series of Celebrity MasterChef.
17 JuneOpera singer Paul Potts wins the first series of Britain's Got Talent.[58]
19 JuneNick Ross announces he is leaving Crimewatch, with July's edition of the show being the final one he will present.[59] The announcement renews media speculation that the BBC has an ageist policy towards its presenters.
25 June–8 JulyLive coverage of Wimbledon 2007 is aired by the BBC with the last Wimbledon season to be shot in 4:3 fullscreen and the second season to be shot in 16:9 widescreen.

July

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1 JulyBBC One airs the Concert for Diana on what would have been the 46th birthday of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.[60]
2 JulyNick Ross presents his final episode of Crimewatch after 23 years at the helm. He had been on the programme since it began in 1984.[61]
Launch of Press TV, an English-language global news channel owned by the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.[62]
11 JulyBBC Two debuts The Alastair Campbell Diaries, a series in which Campbell reads extracts from his memoirs over footage of key moments in the recently ended Blair government.[63] The three part series is aired over three nights, concluding on 13 July.[64]
15 JulyThe 28th series of Last of the Summer Wine begins on BBC One.
18 JulySix BBC programmes, Children in Need, Comic Relief, Sport Relief, TMi and two radio programmes (The Liz Kershaw Show and White Label) have been discovered to have been involved in the phone in scandals.
23 JulyAll music channels have permanently suspended their viewer selection aspects due to the ongoing premium rate phone-in scandals.
25 JulyThe acclaimed US science fiction series Heroes makes its debut on BBC Two.[65]
26 JulyThe 2005 British Comedy Awards broadcast on ITV now become involved with the phone-in scandal, when it is discovered that people phoning in to vote for the People's Choice Award called when the programme was not being broadcast live, and the last half-hour of the show had been recorded when ITV showed a news broadcast.

August

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2 August2007 sees the BBC celebrating their 75-year service in television (85 years for radio). The first BBC Television Service began on 2 August 1932.
8 AugustFormer Peak Practice actor Gray O'Brien joins the cast of Coronation Street as catalogue salesman Tony Gordon.[66]
9 AugustThe success of Australian soaps such as Neighbours on British television has led to the wide use of phrases such as "no worries" in British English since the late 1980s, a report on Australia's Nine News suggests.[67]
26 AugustThe last episode of the BBC children's television series Smile is broadcast presented by Barney Harwood and Kirsten O'Brien, from 7:30 until 10:00 on BBC Two.
31 AugustBrian Belo wins series eight of Big Brother.[68]

September

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3 SeptemberCBBC identity relaunched, with its third marketing campaign since the launch of the CBBC channel.
Lauren McAvoy wins Cycle 3 of Britain's Next Top Model.
4 SeptemberBBC One airs the 2004 romantic comedy Raising Helen, starring Kate Hudson.[69]
5 SeptemberThe BBC scraps plans for Planet Relief, a programme like Comic Relief and Sport Relief for fear of bias against critics of climate change and that people would prefer more factual programmes on the subject.
ITV1 airs the British terrestrial television premiere of .
7 September–20 OctoberITV provides coverage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, hosted by France.
9 SeptemberIn an advertising first, eBay begin showing live auction adverts between programmes, showing an auction with picture, current bid, time auction ends, and postage and packaging charges
The BBC One Sunday morning political programme Sunday AM is renamed The Andrew Marr Show when it returns after its summer break.[70] [71]
10 SeptemberITV and Trevor McDonald are cleared of racism by Ofcom over remarks made on McDonald's News Knight show. The remarks concerned comedian Bernard Manning, who had died a few months previously, with McDonald referring to Manning as a 'fat, white bastard'.[72]
13 SeptemberThe BBC signs a two-year deal to provide coverage of the Super Bowl, the first time the event will be aired by the BBC. Super Bowl XLII will air in 2008, and Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.[73]
17 SeptemberChildren's show Mister Maker is first aired on CBeebies.
18 SeptemberIt is announced that E.ON is to end its sponsorship of ITV Weather after 16 years.[74] The sponsorship deal was the longest on UK terrestrial TV to date, beginning on 22 September 1991 (when sponsorship of ITV programmes was first allowed). Until June 2007, ITV Weather was sponsored by the energy supplier Powergen, and since then by Powergen's parent company E.ON.
Dame Kelly Holmes presents the weekly round-up of sports news on BBC London News as an apparent substitute for regular presenter Mark Bright; she is introduced by anchorwoman Riz Lateef without explanation.
21 SeptemberITV postpone broadcasting the 2007 British Comedy Awards due to the phone-in scandals.
26 SeptemberABC1 ceases broadcasting.
The Bionic Woman returns after a break of nearly 30 years but is axed again 2 months later.
28 SeptemberTrapped! appears as CBBC's first ever Halloween-themed game show since CITV's Terror Towers.
29 SeptemberDate on which the BBC finally airs an unedited version of the 1990 episode "The High Ground", which caused controversy at the time when one of the characters made reference to an Irish reunification occurring in 2024.[75]

October

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1 OctoberVirgin1 launches at 9 pm, replacing Ftn.
The BBC announces that former 5 News presenter Kirsty Young will replace Fiona Bruce as presenter on Crimewatch from January 2008. Bruce is to take over as presenter of The Antiques Roadshow from Michael Aspel, who plans to retire.[76] [77]
4 OctoberIt is announced that ITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms are to switch from the traditional 4:3 format to 16:9 widescreen on 2 December.
5 OctoberBBC newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky is to leave the broadcaster to present Five News, it is reported. She will take up the new presenting role in the New Year.[78]
8 OctoberFive has bought the rights to 8 Simple Rules starting on 21 October.
9 OctoberSky One apologises to viewers after a "technical fault" during a public vote on the 7 October edition of its show, Cirque de Celebrite, meant some of the votes were not registered.[79]
14 OctoberUKTV Bright Ideas ceases broadcasting to be replaced on Freeview by Dave.
15 OctoberUKTV G2 is rebranded as Dave and becomes a free-to-air channel replacing newly defunct UKTV Bright Ideas.[80] The name for the channel, aimed at a young male audience, was chosen by UKTV because "everyone knows a bloke called Dave".[81]
17 October – 14 NovemberThe town of Whitehaven in Cumbria becomes the first place in the UK to lose their analogue television signals and start the digital switchover, starting with BBC Two. The other four channels were switched off on 14 November.
20 OctoberThe BBC Switch teenage block of shows is launched to cater for the underserved 12- to 16-year-olds.
29 OctoberSky News issues an apology after an aside from presenter Julie Etchingham was accidentally broadcast during live coverage of a speech by Conservative Party leader David Cameron when Etchingham's microphone was accidentally left switched on.[82]
The BBC announce that Patsy Palmer will return to EastEnders to reprise her role as Bianca Jackson.[83] The following day it is also confirmed that Sid Owen, who played her on-screen husband, Ricky Butcher, will also return to the series.[84]
31 OctoberITV confirms that Julie Etchingham will join the broadcaster to present a relaunched News at Ten alongside Sir Trevor McDonald from January 2008.[85] [86]

November

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2 NovemberEmily Nakanda withdraws from The X Factor due to a "happy slapping" video she had been involved in at her university.
21 NovemberInsurance firm esure is revealed as E.ON's successor as the sponsor of ITV's national weather bulletins. The two-year deal, rumoured to be worth £10 million, was negotiated by Carat Sponsorship and will take effect from 1 January 2008, with esure and Sheilas' Wheels as the sponsors, alternating between the two brands every two months.[87]
27 NovemberThe BBC announces that Billie Piper will reprise her role as Rose Tyler in the fourth series of Doctor Who after leaving at the end of the second series.[88] [89] [90]
29 NovemberKelly Brook is forced to withdraw from Strictly Come Dancing following the death of her father, Kenneth.
30 NovemberChristopher Biggins wins the seventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[91]

December

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1 DecemberITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms cease being broadcast in 4:3 aspect.Freeview Channel in the UK also sees ITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms cease being cropped to 14:9 format.
2 DecemberITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms began using 16:9 widescreen.
3 DecemberJay Hunt is confirmed as the next Controller of BBC One, replacing Peter Fincham. She will take up the role in early 2008.[92] [93]
9 DecemberBoxer Joe Calzaghe is named as this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year.[94]
15 DecemberLeon Jackson wins the fourth series of The X Factor.[95]
22 DecemberSinger Alesha Dixon and her dancing partner Matthew Cutler win the fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing.[96]
25 DecemberBBC One gets its highest rated Christmas Day schedule in years, with "Voyage of the Damned", the Christmas special of Doctor Who, getting the shows' biggest audience since 1979 (13.31 million) and a special episode of EastEnders getting 14.38 million, that shows' biggest rating in three years and the highest rated show of 2007. Another success is a one-off special of To the Manor Born, returning after 26 years, with an audience of 10.25 million.
BBC iPlayer, an online service for watching previously aired shows, is launched.
27–28 December"Assault on Sun Hill", a two-part The Bill story, features an armed siege at the fictional police station that leaves several characters traumatised.
30 DecemberBabe is aired on BBC One for the last time.

Debuts

BBC One

width=90Date width=220Debut
1 JanuaryThe Sarah Jane Adventures
8 JanuaryM.I. High
12 JanuaryLilies
After You've Gone
25 JanuaryFive Days
25 FebruaryRecovery
5 MarchShaun the Sheep
16 MarchCelebrity Apprentice
23 MarchA Class Apart
25 MarchPlay It Again
31 MarchAny Dream Will Do
8 AprilInspector George Gently
13 AprilRuddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul
24 AprilLife Line
8 MayHolbyBlue
25 MayRonni Ancona & Co
16 JuneJekyll
Would I Lie to You?
4 AugustEmpathy
6 AugustHow to Live Longer
28 AugustOutnumbered
2 SeptemberComing Down the Mountain
3 SeptemberBear Behaving Badly
16 SeptemberMichael Palin's New Europe
28 SeptemberTrapped!
15 OctoberReal Rescues
26 OctoberThe Armstrong & Miller Show
17 NovemberThe Omid Djalili Show
Who Dares Wins
4 NovemberJoe's Palace
10 NovemberA Real Summer
12 NovemberCapturing Mary
18 NovemberCranford
19 NovemberAnimalia
18 DecemberOliver Twist
26 DecemberBallet Shoes
30 DecemberThe Shadow in the North

BBC Two

width=90Date width=220Debut
2 JanuaryThis Life + 10
11 JanuaryBill Oddie Back in the USA
11 FebruaryThe Verdict
22 FebruaryFear, Stress & Anger
19 MarchIn the Night Garden...
20 MarchThe Underdog Show
12 AprilRoman's Empire
16 AprilGet 100
4 MayMaxwell
25 JulyHeroes
30 JulyIndia with Sanjeev Bhaskar
29 AugustThe Restaurant
23 September
4 OctoberThe Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle
The Peter Serafinowicz Show
5 OctoberThe Tudors

BBC Three

width=90Date width=220Debut
19 MarchRush Hour
21 MayComing of Age
23 MayGavin & Stacey
27 SeptemberHow Not To Live Your Life

BBC Four

width=90Date width=220Debut
9 May Miss Marie Lloyd: Queen of the Music Hall
31 May World News Today
15 October
22 OctoberFanny Hill
30 OctoberThe History of the World Backwards

ITV (1/2/3/4/CITV)

width=90Date width=220Debut
1 FebruaryBenidorm
10 FebruaryPrimeval
19 FebruaryThe Bad Mother's Handbook
26 FebruaryInstinct
11 MarchFallen Angel
Atomic Betty
22 MarchThe Yellow House
4 AprilCity Lights
22 AprilKingdom
10 JuneTalk to Me
11 June24 Hours with...
18 JuneGolden Balls
The Time of Your Life
9 JuneBritain's Got Talent
24 JuneNews Knight with Sir Trevor McDonald
26 AugustThe Man Who Lost His Head
3 SeptemberThe Alan Titchmarsh Show
19 SeptemberTorn
27 SeptemberSecret Diary of a Call Girl
The Whistleblowers
8 OctoberEmu
24 OctoberFrankenstein
28 OctoberHalf Broken Things
4 NovemberA Room with a View
11 NovemberMy Boy Jack

Channel 4

3 JanuaryEmbarrassing Bodies
5 JanuaryUgly Betty
21 JanuaryConsent
25 JanuarySkins
14 AprilTrick or Treat
30 MayBig Brother 8
16 JulyWin My Wage
4 OctoberBritz
5 OctoberOther People
12 OctoberLadies and Gentlemen
19 OctoberPlus One
2 NovemberFree Agents
9 NovemberThe Kevin Bishop Show
26 NovemberBoy A

Five

width=90Date width=250Debut
28 FebruaryKitchen
12 MarchThe Beeps
9 AprilThe Milkshake! Show
7 MayRoary the Racing Car
3 SeptemberBig School

Other channels

Date Debut Network
3 FebruaryThe ReplacementsDisney Channel
5 MarchShaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue!Boomerang
9 JulySkunk Fu!CBBC
6 AugustLola & VirginiaPop Girl
29 OctoberStorm HawksCartoon Network

Changes of network affiliation

ShowMoved fromMoved to
TNA ImpactTWC Fight
The ApprenticeBBC TwoBBC One
Top of the Pops
American Dad!BBC Three
Prison BreakFiveSky One
Robot WarsChallenge
8 Simple RulesABC1Five
Fraggle RockCITVCartoonito

Channels

New channels/streaming services

width=90Datewidth=250Channel
1 MarchDiscovery Turbo
24 MayCartoonito
20 JulyFilm 24
6 AugustPop Girl
9 AugustFtn +1
20 AugustChannel 4 +1
1 OctoberVirgin1
Virgin1 +1
7 NovemberSky Real Lives
Sky Real Lives +1
Sky Real Lives 2
10 DecemberChannel 4 HD

Defunct channels

width=90Datewidth=250Channel
28 FebruaryDiscovery Kids
1 MarchDiscovery Wings
13 MarchITV Play
27 MarchiBuy
23 MayToonami
20 JulyBonanza
26 SeptemberABC1
1 OctoberFtn
Ftn +1
5 OctoberRadio Music Shop
15 OctoberUKTV Bright Ideas
7 NovemberSky Travel
Sky Travel +1
Sky Travel Extra

Rebranded channels

width=90Datewidth=150Old namewidth=150New name
13 MarchITV PlayITV Bingo
15 OctoberUKTV G2Dave
UKTV G2 +1Dave +1

Television shows

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

width=250Programmewidth=125Date of original removalwidth=125Original channelwidth=125Date of returnwidth=125New channel(s)
Dale's Supermarket Sweep6 September 2001ITV12 February 2007N/A (Same channel as original)
Teletubbies16 February 2001CBBC (BBC Two)31 March 2007CBeebies
The Hoobs13 June 2003Channel 4May 2007N/A (Same channel as original)
The Bionic Woman13 May 1978ITV26 September 2007
To the Manor Born29 November 1981BBC One25 December 2007

Continuing television shows

1920s

1930s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Big Brother racism controversy

See main article: Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy.

2007 saw Channel 4 reality show Big Brother involved in two high-profile race-rows.

Celebrity Big Brother 5

In January, Jade Goody, her mother Jackiey Budden and boyfriend Jack Tweed, along with Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara, were accused of racist bullying towards Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. This resulted in protests in India and a record number of complaints to British TV regulator Ofcom and to Channel 4.

Big Brother 8

At the end of May, Channel 4 broadcast an apology for not intervening in the bullying just moments before the eight non-celebrity series started; all housemates in this series were given strict warnings about racism before entering. Just one week after the launch, Emily Parr was removed from the house in the early hours of the morning for saying the word "nigger" to black housemate Charley Uchea just hours before. This incident was widely discussed in the media; viewers complained about Channel 4 broadcasting the word, however, other viewers complained that Emily had been treated unfairly, as she did not use the word in a spiteful context, instead possibly imitating rappers who use the word in their songs.

Ending this year

Date Show Channel(s) Debut(s)
4 JanuaryGreen WingChannel 42004
CITV weekday afternoon blockITV1983
The Holiday ProgrammeBBC1969
What Not to Wear2001
7 JanuaryJust the Two of Us2006
12 JanuaryThe Price Is RightITV1984
13 JanuarySoapstar Superstar2006
19 JanuaryAirline1998
28 JanuaryGrandstandBBC1958
13 FebruaryBill Oddie Back in the USA2007
15 FebruaryThe Verdict2007
3 MarchPokerFaceITV2006
7 MarchBrainTeaserChannel 52002
13 MarchFallen AngelITV2007
16 MarchThe Vicar of DibleyBBC1994
10 AprilLife on Mars2006
19 AprilSea of Souls2004
23 AprilRush Hour2007
31 MayThe Last DetectiveITV2003
13 JulyArt Attack1990
14 JulyPopworldChannel 42001
21 JulyPointlessBlogBBC Two2003
23 JulyThe Time of Your LifeITV2007
28 JulyJekyllBBC
10 AugustWin My WageChannel 4
26 AugustThe ChaseBBC2006
31 AugustDale's Supermarket SweepITV1993 & 2007
1 SeptemberSchool's OutBBC2006
13 SeptemberBorn to Be DifferentChannel 42003 & 2006
3 OctoberTornITV2007
28 OctoberMichael Palin's New EuropeBBC
28 NovemberThe Bionic WomanITV1976 & 2007
16 DecemberCranfordBBC2007
22 DecemberOliver Twist
ParkinsonITV1971

Top 10 highest rated shows of 2007

Rank Show Rating
1EastEnders14.34 million
2Doctor Who13.31 million
3Rugby World Cup 200713.10 million
4Coronation Street13.08 million
5The Vicar of Dibley13.08 million
6X Factor results12.23 million
7Concert for Diana12.22 million
8Strictly Come Dancing12.09 million
9The X Factor11.78
10Britain's Got Talent11.58 million

Deaths

width=90Datewidth=250NameAgeBroadcast credibility
7 JanuaryMagnus Magnusson77television presenter (Mastermind)
15 JanuaryBarbara Kelly83actress and panelist (What's My Line?)
22 JanuaryAnna Cropper68actress (The Jewel in the Crown, Midsomer Murders)
30 JanuaryGriffith Jones97actor
6 FebruaryDick Allen62television film editor (Hotel du Lac, Portrait of a Marriage)
9 FebruaryIan Richardson72Scottish actor (House of Cards)
20 FebruaryDerek Waring79actor (Z-Cars)
21 FebruaryKeith Kyle81television presenter (Tonight)
8 MarchJohn Inman71actor (Are You Being Served?)
14 MarchGareth Hunt65actor (Upstairs, Downstairs, The New Avengers)
30 MarchDave Martin72television scriptwriter (Doctor Who, Z-Cars)
2 AprilGeorge Sewell82actor (Softly, Softly, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Manhunt, The Sweeney)
3 AprilTerry Hall80ventriloquist on television
27 AprilAl Hunter Ashton49actor and scriptwriter
26 MayAubrey Singer80television executive
18 JuneBernard Manning76comedian
19 JuneTommy Eytle80actor (Jules Tavernier in EastEnders)
27 JuneHugh Johns83football commentator
9 JulyPenny Thomson56television producer
Peter Tuddenham88voice actor (Blake's 7)
13 JulyFrank Maher78television stuntman
20 JulyIvor Emmanuel79actor
26 JulyJohn Normington70actor (Softly, Softly, Crown Court; Upstairs, Downstairs, My Family and Other Animals)
29 JulyPhil Drabble93television presenter, author and countryman (One Man and His Dog)
Mike Reid67comedian and actor (EastEnders, Runaround) aka Frank Butcher
5 AugustPeter Graham Scott83television producer and director
16 AugustClive Exton77scriptwriter (Poirot, Jeeves and Wooster, Rosemary & Thyme)
30 AugustMichael Jackson65writer and television presenter (The Beer Hunter)
6 SeptemberRonald Magill87actor (Emmerdale)
1 OctoberRonnie Hazlehurst79theme tune composer (Only Fools and Horses, Yes Minister, Are You Being Served?, The Two Ronnies)
Ned Sherrin76television producer (That Was The Week That Was, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life)
6 OctoberRodney Diak86actor
12 OctoberNoel Coleman87actor (Doctor Who, Emergency – Ward 10, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers)
16 OctoberDeborah Kerr86actress (A Woman of Substance)
21 OctoberPeter Moffatt85television director (All Creatures Great and Small, Doctor Who)
27 OctoberMoira Lister84South African-born actress (Danger Man, The Avengers)
6 NovemberHilda Braid78actress (Citizen Smith, Nana Moon in EastEnders)
9 NovemberTrish Williamson52TV weather presenter, journalist, producer and director[99]
19 NovemberDick Wilson91actor
22 NovemberVerity Lambert71TV producer (Doctor Who)
28 NovemberTony Holland67television writer (EastEnders)
1 DecemberAnton Rodgers74actor (Fresh Fields, French Fields, May to December)
5 DecemberChristine Finn77actress (Quatermass and the Pit)
Peter Orton72television producer
8 DecemberDonald Burton83actor (Upstairs, Downstairs, Public Eye, Minder)
25 DecemberPat Kirkwood86actress

See also

External links

Notes and References

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