2 January – The BBC cancels the appearance of Coca-Cola sponsorship credits in the music charts in its BBC OneTop of the Pops show, after criticism from politicians and health campaigners that it would be promoting junk food and unhealthy drink products to teenagers.[1]
3 January - CD:UK broadcasts its first episode in 16:9 widescreen.
4 January –
ITV introduces a sixth weekly episode of Emmerdale airing on Sunday evenings at 7:00 pm. The episode is dropped in 2008 to allow for one-hour episodes on Tuesdays.
Debut of the Channel 4 reality series Shattered in which ten contestants are challenged with going without sleep for seven days while their actions are constantly monitored. Over the seven days the ten housemates must undergo daily performance testing and a variety of challenges, while competing for a potential prize fund of £100,000, which is reduced by £1,000 every time a contestant closes their eyes for more than ten seconds. The series, and the remaining prize money of £97,000, is won by Clare Southern on 10 January.[2] It is subsequently branded as "misconceived and dangerous" by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, although Channel 4 says that sleep experts were consulted when putting together the series and that care was taken with the selection of participants.[3]
5 January –
BBC One introduces the Massai ident that features nine native Maasai tribesmen dancing in the centre alongside warriors Jumping Up & Down On The Grass.
9 January – The BBC announces that the Kilroy talk show will be taken off air while the Corporation investigates negative comments its presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk made about Arabic people in the previous weekend's Sunday Express.[4]
10 January – The first edition of ITV's new Saturday morning children's programme Ministry of Mayhem is broadcast on ITV (later CITV).[5]
13 January – Acclaimed US medical drama Nip/Tuck makes its British television debut on Sky One, attracting an audience of 1 million. The series had been heavily publicised on terrestrial television prior to its broadcast.[6]
28 January – The Hutton Inquiry into the circumstances of the death of Dr. David Kelly is published. This is taken by most of the press to strongly condemn the BBC's handling of the David Kelly affair and to exonerate the government. The Director-General of the BBC, Greg Dyke, chairman of the Board of Governors, Gavyn Davies, and the journalist at the centre of the controversy, Andrew Gilligan, resign. The UK media in general condemns the report as a whitewash.[11]
Debut of ITV's How to Holiday, presented by Jenni Falconer and Dominic Littlewood. The programme has both presenters visiting the same location, with Falconer travelling in luxury while Littlewood travels on a budget.[22]
Debut of Five's Back to Reality, a reality television programme featuring 12 contestants from other reality shows (such as Big Brother, The Salon and Pop Idol) spending three weeks in a purpose-built house, competing to become "Britain's most popular reality star".[23] Deriving many of its ideas from other shows, the programme receives poor ratings and a solicitor's letter from Endemol because of its perceived similarity to Celebrity Big Brother.[24]
16 February – BBC Network news titles are relaunched in the style of BBC News 24, which were introduced in December 2003.
27 February –
Reports emerge of discussions between Channel 4 and Five aimed at a merger between the two channels.[25]
29 February – Transmission date of the final edition of London Tonight to be produced by the London News Network. After this date its news operation is absorbed into ITN.
7 March – An edition of ITV London's The Week is the final London News Network produced programme to be aired.
8 March –
All 'UK' prefix TV channels are rebranded to UKTV.[28] For example, UK Bright Ideas is rebranded UKTV Bright Ideas, and UK History becomes UKTV History.
13 March – Charles Ngandwe, performing as Paul Robeson, wins the fifteenth series of Stars in Their Eyes. The edition is also the last to be presented by Matthew Kelly, who had announced the previous day that he would be leaving the series.[30] The role of presenter is taken over by Cat Deeley.[31][32]
14 March – Channel 4 airs the documentary He's Starsky, I'm Hutch, a programme which prompts actor David Soul to write an open letter to the channel complaining about the way he was portrayed in the film. Soul had co-operated with the documentary, but felt it betrayed because it had concentrated too much on the negative aspects of his life.[33]
21 March – "An Apple a Day", an episode of Last of the Summer Wine aired on BBC1 in which Billy Hardcastle does not appear.
22 March – Christopher Eccleston is announced as the ninth actor to play The Doctor in Doctor Who. A new 13-part series will be filmed in Cardiff later in the year and make its debut in 2005.[35]
27 March – After two years, The Story Makers airs the last ever episode.
29 March – BBC Two Controller Jane Root will leave her role to take up a position with the Discovery Network in the United States, it is reported.[36]
31 March – The LWT logo is seen on screen for the final time, having continued to appear as an endcap after the formation of ITV plc.
A new pay television service on digital terrestrial television, Top Up TV, launches. It offers ten channels, each of which broadcasts on a part-time basis.
April
1 April –
It is reported that ITV have axed On the Ball after losing the broadcast rights to screen Premiership highlights. It will disappear from the schedule at the end of the current season.[37]
2 April – Michael Grade is appointed as new BBC chairman, taking over the role from Gavyn Davies, who stepped down in the wake of the Hutton Report.[40]
3 April – CITV airs the premiere of the Japanese-American TV series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, Sonic X.
15 April – ITV announce plans for Vote for Me, a Pop Idol-style contest to find a Parliamentary candidate. The series will be presented by Jonathan Maitland.[43]
19 April –
Tots TV begins screenings on CBeebies and BBC Two, as part of a broadcast deal between the BBC and Carlton, who distributed the series.
23 April – ITV unveils plans for The X Factor, a new music talent contest developed by Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell that will see a panel of judges mentoring acts and competing against each other to have their act chosen as the winner.[45]
26 April – Michael Parkinson is to take his Parkinson chat show to ITV after the network poached him from the BBC, it is reported. Parkinson's decision to make the move was also influenced by BBC plans to move his show to a different time slot to make way for the return of Match of the Day. His final BBC show is recorded on 29 April for transmission on 8 May.[47]
27 April – The BBC's Programme Complaints Committee rules that an episode of EastEnders that dealt with the aftermath of the rape of a character was unsuitable for family viewing after it received several complaints from viewers.[48] Complaints about the episode are also later upheld by Ofcom.[49]
2 May – Merseybeat actress Leslie Ash's publicist has released a statement saying that she is undergoing treatment in hospital for "an unknown infection", which she is believed to have contracted during an earlier hospital stay. Ash was treated for a broken rib and collapsed lung a few days earlier, which she said had occurred as a result of her falling onto a table during lovemaking with her husband, former footballer Lee Chapman. The infection has left Ash with partial loss of feeling below the waist, but she is said to be responding to treatment and is described as stable.[50] The infection is subsequently diagnosed as Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, a bug that attacks the nervous system.[51] Following her recovery, Ash later speaks about how she almost died from the infection. She is also left requiring the aid of crutches to walk.[52]
7 May – The BBC airs its final episode of The Simpsons, having lost the broadcasting rights to Channel 4 in February 2002. Behind the Laughter is the last episode shown on the BBC. However, broadcasting rights were held until 2006, two years later.
Paul Cowperthwaite, performing as Michael Jackson wins the third junior series of Stars in Their Eyes.[56]
19 May –
A UK version of the popular US TV series The Apprentice is to be produced for the BBC, with Amstrad founder and chairman Sir Alan Sugar as presenter. Applications will be invited for 14 candidates to take part in the programme, which will air in 2005.[57]
Martin Bashir is to leave ITV after signing a deal to work for the US ABC network, where he will be a correspondent on its 20/20 news programme.[58]
26 May – As part of a government trial to test the feasibility of switching the UK to digital television, Ferryside and Llansteffan, two towns in Carmarthenshire, have been chosen to become the first places in the UK to have their analogue signal switched off. Residents who do not currently have access to digital television will be provided with set-top boxes to enable them to receive a digital signal before the analogue transmitter is turned off later in the year. The government hopes to convert the UK to digital television by 2010.[61]
27 May – Channel 4 airs Paul Greengrass's controversial film Omagh, a graphic portrayal of the events surrounding the Omagh bombing. The film, which took two years to research and make, had previously received a cinema showing that was attended by victims and their families, and later goes on general release.[62]
28 May – Channel 4 airs the final episode of US sitcom Friends, with the episode watched by 8.6 million viewers.[63]
31 May – Long running children's animated television series Peppa Pig premieres on Nick Jr. and Five.
BBC News reports that having been axed by BBC America in September 2003, EastEnders will air in the US once again. Episodes will appear on the subscription channel Dish Network, beginning from where BBC America left the series.[64]
Kitten Pinder is evicted from the Big Brother UK house, shouting against The Queen and the aristocracy on the way out. She is the first contestant to be evicted by the show's producers rather than through an audience vote after she repeatedly broke the rules during her stay in the house.[65]
14 June – Quiz TV launches in the UK, one of the country's first phone-in quiz channels. Many more launched over the next few years, though Quiz TV itself would close down in 2006.
17 June – The live feed of Big Brother is taken off air as the housemates become aggressive and fight. Security guards are sent in to break up the fight, while Hertfordshire Police ask to view footage of the incident after being contacted by members of the public.[71]
24 June – The highest rated audience of the year is recorded in the UK as 20.66 million watch England's football match against Portugal in the quarter finals of Euro 2004.[73][74] Viewing figures for any programme would not reach the 20 million mark again for another eight years, when England faced Italy at Euro 2012.[75]
5 July – 50th anniversary of television news broadcasts.
8 July – The first Schools edition of Question Time is aired on BBC One. Recorded in London, the panel is made up of guests chosen by the winners of the Schools Question Time Challenge.[81]
8 August – EastEnders announce the introduction of a new family, the Millers, who will be seen on screen from September.[87]
11 August – The Daily Mirror reports that a laptop stolen during a burglary at the home of a senior member of the EastEnders production team could lead to several months of major storylines being leaked as the computer contained scripts for upcoming episodes.[88]
15 August – Channel 4 airs the 2000 musical film Coyote Ugly.
19 August – Channel 4's subscription film channel FilmFour announces it will be available to non-subscribers for the first weekend in October. The free weekend will coincide with the beginning of the channel's month long Killer Thrillers season.[90]
31 August – Channel 4 airs Franklin for the very final time
4 September – Launch of the UK version of The X Factor, the first television programme produced by Simon Cowell's production company Syco. Cowell is joined on the judging panel by Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne.[91][92]
5 September – ITV1 aired the 14th series of Heartbeat with the opening episode "Money, Money, Money" watched by 8.76 million viewers.
As part of its response to the Hutton Inquiry the BBC launches Newswatch, a programme providing a viewer and listener right-to-reply on BBC News's reporting and coverage of news events.
BBC Technology, incorporating the BBC's Broadcast Engineering division, is sold to Siemens Business Services for approximately £200m, and a £2bn, 10-year outsourcing contract.
ITV talk show host Trisha Goddard will move to Five in 2005 after signing a two-year contract with the broadcaster.[98]
UK television debut of the US version of The Apprentice with Donald Trump on BBC Two.[99]
Peppa Pig begins its first broadcast on ABC in Australia.
13 October –
The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 announce that audio description, which helps people with sight loss to follow television programmes by describing some of the visual content, is now available through Sky.[100]
21 October – BSkyB launch their free digital satellite TV service that offers viewers a selection of 140 TV and 80 radio channels for a one-off payment of £150.[102]
30 October – The BBC receives "hundreds of complaints" after reporter Barbara Plett describes herself crying when a frail Yasser Arafat was evacuated to France for medical treatment. Ultimately these complaints are partially upheld by the BBC Governors' Programme Complaints Committee.[105]
November
1 November – The digital television station ITV3 is launched at 9:00 pm, replacing Granada Plus.[106][107]
10 November – British television premiere of the 2002 romantic comedy-drama film About a Boy starring Hugh Grant, Rachel Weisz and Nicholas Hoult. The film airs on ITV1 first, before being shown on BBC One on 14 November.
It is reported that merger talks between Channel 4 and Five have been called off after complexities arose between the public broadcaster Channel 4 and its commercial counterpart.[111]
18 November – The video for the new charity single Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid 20 airs simultaneously on all five main UK television networks, as well as over twenty satellite and cable stations. This unprecedented broadcast attracts 13.5 million viewers between 5:50 and 6:00pm.[112]
24 November – A report by Ofcom has recommended that elderly and visually impaired people should be given financial assistance to help them buy equipment capable of receiving digital television before the analogue signal is switched off. The report suggests the government may need to set aside £250m–£400m to cover the cost of this.[113]
29 November – The BBC announces that Top of the Pops will move from its Friday evening BBC One slot to BBC Two, where it will air on Sunday evenings.[115]
December
1 December – BBC News reports that the digital switchover trial has begun after Ferryside and Llansteffan had their digital signal switched on a few days earlier. The towns were chosen because they received their signal from a single relay which had poor reception, and residents report that their viewing experience has improved since digital transmission began.[116]
2 December – BBC Two unveils its winter season of programming, which will include a major documentary, Auschwitz, to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day.[117]
7 December – Netwise, the company that handled text voting for ITV's Record of the Year show says that thousands of customers who were accidentally overcharged will receive refunds after it emerged that some Virgin and T-Mobile users were charged multiple times for a single vote.[120]
ITV1 airs Westlife: She's The One, a one-off X Factor-style programme following Irish boy band Westlife as they search for a fan to sing on their latest album Allow Us To Be Frank. Joanne Hindley from Bolton is chosen to accompany the band on their rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight".
Agatha Christie's Marple makes its debut on ITV1 with the first episode watched by 8.72 million viewers.
Stan Richards makes his final appearance as Seth Armstrong in Emmerdale which he will be killed off a year later. Richards died in 11th February 2005 at the age of 74.
26 December – Overnight viewing figures suggest BBC One beat ITV in the Christmas Day battle of the ratings, with EastEnders watched by 12.3 million viewers and The Vicar of Dibley achieving an audience of 11.8 million. The television premiere of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was seen by 7.9 million. On ITV, Coronation Street attracted 11.3 million, while the first Midsomer Murders Christmas special received 6.3 million viewers.[127]
27 December – Debut of Pride, Simon Nye's tale about two lion cubs growing up on the African plains, and which is aired on BBC One. The film features the voices of numerous British actors and uses CGI technology to enhance footage of actual lions and other animals.[128]
31 December –
New Year's Eve highlights on BBC One include the network television premiere of the psychological thriller Don't Say a Word.[129]
After five and a half years, Channel 4 has another rebrand replacing the previous squares idents with objects that transform into the Channel 4 logo.
