2002 in British television

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This is a list of British television related events from 2002.

Events

• 25 January - Bloody Sunday, a television drama based on the events of the controversial Bloody Sunday incident in Northern Ireland in 1972 airs on ITV1.
• 31 January - The last titled episode of The Bill, Set in Stone, is aired. There follows a six part untitled story after which the series switches to a serial format.
• 9 February - Will Young wins the first series of Pop Idol.
• 11 February - Two new BBC children's channels, CBeebies (aimed at children under 6) and CBBC (aimed at children aged 6-13) launch.
• 28 February - The Bill switches to serial format.
• 2 March - BBC Knowledge in the UK ceases transmission, the first BBC channel to permanently close.
• 2 March - BBC Four launches in the UK, replacing BBC Knowledge. The opening night is simulcast on BBC Two.
• 27 March - ITV Digital placed into administration. Most subscription channels cease broadcasting on the network on 1 May.
• 29 March - At 2.10am, the last Balloon ident is shown on BBC One, and with it, the last time the globe is used as the channel's symbol (having been used since 1963). Its replacement, the 'Rhythm & Movement' idents, première at 9am.
• 29 March - Channel 4's The Big Breakfast ends after a run of almost ten years.
• 30 March - The death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother is announced. Most broadcasters abandon regular programming and begin airing tributes to her.
• 9 April - The Queen Mother's funeral is held at Westminster Abbey and aired on all major television channels.
• 29 April - Launch of RI:SE, scheduled as a replacement for The Big Breakfast.
• 1 May - ITV Digital's Pay-TV operations cease.
• 3 June - The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. During Golden Jubilee Weekend BBC One airs the Party at the Palace, while BBC Parliament reruns footage of the Queen's Coronation from 1953.
• 10 June - ITV introduces a second Monday episode of Coronation Street. It is broadcast at 20:30 to usher in the return of Bet Lynch. The Monday 20:30 episode is used intermittently during the popular Richard Hillman story line but becomes fully-scheduled from Monday 25 August 2003.
• 26 August - The first series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! begins on ITV1.
• 30 August - ITV soap Crossroads airs for the last time this year before taking a short break. The show is to be revamped due to low viewing figures.
• 7 September - Popstars: The Rivals debuts on ITV1. The show will create two rival groups (one male and one female) who will compete against each other for the Christmas Number One spot on the UK Singles Chart.
• 8 September - Tony Blackburn voted winner of the frist series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!
• 16 September - Channel 5 is rebrands itself to Five, and drops its Digital On-screen Graphic.
• 20 October – BBC motoring series Top Gear is relaunched with a new format
• 27 October - London Weekend Television (LWT) broadcast their final day after 34 years. A modern day recreation of a 1970s-style startup is shown in the early morning, and just after midnight a montage of LWT presentation over the years is broadcast, introduced in-vision by two of LWT's announcers, Trish Bertram and Glen Thompsett.
• 28 October - In England and Wales, ITV drops regional identification from most programmes and adopts a unified branding of just ITV1. The names for the London (Carlton and LWT), West (HTV West) and Wales (HTV Wales) are dropped altogether, and replaced with ITV1 London, ITV1 West of England and ITV1 Wales respectively, though the names continue to appear elsewhere.
• 30 October - Formal broadcasting of ITV Digital's replacement Freeview begins.
• 30 October - With the launch of Freeview, BBC Parliament becomes available in vision for the first time to Digital Terrestrial Television viewers. Due to capacity limitations on the DTT platform, from its launch until today the channel had only been available in audio format.
• 30 October - This Morning presenter John Leslie is sacked by Granada Television following a series of allegations about his personal life. Although he was subsequently cleared his television career never recovered.
• 30 October - Have I Got News For You presenter Angus Deayton is sacked after allegations regarding his personal life appeared in the media. Since Deayton's departure, the show has been hosted by a different guest presenter each week.
• 30 October - The free-to-air music video channel The Hits goes on air. UK History is launched on the same day.
• 31 October - Launch of TMF UK, a free-to-air music video channel and part of the Music Factory brand.
• 24 November - ITV1 broadcasts the first episode of a three part remake of the 1965 film Doctor Zhivago. The series stars Hans Matheson as Zhivago and Keira Knightley as Lara.
• 30 November - Final of Popstars: The Rivals. It is revealed that the male group will be named One True Voice and the female group Girls Aloud.
• 22 December - A special edition of Popstars: The Rivals in which it is announced that "Sound of the Underground" recorded by Girls Aloud has reached Number one on the Singles Chart, thereby becoming the Christmas Number One. One True Voice's double A-side single, "Sacred Trust"/"After You're Gone" enters the charts at Number Two.
• 25 December - Strangers on the Shore, a Christmas special and the penultimate episode of Only Fools and Horses, is the highest rated show of the year in the UK, with an audience of 17.40 million.

Debuts

BBC One

• 16 April - Cutting It (2002-2005)
• 13 May - Spooks (2002—present).
• 6 September - Fame Academy (2002-2003)

BBC Two

• 20 October - Great Britons
• 20 October - The current Top Gear (2002-present)

BBC Choice

• 7 November - 15 Storeys High (2002-2004)

CBBC Channel

• 31 August - Dick and Dom in da Bungalow (2002-2006)
• 1 September - UK Top 40 (2002-2005)

ITV1

• 8 January - Footballers' Wives (2002-2006)
• 11 May - The Vault (2002-2004)
• 25 August - I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! (2002-present)
• 27 October - Foyle's War (2002-present)
• 14 November - Harry Hill's TV Burp (2002—present)

Channel Four

• 29 April - RI:SE (2002-2003)

Living TV

• 25 May - Most Haunted (2002—present)

Television shows

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

• 28 April - Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983-1986, ITV, 2002-2004, BBC One)
• 20 October - Top Gear relaunces of BBC Two (2002—present)

1950s

• Panorama (1953–present)
• What the Papers Say (1956–present)
• The Sky at Night (1957–present)
• Blue Peter (1958–present)
• Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street (1960-present).
• Top of the Pops (1964-2006).
• The Money Programme (1966-present).

1970s

• Emmerdale (1972-present).
• Newsround (1972-present).
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973-present).
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974-present).
• Arena (1975-present).
• Grange Hill (1978-2008).
• Antiques Roadshow (1979-present).
• Question Time (1979-present)

1980s

• Timewatch (1982-present)
• Brookside (1982-2003)
• The Bill (1984-present)
• EastEnders (1985-present).
• Comic Relief (1986-present).
• Casualty (1986-present).
• ChuckleVision (1987-present).
• Fifteen to One (1988-2003)
• This Morning (1988-present).

1990s

• Heartbeat (1992-2010)
• Breakfast with Frost (1993-2005)
• Time Team, UK (1994–present)
• Y Clwb Rygbi, Wales (1997–present)
• Dream Team (1997–2007)
• Family Affairs (1997–2005)
• Midsomer Murders (1997-present)
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1998-present).
• Holby City (1999-present)

2000s

• Doctors (2000-present)
• Big Brother (2000–present)
• The Weakest Link (2000–present)
• At Home with the Braithwaites (2000-2003)
• Clocking Off (2000-2003)
• The Office (2001-2003)
• Pop Idol (2001-2004)

Ending this year

• How We Used To Live (1968)
• London's Burning (1988)
• On the Record (1988-2002)
• The Big Breakfast (1992)
• I'm Alan Partridge (1997)
• Always and Everyone (1999)

Deaths

• 17 January - Peter Adamson, 71, actor
• 21 February - John Thaw, 60, actor
• 27 February - Spike Milligan, 83, comedian.
• 27 March - Dudley Moore, 66, comedian, actor.
• 31 March - Barry Took, 73, comedian, writer and television presenter
• 22 April - Christopher Price, 34, television presenter
• 25 May - Pat Coombs, 75, actor
• 23 July - Leo McKern, 82, actor
• 7 September - Michael Elphick, 55, actor
• 17 October - Pattie Coldwell, 50, television presenter and journalist
• 20 December - Joanne Campbell, 38, actor