BBC One airs an extended version of its television special, Adele at the BBC, which includes comedy footage of a sketch in which Adele surprises a roomful of lookalikes. The footage had proved popular with viewers of the BBC's YouTube site, following the programme's previous broadcast in November 2015.[1][2]
ITV have signed a £30m four-year deal for the terrestrial broadcasting rights to air horse racing from 2017, ending a three decades long run of the sport on Channel 4. Major events will include the Grand National.[3]
2
It is announced that British horse racing coverage will move from Channel 4 to ITV from January 2017 after ITV won the broadcasting rights to show free-to-air coverage of the sport the previous day. Events such as the Cheltenham Festival, Grand National, the Derby and Royal Ascot will be part of ITV's coverage, with fixtures airing on ITV and ITV4.[4][5]
Figures indicate that The Abominable Bride, an episode of BBC One's Sherlock that aired on New Year's Day, was the most watched drama over the 2015–16 festive period, with an audience of eight million viewers. The Christmas Day finale of Downton Abbey had the highest viewership of that day, with an audience of 6.6 million.[6] Consolidated figures, which include catch-up viewers, subsequently indicate Downton Abbey to have been the most watched programme of the festive period, with an audience of 10.5 million.[7]
3
Debut of BBC One's adaptation of War & Peace, which is watched by an average audience of 6.3 million, peaking at 6.7 million.[8]
4
The BBC confirms 16 February as the date on which BBC Three will begin its transition to an online only channel. A new logo for the channel is introduced.[9]
5
Launch of the seventeenth series of Celebrity Big Brother.[10] Contestant Winston McKenzie causes controversy after expressing anti-gay sentiment in his entry video when he says that he will "cope with a homosexual in the house [by] standing against a brick wall all the time". The former UK Independence Party member and candidate for the 2016 London Mayoral election is booed by the audience as he enters the Big Brother house, while Ofcom have received 165 complaints about the comments by the following day. The regulator says it will assess the complaints before deciding whether to launch an investigation.[11]
Police confirm that three bodies found at a house in London two days earlier are those of missing former EastEnders actress Sian Blake and her two children, who disappeared on 13 December 2015.[16] Her partner is subsequently arrested by police in Ghana.[17]
8
The BBC is forced to defend its decision to allow shadow defence minister Stephen Doughty to resign on an edition of The Daily Politics after the Labour Party's leadership accuses it of pursuing a "particular political narrative".[18] Doughty had resigned on the programme two days earlier, citing his unhappiness over a recent shadow cabinet reshuffle.[19][20]
Sheridan Smith will play the head of a Dewsbury residents group who spearheaded the search for Shannon Matthews in a forthcoming BBC drama about the girl's 2008 kidnapping.[21]
Archaeologists have called for Channel 5 to pull the series Battlefield Recovery from the schedule amid allegations of grave robbery. The programme, due to debut on 9 January, shows amateur enthusiasts unearthing war graves in Eastern Europe, and is believed to be a reworking of a 2014 programme titled Nazi War Diggers, which was pulled from the National Geographic schedules after criticism.[22]
Britain's Next Top Model (also known as Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model) returns after a three-year hiatus, airing on Lifetime.
15
As Barbara Windsor makes her latest occasional return to EastEnders as Peggy Mitchell, the actress reveals that she has decided to quit the series for good and that her character will be killed off. Peggy will die from terminal cancer in scenes to be aired later in the year.[24] It is subsequently announced that Ross Kemp will reprise his role as Peggy's son, Grant as part of her exit storyline.[25]
UKTV signs a deal with the BBC to provide a same-day repeat of EastEnders. The deal will also see the return of the weekend omnibus edition.[26]
18
Peter Fincham announces he will step down as ITV's director of television from February. He will be replaced by Kevin Lygo, the channel's current director of studios.[27]
19
BBC One controller Charlotte Moore is appointed to the newly created role of controller of BBC TV channels and iPlayer, while Kim Shillinglaw, current controller of BBC Two and BBC Four is to leave the BBC and her position abolished.[28]
The death is announced of broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan following a short illness. He was 78.[29]
February
Date
Event
2
The BBC announces a deal with Discovery Communications that enables it to broadcast coverage of the Summer and Winter Olympics up to and including the 2024 Summer Games. The agreement covers television, radio and online coverage.[30]
4
Former Friends star Matt LeBlanc has been signed as a presenter on the relaunched Top Gear, hosting alongside Chris Evans when the show returns in May.[31]
5
Media regulator Ofcom is considering whether to investigate a party political broadcast by the UK Independence Party that urged people to vote to leave the European Union because Turkey could join. The film, which emphasised Turkey's Muslim population, suggested that country's accession to the EU could result in an influx of Turkish citizens into the UK. The four-minute film, which aired on 3 February, has resulted in 30 complaints, including allegations of inciting racial hatred.[32]
It is reported that actress Tina Hobley has been forced to quit the third series of Channel 4's athletics-based reality show The Jump after sustaining a dislocated elbow that resulted from a fall while she was training for the series.[33]
Channel 4 launches an urgent safety review of its athletics-based reality series The Jump after olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle and swimmer Rebecca Adlington became the second and third contestants to be forced to withdraw from the competition as a result of injuries suffered during its making.[35]
9
Reality television star Mark-Francis Vandelli withdraws from The Jump after fracturing his ankle during training.[36]
11
The full Top Gear presenting line up is revealed: Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc, Sabine Schmitz, Eddie Jordan, Rory Reid and Chris Harris.[37]
After suffering a hamstring injury during training, athlete Linford Christie becomes the fifth contestant to withdraw from The Jump.[38]
Channel 5, 5*, and 5USA get a new look as their stencil logos for their channels get their very first airing. 5* is also rebranded as 5Star on the same day.[39]
15
BBC Worldwide announces that Keeping Up Appearances is the Corporation's most exported television programme, having been sold to broadcasters overseas nearly 1,000 times.[40]
BBC Three's final night on air sees it repeating episodes of some of its most popular series, including The Mighty Boosh and Family Guy. The final programme, aired in the early hours of 16 February, is a repeat of an episode of Gavin & Stacey. BBC Three becomes an online channel from 16 February.[42]
The BBC Trust criticises two nature documentaries for serious editorial breaches over misleading content. In Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise, aired in September 2015, apparent footage of a volcanic eruption which occurred that year was actually of a similar event filmed in 2011, while a 2011 documentary apparently showing wild wolves hunting a baby camel was also faked. Producers used a semi-domesticated wolf for scenes in Human Planet: Deserts – Life in the Furnace, which was let off its lead shortly before filming commenced.[44]
Nick Grimshaw confirms he has left The X Factor, and will not be a judge on the series when it returns later in the year.[45]
The BBC announces three special debates ahead of the European Union membership referendum on 21 June—a young voters debate from Glasgow on 19 May, a Question Time special on 15 June, and what is billed as the BBC's "biggest ever campaign event" at Wembley Arena on 21 June.[50]
Chef James Martin announces he will leave BBC One's Saturday Kitchen from the end of March; the programme will use a guest presenter format from the start of April.[51] Martin subsequently states that his decision to quit the programme after witnessing the death of a stranger who was appearing on stage.[52]
24
Jeremy Clarkson apologises to Oisin Tymon, the Top Gear producer he punched in 2015, after settling a £100,000 race discrimination and injury claim.[53]
25
Publication of the Dame Janet Smith Review, which concludes that serious failings at the BBC allowed Jimmy Savile and Stuart Hall to sexually abuse nearly 100 people without detection.[54]BBC Director-General Tony Hall confirms that disc jockey Tony Blackburn has been sacked by the BBC because he failed to co-operate with an element of Janet Smith's report. Blackburn claims he has been "hung out to dry" by the investigation, and threatens to take legal action against his former employers.[55]
The weekly newspaper review programme What the Papers Say, which aired on television for many years and of late has been part of the BBC Radio 4 schedule, is to be axed due to cost-cutting measures at the network. It will end in March after being broadcast for 60 years.[60]
Heather Mills becomes the seventh person to leave The Jump because of injury, having been brought in to replace previous contestants injured during the making of the programme.[62]
March
Date
Event
1
Peter Salmon is to step down as the BBC's Director of Studios to take up a position with Endemol Shine, it is announced.[63]
Sir David Clementi's review of BBC governance has concluded that the BBC Trust is "flawed" and that Ofcom should take on responsibility for the role currently overseen by the Trust.[64]
Culture SecretaryJohn Whittingdale announces that the government will rush through legislation to close the loophole that allows viewers without a television licence to watch catch-up services on BBC iPlayer.[67]
Channel 5 confirms plans to air the Home and Away spin-off An Eye for an Eye, with broadcast dates of 17 March on 5Star and 21 March on Channel 5.[68]
6
Former Rugby Union international Ben Cohen wins Series 3 of The Jump. Cohen had been drafted in to replace one of a number of celebrities who had dropped out of the series due to injury.[69]
8
Adrian Lester and Sophie Okonedo will star in ground breaking BBC One crime drama Undercover, which debuts in April. The show is rare in that it will feature black lead characters in a prime time drama where their ethnicity is not a central part of the plot.[70]
A YouGov survey commissioned by the political organisation 38 Degrees indicates that 53% of those questioned regard the BBC as their most-trusted source of news content.[73]
A report published by TV industry marketing body Thinkbox suggests that viewers watched an average of 77 minutes per week of streamed television content from providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime during 2015, almost doubling the average for 2014.[74]
BBC Director-General Tony Hall pledges to investigate increasing the availability of British Sign Language for entertainment programmes after being questioned on the issue by school students as part of the BBC's annual School Report News Day.[76]
14
Top Gear presenter Chris Evans apologises "unreservedly" after it emerged that scenes for a stunt in the forthcoming series of the motoring show were filmed around the Cenotaph, something Evans describes as "disrespectful" and which left him feeling "mortified" when he learned of it. Evans also says that footage of the stunt would've be broadcast[77] The BBC also confirms that the material will not be shown.[78]
As the second series of BBC One crime drama Happy Valley reaches its conclusion, screenwriter Sally Wainwright says that she would like to write a third series but needs time to develop the plot.[82]
After the concluding two episodes of the BBC One thriller The Night Manager were posted online, producers of the series say they are working hard to remove the content.[87]
An edition of The Jeremy Kyle Show aired on 18 January that included an expletive spoken with a Scottish accent escapes censure from Ofcom after ITV said that the person's accent meant the word had not been "understood" before the show was broadcast. No complaints about the incident were received by the regulator.[88]
Sky Sports signs an exclusive deal to broadcast live Formula 1 coverage from 2019, meaning live coverage with the exception of the British Grand Prix will no longer be free.[90]
25
A fire in the post room of ITV's London studios temporarily forces Good Morning Britain off the air as people are evacuated from the building and the fire tackled.[91]
Chloe Castro and Beth Morris, two contestants on this year's series of The Voice, withdraw from the contest hours before the live part of the show is due to begin. Castro cites health reasons for her decision, while Morris says she is withdrawing for personal reasons.[93] Morris subsequently confirms that she withdrew from the series because of cocaine addiction.[94]
27
The FA Cup trophy that was in use between 1911 and 1992 is valued at more than £1m on an edition of Antiques Roadshow, making it the most valuable item to appear on the programme.[95]
The final episode of BBC One's thriller The Night Manager draws an audience of 6.6 million, beating ITV's Our Queen at 90, which airs in the same timeslot but has a million fewer viewers.[96]
Channel 4 airs its final Grand National before ITV take over the broadcasting rights in 2017. Viewing figures indicate the event to have been watched by 10m people.[105]
Kevin Simm, a former member of 2000s group Liberty X, wins the fifth series of The Voice UK, and releases his debut single "All You Good Friends".[106]
12
The Football Association confirms it has signed a new three-year contract with BT TV and the BBC to air coverage of the FA Cup, giving them the broadcasting rights to the competition until 2021. The deal will also see an increase in coverage of women's football by both broadcasters.[107][108]
15
While reporting from the launch of the Vote Leave campaign in Manchester, Channel 4 journalist Michael Crick is interrupted by an audience member while doing a live broadcast after London MayorBoris Johnson asked for someone to go and shut him up.[109]
17
Former snooker World Champion Steve Davis announces his retirement live on air during the BBC's coverage of the 2016 World Snooker Championship. Davis, who is providing commentary on the tournament, is allowed to carry the World Championship trophy on a lap of honour around the Crucible Theatre, the venue for the competition.[110]
Sky launches a new major rebrand of its channels, including Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, and Sky Arts.[106]
21
BBC One drama series Dickensian is cancelled after one series.[111]
23
Pearl Mackie is confirmed as the new Doctor Who companion, replacing Jenna Louise-Coleman, who left the series in 2015. The announcement is made on BBC One at half-time during the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Everton.[112]
Snooker commentator John Virgo apologises after he is heard swearing during BBC One's afternoon coverage of the 2016 Snooker World Championship semi-final between Mark Selby and Marco Fu. Virgo had believed he was holding an off-air conversation at the time.[114]
May
Date
Event
1
The Labour Party accuses Culture Secretary John Whittingdale of "unacceptable interference" after a number of Sunday newspapers report that he will allow commercial broadcasters to have a say over the BBC's peak-time scheduling. The government says it has no plans to implement such a policy.[115]
2
The BBC have secured a two-year extension to their World Snooker Championship broadcasting rights, meaning coverage of the tournament will remain with the BBC until at least 2019.[116]
The government has dropped plans for a full privatisation of Channel 4, and is instead considering other options, including a possible partial privatisation of the broadcaster.[120]
ITV confirms that it has axed the World War II drama series Home Fires after two seasons, prompting the launch of a Change.org petition urging the broadcaster to reconsider its decision.[122]
Vote Leave, the official group campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union, warns ITV it faces "consequences for its future" after the broadcaster schedules a referendum debate between Prime Minister David Cameron and UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage while overlooking its own prominent members. Vote Leave also threatens to take legal action against ITV over the 7 June programme.[123] In response ITV says that Vote Leave have been invited to take part in a separate debate on 9 June.[124]
12
Publication of the long-awaited white paper setting out the government's vision of the future direction of the BBC. Among proposals are greater transparency of entertainers salaries, to make the BBC a more distinctive service and to increase the diversity of its output. The document also proposes the appointment of an executive board to replace the BBC Trust, and the possibility for the first BBC pay-TV service.[125] While broadly welcoming the proposals, BBC Director-GeneralTony Hall expresses concern the government will have too much power over the BBC if allowed to appoint board members.[126]
The BBC announces the closure of its Food, Newsbeat and BBC News Magazine websites as part of a £15 million cost-cutting drive. Although the content will be archived, and therefore continue to be available online, it will be more difficult to access.[129] News of the closure of the BBC Food website prompts 100,000 people to sign a Change.org petition to urge the BBC to reverse its decision.[130] In response the BBC says that most of the 11,000 recipes affected by the changes will be moved to the BBC Good Food website, which is operated by the corporation's commercial arm.[131]
Barbara Windsor makes her final EastEnders appearance as Peggy Mitchell; the character having been killed off.[132] Windsor's final episode is watched by a viewership of 6.9 million (a 37% audience share).[133]Pam St Clement makes a one-off return as Pat Butcher, as a hallucination, four years after the character was killed off.
ITV's South Bank studios are evacuated after a bomb alert involving a suspect vehicle parked nearby.[135]
Overnight viewing figures indicate that the previous day's repeat edition of Bargain Hunt–a show highlighted by the government in its recent white paper as an example of the BBC's lack of diversity and adventure–attracted a greater audience share than did that evening's episode of Peaky Blinders. Bargain Hunt, aired at 12.15 pm, had an audience of 1.7 million (a 32% share), while Peaky Blinders, at 9.00 pm, was seen by 1.5 million (8%).[136]
26
The BBC announces plans for the Barbara Windsor biopic Babs, as well as a dramatisation of David Nicholls' novel Us. The BBC Two drama Peaky Blinders has also been renewed for another two series.[137] The programme was re-aired in 2020 after the death of Barbra Windsor.
27
Actor Adam Woodyatt, who has played Ian Beale in BBC One's EastEnders since the series began in 1985 reaches a milestone with the announcement that he has filmed his 3000th episode.[138]
Leaked data published by The Daily Telegraph suggests that 37 people have complained about the content of the relaunched Top Gear, in particular jokes presenter Chris Evans made about his predecessor, Jeremy Clarkson.[147] Overnight viewing figures for the 5 June edition of the programme suggest it was seen by an audience of 2.8 million, peaking at 3.3 million, a decrease of almost a third on the 29 May edition's viewership.[148]
6
Media regulator Ofcom rules that an edition of Channel 4 game show Countdown aired on 21 March breached product placement rules after presenter Nick Hewer talked at length about the Ideal Home Show, which was taking place at London's Olympia at the time. Guest Mark Foster plugged P&O Cruises in the same programme, something that was also found to be in breach of the regulations. In response Channel 4 says the programme's content was reviewed before airing, but by a junior member of the commissioning team, and that in future all content will be authorised by the commissioning editor before broadcast. The content was also removed from the channel's on demand service when it became aware of the issue.[149]
The BBC indicates it will devote fewer hours to television coverage of this year's Glastonbury Festival than has been the case in previous years. The Corporation plans to air 25 hours of Glastonbury 2016, compared to 30 hours in 2014 and 2015.[150]
7
The Welsh language channel S4C resumes high definition broadcasting, having been forced to close its previous HD service in 2012 due to budget cuts.[151]
8
The BBC confirm that Sitcom Still Game will return for a new series after nearly ten years off air. The Series would once again be filmed in Scotland. All Original Cast would be returning to the series.
9
ITV confirms that Emma Willis will continue to present The Voice UK when it moves to the channel in 2017. However, main host Marvin Humes will not return, having decided to step down from his presenting role.[152]
Organisers of the Miss Great Britain contest have stripped present incumbent Zara Holland of her title after the model, a participant in the current run of ITV's Love Island, was seen to have slept with a fellow contestant on the previous evening's edition of the show.[156]
The first British television drama to feature a gay kiss is made available by the BBC through streaming, allowing viewers to see it for the first time in four decades. First aired in 1974 as part of BBC Two's drama anthology series Second City Firsts, Girl stars Alison Steadman and tells the story of an affair between two army officers.[157][158]
ITV confirms that former Miss Great Britain Zara Holland has left Love Island after learning that her mother had fallen ill.[160]
20
Ofcom launches an investigation into an edition of ITV's Loose Women aired on 17 May in which Katie Price's teenage son used offensive language while discussing online harassment. The media regulator is also investigating sexual scenes from an edition of Big Brother aired on 12 June, and an item about sex toys that appeared on This Morning on 25 May.[161]
Following the EU referendum in which the UK voted to leave the European Union, Newsnight airs a special edition looking at life after Brexit.[167]
Adele headlines the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2016. The set, aired on BBC Two, is watched by a peak audience of 3.7 million, making it the most watched performance to be televised during this year's festival, and giving a single Glastonbury set the largest number of viewers since 2008.[168]
27
Figures indicate that shares in ITV plunged by £2.5bn (20% of the broadcaster's value) on the day after Britain voted to leave the European Union, prompting fears the company could be vulnerable to a takeover bid.[169]
Patrick Holland, current head of documentaries commissioning at the BBC, is appointed to the newly created role of BBC Two channel editor.[171]
4
Ofcom censures the news channel RT UK after guests on its current affairs show Going Underground accused Turkey of waging a "genocidal war against the Kurds" during an edition aired in March.[172]
Chris Evans announces that he is to step down as presenter of Top Gear, saying he was "not a good fit" for the programme.[173]
ITV confirms it has bought the broadcasting rights for the Lethal Weapon TV series, and will air it in a prime time slot.[174]
The government publishes the Digital Economy Bill, which includes provisions to repeal a law protecting cable platforms from paying copyright or retransmission fees to public sector broadcasters; in response ITV says it will seek to charge Virgin Media for broadcasting its channels.[176]
The BBC announces plans to open a news bureau in Toronto, as well as launching a Canadian edition of the BBC.com website.[177]
The BBC plans to cut almost 100 jobs from its monitoring service in a bid to save £4m from the unit's budget from April 2017.[178]
The BBC comedy Goodnight Sweetheart will return for a one-off special as part of a series sixty years of BBC comedy.[179]
6
Anne Bulford is appointed as Deputy Director-General of the BBC, becoming the first woman to hold the position; the role had previously been inactive since the departure of the previous incumbent, Mark Byford in 2011.[180]
The BBC have ordered a third series of Poldark, even though the second series will not be broadcast until later in the year.[181]
The Advertising Standards Authority have banned a television commercial for Paddy Power in which a caller to a helpline is told that "even riff raff" could take part in a Cheltenham betting promotion.[182]
7
The BBC confirms that it will air two Christmas editions of The Great British Bake Off featuring participants from previous series.[183]
Channel 4 confirms it has "no plans" to commission further editions of TFI Friday, which was briefly revived in 2015.[184]
11
Red Rock, a soap made by Ireland's TV3 and set in and around a actual Dublin Garda station, makes its UK television debut on BBC One. The opening episode draws an audience of 1.1 million (an 18.6% audience share).[185]
Sky announces that it will begin showing film and sport content in ultra high definition from 13 August.[189]
18
Ofcom decides to take further action after receiving viewer complaints about an edition of Sky News from 12 June in which journalist Owen Jones stormed out during the middle of a newspaper review. Presenter Mark Longhurst and fellow guest Julia Hartley-Brewer had dismissed Jones's view that the Orlando nightclub shooting "specifically targeted the LGBT community".[190] However, an episode of ITV2's Love Island that showed footage of two contestants engaging in sexual intercourse shortly after the 9.00 pm watershed on 30 June will be investigated after eight viewers complained about the scenes.[191]
The BBC has releases a collection celebrating the screenwriting of Alan Bleasdale, including his rarely seen first television work from 1975, Early To Bed.[196]
Ofcom clears ITV show Loose Women over an edition in which Katie Price's son swore during a discussion about cyberbullying.[201]
5
Actor Christopher Biggins is removed from the eighteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother after making a number of comments that the programme describes as "capable of causing great offence to housemates and the viewing public".[202] The remarks included claims that AIDS was spread by bisexuals, for which Biggins received a warning from the show's producers prior to his removal, and a joke about the Holocaust made to a Jewish housemate, which was broadcast.[203]
The BBC says that its well-known weather presenters will continue to appear on screen when MeteoGroup succeeds the Met Office as its weather forecast provider.[210]
The Advertising Standards Authority bans a commercial for a Walkers Crisps competition offering 20,000 holidays following complaints the prizes were almost impossible to win.[211]
ITV announces that it will switch off its seven channels for an hour at 9.30 am on 27 August as part of the "I Am Team GB" campaign, which seeks to encourage greater participation in sport and will be staged to coincide with the homecoming of Team GB after Rio 2016.[213]
Comedian Miranda Hart confirms she will not reprise her role as Call the Midwife Chummy Brown when it returns for a sixth series.[214]
Channel 4 confirms that Deal or No Deal will end in the winter to make room for The Great British Bake Off which will move from the BBC at the start of next year. The programme will tour famous British landmarks before its conclusion. Presenter Noel Edmonds will stay with Channel 4 to work on other projects for the broadcaster.[216]
Sky News confirms that presenter Mark Longhurst is to leave the broadcaster after sixteen years.[217]
Research conducted by commercial TV marketing body Thinkbox suggests that the BBC experienced a 20% drop in younger viewers in the months following the closure of BBC Three, while channels such as ITV2 and E4 have benefited in terms of viewers from BBC Three's disappearance from the airwaves.[219]
25
Comedian Kevin Bishop is to play UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage in Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back, a one-off BBC Two documentary about the politician's life.[220]
ITV switches off its seven channels for an hour for the I Am Team GB sporting initiative. The channels are turned off by gymnast Max Whitlock, who won two golds for Great Britain at the Rio Olympics.[224]
Cold Feet returns to ITV with a new series after a thirteen-year absence.[234]
6
BBC Two announces that it will dedicate its Saturday night scheduling to the arts from 1 October and throughout the autumn season, with programmes about literature, cinema and music.[235]
Channel 5 announces it has secured the free to air rights to Formula E with every race airing live on the channel, Plus qualifying will be aired live on Spike until 2018[236]
Jeremy Thompson, anchor of Sky News's Live at Five, announces he will retire later in the year to "make space for burgeoning young talent".[237]
7
It is agreed that the BBC will provide £74.5m a year funding to S4C from the licence fee until 2022.[238]
Channel 4 and IPC announce a letter of intent for the broadcaster to remain as Great Britain's Paralympic and ParaAthletics World Championships rights holder until 2020.[247]
22
Mary Berry announces she will not move to Channel 4 with The Great British Bake Off because of loyalty to the BBC, while Paul Hollywood signs a three-year contract to continue with the show.[248]
25
Pakistani-born actor Marc Anwar, who plays Coronation Street character Sharif Nazir, is sacked from the series after posting racially offensive comments about Indians on Twitter.[249]
26
Matt LeBlanc signs a deal to present the relaunched Top Gear when it returns for a second series. It also confirmed that Sabine Schmitz, Eddie Jordan, Rory Reid and Chris Harris will remain with the show[250]
27
Users of BBC iPlayer must create and login to a BBC user account, known as a BBC ID, from 2017, it is announced. From this date, BBC ID holders must also provide a postcode.[251]
An online campaign to raise £50,000 for actress Leah Bracknell to undergo lung cancer treatment reaches its target three days after being launched. Bracknell, who played Zoe Tate in Emmerdale, established the fund to undergo the treatment in Germany.[256]
10
Ofcom says that it will not launch an investigation into an Emmerdale storyline involving dognapping. The watchdog had received 550 complaints from viewers over the episodes, aired in September, amid concerns the plot could encourage copycat incidents.[257]
The BBC is forced to defend Strictly against allegations of racism after the departure of EastEnders actor Tameka Empson the previous weekend, who became the second black contestant to be voted off in as many weeks.[259]
12
A BT advertising campaign featuring Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority following a complaint from rival Virgin Media that campaign's claims about broadband speed were misleading.[260]
ITV says it is "disappointed" after the government gives the go-ahead for a new tram route in Manchester that will pass the Coronation Street set, fearing it will disrupt filming of the soap.[264]
UTV gets a brand new look in which the station idents, based on those used by ITV since a major rebrand in January 2013, include the UTV logo changing colour as it blends in on a live-action scene – a process known as "colour picking".[267]
ITV confirms it has recommissioned the reboot of Cold Feet for a second series.[268]
The BBC has commissioned a two-part adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1982 work Revolting Rhymes which will be aired over Christmas.[270]
24
Sky News broadcasts from Studio 21 based within Sky Central, Sky's new headquarters in London for the first time. The first bulletin to be broadcast from Studio 21 was at 11 am presented by Colin Brazier and Jayne Secker.[271]
26
The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a commercial for Diet Chef featuring a tearful woman meeting a slimmer and happier version of herself, branding the advert as "irresponsible" since the watchdog felt it implied happiness and self-confidence could only be achieved through weight loss.[272]
Candice Brown wins the seventh series of The Great British Bake Off.[274] Overnight viewing figures indicate the programme is watched by an average 14 million viewers (peaking at 14.8 million when Brown was named as the winner), giving the show its highest ever audience.[275]
27
Aleksandra King quits the twelfth series of The Apprentice as her team are about to begin a task, becoming the first contestant to leave the series in such circumstances.[276]
28
Mel and Sue have been signed up to present a new BBC One Saturday evening show, Let's Sing and Dance For Comic Relief, their first post-Great British Bake Off presenting roles.[277]
Having decided not to move to Channel 4 with The Great British Bake Off, Mary Berry is given a new BBC cookery series, Everyday, which will air on BBC Two. She will also host Secrets from Britain's Great Houses on BBC One.[281]
Children in Need 2016 is aired on BBC One. The fundraiser is the first to take place since the death of Sir Terry Wogan, and tributes are paid to him throughout the evening. The 2016 event raises a record £46.6m.[287]
23
The BBC announces it has commissioned Call the Midwife for a further three series, as well as three Christmas specials, which will see the show's storylines moving into the mid sixties.[288]
25
As part of a new contract between the BBC and Lottery operator Camelot Group, BBC One Controller Charlotte Moore announces that the Saturday evening National Lottery Draw will no longer air live on BBC One from 2017. The draw will be shown via BBC iPlayer only from 7 January.[289]
ITV has commissioned The Nightly Show, a five-nights-a-week entertainment show for 2017. The programme's initial eight-week run will see it go out at 10.00 pm, meaning News at Ten will air at 10.30 pm.[290]
26
Pranksters invade the stage during an edition of The X Factor requiring police to attend the scene.[291]
29
The British Film Institute announce that over 100,000 television programmes are to be digitised before the video tape formats become obsolete, the tapes currently have an estimated five-to-six-year shelf life no matter how great the environment of the vaults in which they are stored. BFI aim to make sure that the television archive is still there in 200 years' time.[292]
A candidate put forward by Ofcom to be a Channel 4 board member, who was then rejected for the role by the government is named as Althea Efunshile, a former deputy chair of Arts Council England.[296]
8
ITV announce plans to revive Blankety Blank for a one-off special to air on 24 December. Those involved in the reboot include the Chuckle Brothers.[297]
The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an advertisement for the Emmerdale studio tour amid concerns it was misleading, following complaints the advert had "exaggerated" the experience.[305]
ITV airs a special episode of Emmerdale. The 30-minute prospective episode, is seen completely through the eyes of Vascular dementia patient Ashley Thomas (John Middleton). To achieve a realistic portrayal of the confusion surrounding dementia, stand-in actors were used, additional sets, props, and specialist directed camera affects and shots. In addition external scenes and The Woolpack interior scenes were both shot at Esholt In an attempt to show a skewed, unfamiliar view of the village as perceived by Ashley. Esholt was the previously used exterior set from 1976 to 1997.[313]
22
The BBC announces a new entertainment show for 2017 aimed at finding the UK's best singing group, with the provisional title Pitch Battle.[314]
Former Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hames is to seek a judicial review of the culture secretary's decision to consult on whether to go ahead with part two of the Leveson Inquiry, it is reported.[316]
Ofcom publishes its annual list of shows that received the largest number of complaints during the year. Celebrity Big Brother 18 attracted the most complaints during 2016, with 3,643 contacting the regulator about the show.[318]
After 11 years on air, Deal or No Deal airs its final episode.
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Michelle Fowler makes a surprise Christmas Eve return to EastEnders, the character having been recast more than twenty years after exiting the series. Having been previously played by Susan Tully, the role has now been taken over by Jenna Russell.[319]
Melvin Odoom, who was the first contestant to be eliminated from this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing, wins the show's Christmas Special.[321] Overnight viewing figures indicate the programme was seen by an audience of 7.2 million, making it the most watched single programme of Christmas Day. Only the Queen's Christmas message, broadcast by both BBC One and ITV, achieved a higher audience, with 7.7 million for its collective viewership. Eight of the top ten most programmes on 25 December, including the network television premiere of Disney's Frozen, were aired on BBC One. Christmas Day also sees the final edition of The Great British Bake Off to air on BBC One; the programme is seen by 6.3 million viewers.[322][323][324] Figures released by BARB in early January 2017 indicate Call the Midwife to be the most popular programme of Christmas Day, with 9.2 million viewers, followed by Mrs Brown's Boys (9 million) and Strictly Come Dancing (8.9 million) and The Great British Bake Off (8.2). BARB's figures suggest that audiences for 25 December fell to their lowest in 2016 since the current system of recording television viewing figures was introduced in 1981.[325]
Following the death of George Michael on Christmas Day, BBC One airs George Michael at the Palais Garnier, Paris, a concert given by the singer in 2012.[327]
^"Kenneth Grieve: Obituary". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. 22 November 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
