1996 in British television

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This is a list of British television-related events from 1996.

Events

January

• 1 January – The James Bond film Never Say Never Again is aired as part of BBC1's New Year's Day schedule.^[1]
• 12 January – Gaby Roslin presents her final edition of The Big Breakfast after three years as co-presenter, weeping live on air.^[2]
• 15 January – Zoë Ball takes over as co-presenter of The Big Breakfast.^[2]
• 15 January–11 March – Our Friends in the North, a nine-part serial spanning the 1960s to the 1990s in the lives of four friends, is shown on BBC2.

February

• 9 February – A brand new Friday entertainment show TFI Friday begins on Channel 4. The show ran for over 4 and a half years with 6 series.
• 18 February – ITV airs the final episode of the long running satirical puppet show Spitting Image.
• 19 February – At the 1996 BRIT Awards, subsequently aired by ITV, Pulp lead singer Jarvis Cocker invades the stage during Michael Jackson's performance of his "Earth Song". Jackson, surrounded by children, was dressed as a Christ-like figure, an image which Cocker found objectionable.^[3][4]

March

• March – Launch of the business and financial news channel CNBC Europe, which is based in London.
• 1 March – The Media Authority of Berlin and Brandenburg (Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg) awards a terrestrial television licence to BBC World, thought to be the first time a country has awarded a television frequency to a foreign broadcaster.
• 8 March – Mersey Television boss and creator of soaps Brookside and Hollyoaks, Phil Redmond predicts that in the future every major soap on television will be aired five nights a week.^[5]
• 16 March – Cable channel L!VE TV stages a live reconstruction of the Frank Bruno vs. Mike Tyson fight using lookalike boxers as a way of hitting back at pay-per-view television, on which the actual fight is being shown.^[6]
• 24 March – ITV airs Coronation Street – The Cruise, something which proves to be controversial as the film had only been released on VHS a few months earlier to celebrate the show's 35th anniversary.
• 26 March – Cadbury becomes the first company to sponsor Coronation Street after signing a deal with Granada Television. The sponsorship will begin in September.^[7]

April

• 1 April –
  • Sir Christopher Bland succeeds Marmaduke Hussey as Chairman of the BBC.
  • All BBC commercial activities, including BBC Publications, is merged into BBC Enterprises Ltd.^[8]
• 13 April – Channel 4 debuts the first of ten editions of The Gaby Roslin Show, a chat show presented by Gaby Roslin which aims to recapture the atmosphere of 1970s series such as Parkinson.^[9] Ratings for the programme quickly fall from 3 million to less than a million, and it is panned by viewers and critics alike. The Daily Mail quotes a critic who described it as "The Shabby Roslin Show", and a viewer who observed it was like "watching a schoolgirl meeting the stars". The programme is axed in July.^[10]
• 18 April – Marketing Magazine reports that Midland Bank will sponsor ITV Drama Premieres, starting on 1 May with the latest series of Sharpe.^[11]
• 21 April – The BBC Arabic television service closes down when the Saudi backer pulls out following a row over coverage of the execution of a princess accused of adultery.

May

• 25 May – Paul Doody wins the seventh series of Stars in Their Eyes, performing as Marti Pellow. He is the second Grand Final winner to portray the singer.
• 27 May – Doctor Who, an American television movie continuation of the famous British series of the same name, airs on BBC One. This television movie is regarded as being a part of the same story as the original series and is an unsuccessful pilot for a new, American co-produced series. Paul McGann stars as the Eighth Doctor. Doctor Who does not return as a full series until 2005.

June

• 7 June – The BBC is restructured by the Director-General, John Birt. In the new structure BBC Broadcast will commission programmes, and BBC Production will make them.
• 8–30 June – The BBC and ITV air coverage of Euro 96, which is held in England.
• 14 June – After 32 years (excluding six months in 1973), Top of the Pops moves from its traditional Thursday evening slot to Fridays.
• 26 June – The BBC and ITV coverage of the England v Germany quarter final match of Euro 96 is collectively watched by 26 Million viewers.^[12]
• 30 June – Neil Haidar wins the 1996 series of MasterChef.

July

• 11 July – ITV announces a deal with Doritos sponsoring ITV Movies with the premieres of Demolition Man, Unforgiven, Groundhog Day and Sleepless in Seattle.
• 19 July–4 August – The 1996 Summer Olympics are held in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 24 July – Buckingham Palace ends the BBC's monopoly on producing the Royal Christmas Message, which has been the sole responsibility of the broadcaster for 63 years. It is produced by ITV from 1997, before returning to the BBC in 1999, then ITV again from 2001. The two year changeover continues to the present day.
• 26 July – The BBC and Hat Trick Productions are fined £10,000 each in the High Court for contempt of court over comments made on a 1994 edition of Have I Got News for You, in which presenter Angus Deayton referred to Ian and Kevin Maxwell as "two heartless, scheming bastards" ahead of their trial.^[13]

August

• 22 August – BBC World begins broadcasting to Berlin.
• 30 August – Zoë Ball presents her final edition of The Big Breakfast, having left the series in order to present BBC One's Live & Kicking.^[14]

September

• 1 September –
  • Sky 2 launches in the UK, a sister channel to the then-titled Sky 1. It closes a year later, but a channel of almost the same name (Sky Two) would later launch in 2005.
  • The Computer Channel is launched. It was later renamed .tv (pronounced Dot TV).
• 2 September –
  • Launch of "Daytime on 1", BBC1's new daily schedule that includes six and a half hours of drama, quiz shows, discussion programming, chat shows and cookery shows.
  • The ITV region Tyne Tees Television is rebranded as Channel 3 North East. The rebranding is unsuccessful, and the original name returns two years later.
  • Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies succeeds Zoë Ball as co-presenter of The Big Breakfast.^[14]

October

• 1 October –
  • Granada Sky Broadcasting launches.
  • WBTV: The Warner Channel launched in the UK
• 12 October – After nearly 14 years, Channel 4 is given a whole new look replacing the original blocks idents with all new circles idents.
• 19 October – Fox Kids launched in the UK (1996–2009)
• 27 October – Lucy Wright wins the 1996 series of Junior MasterChef.

November

• 1 November – Two channels, Sky Scottish and The Computer Channel launch.
• 17 November – BBC1 airs Ruby Wax Meets the Duchess of York, a one-off interview with Sarah, Duchess of York conducted by US comedian Ruby Wax.
• 23 November – The BBC picks up the Terrestrial rights to The Simpsons, and is first shown at 5.30pm on BBC1, with a Sunday lunchtime repeat on BBC2. There's No Disgrace Like Home is the first episode to be shown on BBC1, later being beaten in the ratings by Sabrina.
• 24 November – ITV introduces a fourth weekly episode of Coronation Street, airing on Sundays at 7:30pm.
• 30 November – During the live broadcast of The National Lottery on BBC 1, the draw machine fails to start, causing the draw to be delayed by 50 minutes; Resident psychic Mystic Meg later said that she had been predicting it all day.^[15]

December

• 25 December – BBC1's Christmas Day highlights include the British television premiere of Steven Spielberg's dinosaur adventure Jurassic Park.^[16]
• 26 December – Ian Kelsey makes his final appearance in Emmerdale when Dave Glover dies in a fire.^[17]
• 29 December – Time On Our Hands, the final episode of a Christmas trilogy of the popular sitcom Only Fools and Horses, airs on BBC1. Publicised as the last ever episode, it draws 24.35 million viewers, the largest ever audience for a sitcom in the UK, and discounting Diana, Princess of Wales's funeral the following year, the biggest UK television audience of the 1990s. In the event, however, the show returns for three subsequent specials, one shown each Christmas from 2001.

Debuts

BBC1

• 2 January – The Demon Headmaster (1996–1998)
• 1 February – Ballykissangel (1996–2001)
• 21 February – Silent Witness (1996–present)
• 8 March – Muppets Tonight (1996–1998)
• 16 March – Dalziel and Pascoe (1996–2007)
• 4 September – Changing Rooms (1996–2004)

BBC2

• 15 January – Our Friends in the North (1996)
• 18 March – This Life (1996–1997)
• 2 May – Airport (1996–2005)
• 12 November – Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1996–2015)

ITV

• Unknown
  • Wake Up in the Wild Room (1996–1998)
  • Power Rangers Zeo (1996–1997)
• 4 May – Man O Man (1996–1999)
• 18 August – Cadfael The Devil's Novice (1996 Season 2 Episode 2)
• 25 August – Cadfael A Morbid Taste for Bones (1996)
• 1 December – Percy the Park Keeper (1996–1999)

Channel 4

• 6 January – The Adam and Joe Show (1996–2001)
• 9 February – TFI Friday (1996–2000)

Cartoon Network

• 27 April – Dexter's Laboratory (1996–2003)

Television shows

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

• March 4 – The Wombles (1973–1975, 1990–1991 BBC, 1996–1997 ITV)
• 10 April – The Two Ronnies for a 25th Anniversary special (1971–1987, 1991, 1996, 2005)
• 6 May – The Liver Birds (1969–1979, 1996)
• 27 May – Doctor Who (1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present)
• 7 September – Doug (1991–1994, 1996–1999)

1940s

• Come Dancing (1949–1998)

1950s

• Panorama (1953–present)
• Take Your Pick (1955–1968, 1992–1998)
• What the Papers Say (1956–2008)
• The Sky at Night (1957–present)
• Blue Peter (1958–present)
• Grandstand (1958–2007)

1960s

• Coronation Street (1960–present)
• Songs of Praise (1961–present)
• World in Action (1963–1998)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Match of the Day (1964–present)
• Mr. and Mrs. (1964–1999)
• Sportsnight (1965–1997)
• Call My Bluff (1965–2005)
• The Money Programme (1966–2010)

1970s

• Emmerdale (1972–present)
• Newsround (1972–present)
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)
• Wish You Were Here...? (1974–2003)
• Arena (1975–present)
• One Man and His Dog (1976–present)
• Grange Hill (1978–2008)
• Antiques Roadshow (1979–present)
• Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

• Children in Need (1980–present)
• Timewatch (1982–present)
• Brookside (1982–2003)
• Countdown (1982–present)
• Right to Reply (1982–2001)
• The Bill (1984–2010)
• Thomas & Friends (1984–present)
• EastEnders (1985–present)
• The Cook Report (1985–1998)
• Crosswits (1985–1998)
• Telly Addicts (1985–1998)
• Comic Relief (1985–present)
• The Chart Show (1986–1998, 2008–2009)
• Casualty (1986–present)
• Chain Letters (1987–1997)
• ChuckleVision (1987–2009)
• You Bet! (1988–1997)
• Playdays (1988–1997)
• London's Burning (1988–2002)
• On the Record (1988–2002)
• Fifteen to One (1988–2003, 2013–present)
• This Morning (1988–present)
• Birds of a Feather (1989–1998, 2014–present)
• The Simpsons (1989–present)

1990s

• Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998)
• Stars in Their Eyes (1990–2006)
• 2point4 Children (1991–1999)
• Big Break (1991–2002)
• The Brittas Empire (1991–1997)
• Soldier Soldier (1991–1997)
• Noel's House Party (1991–1999)
• Rugrats (1991–2004)
• GamesMaster (1992–1998)
• Heartbeat (1992–2010)
• Men Behaving Badly (1992–1998)
• The Big Breakfast (1992–2002)
• 999 (1992–2003)
• Saturday Disney (1993–1998)
• Mr. Motivator exercise routines (1993–2000)
• Breakfast with Frost (1993–2005)
• Wipeout (1994–2002)
• Small Talk (1994–1996)
• Aaahh!! Real Monsters (1994–1997)
• Wycliffe (1994–1998)
• Animal Hospital (1994–2004)
• Time Team (1994–2013)
• Oh, Doctor Beeching! (1995–1997)
• Father Ted (1995–1998)
• Hollyoaks (1995–present)
• Is It Legal? (1995–1998)
• Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001)

Ending this year

• Jackanory (1965–1996, 2006)
• Finders Keepers (1991–1996, 2006)
• Only Fools and Horses (1981–1996, 2001–2003, 2014)
• Spitting Image (1984–1996)
• Beadle's About (1986–1996)
• Going for Gold (1987–1996, 2008–2009)
• The Time, The Place (1987–1996)
• That's Showbusiness (1989–1996)
• Turnabout (1990–1996)
• The Upper Hand (1990–1996)
• The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991–1996)
• Good Morning with Anne and Nick (1992–1996)
• Chef! (1993–1996)
• Doctor Finlay (1993–1996)
• Jo Brand Through the Cakehole (1993–1996)
• Rocko's Modern Life (1991–1996)
• Body Heat (1994–1996)
• Pets Win Prizes (1994–1996)
• Small Talk (1994–1996)
• God's Gift (1995–1996)
• Raise the Roof (1995–1996)
• The Thin Blue Line (1995–1996)

Births

• 26 January – Tyger Drew-Honey, actor and presenter

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Cinematic Credibility
11 May	Joan Thirkettle[18]	48	television journalist for ITN
20 May	Jon Pertwee	76	former star of Doctor Who
29 September	Leslie Crowther	63	British TV comedian and game show host (Crackerjack, The Price Is Right and Stars in Their Eyes)
13 October	Beryl Reid	77	actor
26 October	Tricia Ingrams	50	journalist and presenter for Thames Television
26 November	Michael Bentine	74	comedian, comic actor, and founding member of The Goons
11 December	Willie Rushton	59	comedian, satirist, cartoonist and writer

References

1. "Never Say Never Again – BBC One London – 1 January 1996". BBC Genome (BBC). Retrieved 18 January 2016.
2. Wallace, Richard (13 April 1996). "The Big Break Down; Gaby weeps as she quits morning show". The Mirror (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 3 June 2014.
3. "Jarvis Cocker invades Michael Jackson’s stage – February 1996". NME. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
4. Pryor, Fiona (14 February 2007). "Bad behaviour at the Brit Awards". BBC News (BBC). Retrieved 3 March 2014.
5. MacDonald, Marianne (9 March 1996). "'Brookside' chief predicts five-night week for soaps". The Independent. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
6. "This is your L!VE". The Mirror (Trinity Mirror). 12 June 1997. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
7. MacDonald, Marianne (27 March 1996). "Cadbury sponsors `Coronation Street' Sweet TV deal for chocolate- maker Britain's top soap Street'". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 30 August 2015.
8. Cain, John (1992). The BBC: 70 years of broadcasting. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. p. 150. ISBN 0-563-36750-4.
9. Turpin, Adrian (12 April 1996). "It's good to talk... or is it?". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 3 June 2014.
10. "Show is over for Gaby as her £1.5m chat falls flat". Daily Mail (Daily Mail and General Trust). 12 July 1996. Retrieved 3 June 2014 – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).
11. Hewitt, Mike (18 April 1996). "Midland stages TV drama coup". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
12. "Beeb's ratings rant". Daily Record (Trinity Mirror). 28 June 1996. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
13. "Contempt of Court – 1996". Swarb.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
14. "Zoe Bawl". Daily Record (Trinity Mirror). 31 August 1996. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
15. "The National Lottery Live – 30/11/1996". YouTube. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
16. "BBC One London – 25 December 1996". BBC Genome (BBC). Retrieved 18 January 2016.
17. Purnell, Tony (27 December 1996). "Bed and bored on the farm". The Mirror (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 10 June 2014.
18. "Joan Thirkettle dies aged 48 – News". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). 14 May 1996. Retrieved 22 February 2012.