2004 in British television

Updated on Dec 18, 2024

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This is a list of British television related events from 2004.

January

2 January – The BBC cancels the appearance of Coca Cola sponsorship credits in the music charts in its BBC One Top of the Pops show, after criticism from politicians and health campaigners that it would be promoting junk food and unhealthy drink products to teenagers.

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.

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.

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.

16 January – Robert Kilroy-Silk resigns as a BBC One talk show host after 17 years following the controversy over comments he made about Arabs.

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 BBC's Director-General, 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.

29 January – Mark Byford becomes acting Director General of the BBC following Greg Dyke's resignation.

30 January – ITV's News at Ten ends for a second time, with its replacement, the News at 10:30, launching the following Monday.

February

2 February –

ITV plc is formed from the merger of Carlton and Granada. The new company controls 90% of the ITV network.

The News at 10:30 debuts on ITV1.

The ITN News Channel is rebranded as the ITV News Channel.

4 February –

ITV announce the comedian Bradley Walsh is to join Coronation Street as the nephew of factory owner Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs). The news comes as it is announced that five actors will leave the soap over the next twelve months—Adam Rickitt (Nick Tilsley), Susie Blake (Bev Unwin), Iain Rogerson (Harry Flagg), Katherine Hunt (Angela Harris) and Thomas Craig (Tommy Harris). Beverley Callard (Liz McDonald) and Jane Danson (Leanne Battersby) are also set to return to the series in the summer.

UKTV announce plans to rebrand all their UK prefix channels as UKTV. UK Horizons will also be replaced by UKTV Documentary and UKTV People from 8 March.

Five confirms that The Terry and Gaby Show will be axed when it finishes its current run on 26 March.

5 February – Five actors from Coronation Street are axed by new producer Tony Wood. Adam Rickitt (Nick Tilsley), Susie Blake (Bev Unwin), Iain Rogerson (Harry Flagg), Katherine Hunt (Angela Harris) and Thomas Craig (Tommy Harris) will all leave when their contracts come to an end.

9 February – Kerry McFadden wins the third series of ITV1's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.

15 February –

Debut of ITV's How to Holiday, presented by Jenni Falconer and Dominic Littlewood. The programme sees both presenters visiting the same location, with Falconer travelling in luxury while Littlewood travels on a budget.

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". 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.

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.

Debut of the BBC Three spoof documentary Sex, Lies and Michael Aspel, which supposedly reveals how the television presenter Michael Aspel fathered a number of children who went on to become celebrities. Some viewers, however, perceived the show to have been factual.

March

5 March – Major James Hewitt wins Five's Back to Reality.

8 March –

All 'UK' prefix TV channels are rebranded to UKTV. For example, UK Bright Ideas is rebranded UKTV Bright Ideas, and UK History becomes UKTV History.

Brooke Kinsella, who plays Kelly Taylor in EastEnders, announces she will be leaving the soap after two and a half years, departing in the summer.

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. The role of presenter is taken over by Cat Deeley.

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.

18 March – FremantleMedia confirms plans to bring the popular US TV series The Apprentice to the UK.

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.

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.

March – Launch of the Islam Channel.

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.

BBC One airs Pat and Mo, an EastEnders spin-off episode featuring Pat Butcher and Mo Harris during the 1950s.

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.

7 April – Former Bad Girls actress Debra Stephenson is to join Coronation Street as new character Frankie Baldwin. She will be seen onscreen from June.

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.

20 April – BBC Two celebrates 40 years on air by broadcasting Happy Birthday BBC Two.

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.

24 April – Computer programmer and quiz expert Pat Gibson becomes the fourth contestant to win the £1 million prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

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.

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. Complaints about the episode are also later upheld by Ofcom.

May

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. The infection is subsequently diagnosed as Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, a bug that attacks the nervous system. 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.

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.

8 May – The final edition of Parkinson to air on BBC One. Guests include The Corrs, Boris Becker, Jamie Cullum and Patrick Kielty.

14 May – BBC Four Controller Roly Keating is appointed to succeed Jane Root as Controller of BBC Two.

15 May – Paul Cowperthwaite, performing as Michael Jackson wins the third junior series of Stars in Their Eyes.

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.

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.

21 May – Mark Thompson is appointed new Director General of the BBC.

24 May – Former pop star Billie Piper is announced as the new Doctor Who companion Rose Tyler.

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.

June

4 June –

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.

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.

7 June – Jane Danson returns to Coronation Street as Leanne Battersby after an absence of four years.

9 June – BSkyB unveil plans to launch a free-to-air service to rival Freeview.

12 June–4 July – Euro 2004 is held in Portugal.

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.

22 June – Mark Thompson takes over as Director General of the BBC.

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. Viewing figures for any programme would not reach the 20 million mark again for another eight years, when England faced Italy at Euro 2012.

July

3 July – BBC newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky and her dance partner Brendan Cole are crowned series champions as the first series of Strictly Come Dancing reaches its grand final.

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.

15 July – The BBC broadcasts a documentary on the British National Party in which undercover reporter Jason Gwynne infiltrated the BNP by posing as a football hooligan. The programme results in Mark Collett and Nick Griffin, the leader of the party, being charged for inciting racial hatred in April 2005, for comments made in the film.

27 July – Tiny Pop launched in the UK (2004–present)

August

6 August – Nadia Almada wins the fifth series of Big Brother.

8 August – EastEnders announce the introduction of a new family, the Millers, who will be seen on screen from September.

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.

12 August – Five signs a deal with Sony Pictures Television International to premiere a number of films before they appear on pay-per-view platforms. These include the British television debut of Terminator 3.

September

September – The BBC airs the final episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, ending repeats.

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.

16 September – BBC One airs a special edition of Question Time to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

27 September –

ABC1, a channel from Disney, is launched in the UK.

EastEnders wins Best Soap at the Inside Soap Awards for the eighth year in a row.

28 September – ITV has signed a deal with Warner Bros to air film releases produced in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Titles include Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Matrix: Reloaded, The Matrix: Revolutions and Troy.

October

1 October –

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 AG 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.

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.

It is announced that the entire Ferreira family will leave EastEnders in Spring 2005.

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.

28 October – BBC One airs a special edition of Question Time from Miami, Florida, ahead of the 2004 US Presidential election.

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.

November

1 November – The digital television station ITV3 is launched at 9:00 pm, replacing Granada Plus.

5 November –

Just over a year after his high-profile return to EastEnders, the BBC confirms that Leslie Grantham, who plays Den Watts will leave for a second time.

Re-runs of The Simpsons début on Channel 4, having won the broadcasting rights from BBC in February 2002, with episodes A Tale of Two Springfields and Treehouse of Horror XI.

15 November – It emerges that Mersey Television boss Phil Redmond wrote to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport offering to buy the publicly funded Channel 4. However, Ofcom says that the channel will not be privatised.

17 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

2 December – BBC Two unveils its winter season of programming, which will include a major documentary, Auschwitz, to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day.

4 December – "Thunderbirds Are Go" by Busted is voted the 2004 Record of the Year by ITV viewers.

6 December – Joe Pasquale wins the fourth series of ITV1's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!.

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.

11 December – Steve Brookstein wins the first series of The X Factor. On the same evening, actress Jill Halfpenny and dance partner Darren Bennett win the second series of Strictly Come Dancing.

12 December –

Double Olympic gold medalist Kelly Holmes is named as this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

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".

25 December – The first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone makes its UK television debut on BBC One as part of the channel's Christmas lineup.

26 December – Overnight viewing fitgures 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.

31 December –

New Year's Eve highlights on BBC One include the network television premiere of the psychological thriller Don't Say a Word.

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.

BBC One

2 February – Sea of Souls (2004–2007)

24 February – Hustle (2004–2012)

18 April – He Knew He Was Right (2004)

15 May – Strictly Come Dancing sequels to take over from Come Dancing (2004–present)

9 July – Coming Home (2004–present)

6 September – Live At The Apollo (2004–present)

9 September – Should I Worry About...? (2004–2005)

17 October – Himalaya with Michael Palin (2004)

14 November – North & South (2004)

BBC Two

20 April – Happy Birthday BBC Two (2004)

7 July – The Long Firm (2004)

15 August – Match of the Day 2 (2004–present)

12 October – Who Do You Think You Are? (2004–present)

BBC Four

15 January – The Alan Clark Diaries (2004)

BBC News 24

1 October – Newswatch (2004–present)

CBBC

8 March – Bamzooki (2004–2010, 2011–present)

ITV (Including ITV1, ITV2 and ITV3)

16 February – Life Begins (2004–2006)

13 March – Murder in Suburbia (2004–2005)

18 March – Murder City (2004–2006)

19 April – 60 Minute Makeover (2004–present)

25 April – The Brief (2004–2005)

23 May – Hell's Kitchen (2004–2009)

2 September – Doc Martin (2004–present)

4 September – The X Factor (2004–present)

26 September – Dirty Filthy Love (2004)

12 December – Agatha Christie's Marple (2004–2013)

20 December – Christmas Lights (2004)

Channel 4

13 January – Shameless (2004–2013).

7 July – Supernanny (2004–2008, 2010–2012).

3 September – Green Wing (2004–2007).

14 October – Sex Traffic (2004)

Five

31 May – Peppa Pig (2004–present)

Sky One

17 October – Hex (2004–2006).

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

Postman Pat (1981, 1991–1994, 1996, 2004–2008).

Pingu (1986–1998, 2004–2006)

1950s

Andy Pandy (1950–1970, 2002–2005)

Panorama (1953–present)

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).

Top of the Pops (1964–2006).

Match of the Day (1964–present).

Call My Bluff (1965–2005).

The Money Programme (1966–2010).

1970s

Emmerdale (1972–present).

Newsround (1972–present).

Superstars (1973–1985, 2003–2005)

Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)

Arena (1975–present).

One Man and His Dog (1976–present).

Top Gear (1977–2001, 2002–present).

Grange Hill (1978–2008).

Antiques Roadshow (1979–present).

Question Time (1979–present)

1980s

Children in Need (1980–present)

Timewatch (1982–present)

Countdown (1982–present)

The Bill (1984–2010)

Channel 4 Racing (1984–2016)

Thomas & Friends (1984–present)

EastEnders (1985–present).

Comic Relief (1985–present).

Casualty (1986–present).

ChuckleVision (1987–2009).

This Morning (1988–present).

The Simpsons (1989–present)

1990s

Stars in Their Eyes (1990–2006)

A Touch of Frost (1992–2010)

Heartbeat (1992–2010)

Breakfast with Frost (1993–2005)

Room 101 (1994–2007, 2012–present)

Time Team (1994–2013)

The National Lottery Draws (1994–2017)

Arthur (1996–present)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1996–2015)

Silent Witness (1996–present)

Y Clwb Rygbi, Wales (1997–present)

Dream Team (1997–2007)

Family Affairs (1997–2005)

Midsomer Murders (1997–present)

South Park (1997–present)

King of the Hill (1997–2010)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1998–2014)

Bob the Builder (1998–present)

The Powerpuff Girls (1998–2005, 2016–present)

Holby City (1999–present)

Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999–2009)

SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–present)

2000s

Doctors (2000–present)

Big Brother (2000–present)

The Weakest Link (2000–2012)

The Kumars (2001–2006, 2014–present)

Popworld (2001–2007)

Real Crime (2001–2011)

UK Top 40 (2002–2005)

Dick and Dom in da Bungalow (2002–2006)

Harry Hill's TV Burp (2002–2012)

Flog It! (2002–present)

Foyle's War (2002–2015)

I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2002–present)

Spooks (2002–2011)

Angelina Ballerina (2002–2005)

Daily Politics (2003–present)

Peep Show (2003–2015)

New Tricks (2003–2015)

Politics Show (2003–2011)

QI (2003–present)

The Royal (2003–2011)

All Grown Up! (2003–2008)

This Week (2003–present)

Ending this year

ITV News at Ten (1967–1999, 2001–2004, 2008–present)

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–1986, 2002–2004)

Rugrats (1991–2004)

Animal Hospital (1994–2004)

Changing Rooms (1996–2004)

Hey Arnold! (1996–2004)

Johnny Bravo (1997–2004)

Liquid News (2000–2004)

2DTV (2001–2004)

As If (2001–2004)

The Premiership (2001–2004)

15 Storeys High (2002–2004)

Bo' Selecta! (2002–2004)

Fimbles (2002–2004)

The Vault (2002–2004)

Mr. Bean: the Animated Series (2002–2004, 2015–present)

Born to Be Different (2003–2004, 2006–2007, 2009, 2011–2013, 2016)

Hardware (2003–2004)

The Salon (2003–2004)

He Knew He Was Right (2004)

The Long Firm (2004)

Himalaya with Michael Palin (2004)

North & South (2004)

References

2004 in British television Wikipedia

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