1997 in British television

List of years in British television (table)

This is a list of British television related events from 1997.

Events

January

  • 1 January –
    • New Year's Day highlights on BBC1 include a TV film adaptation of The Mill on the Floss, and Global Sunrise, an 80 minute film presented by Julian Pettifer, and the culmination of a project that saw camera crews at twenty locations around the world on 1 January 1996, recording the rising sun through six continents and all time zones.[1]
    • ITV introduces a third weekly episode of Emmerdale.
  • 2 January – Test transmissions begin for Channel 5 in some areas. Details of these are made available on Ceefax page 698 for a few weeks.[2]
  • 6 January – Channel 4 closes down for the last time with 24-hour transmissions commencing at 6 am the following day. Consequently, after nearly 14 years of transmissions, 4-Tel On View comes to an end.
  • 7 January – Carlton Television presents Monarchy: The Nation Decides, a live studio debate discussing the future of the monarchy in the United Kingdom. The debate quickly descends into a shouting match, while viewers are encouraged to vote on the issue in what is the UK's largest television phone poll. However, Carlton is forced to extend the deadline for calls following complaints from people unable to get through. Of the 2.6million callers who vote, 66% are in favour of retaining a monarch while 34% are against.[3]
  • 8 January – The first episode of the BBC's serialised children's programme The Wild House begins on BBC One.
  • 9 January – The Sun newspaper reports that BT have released an advert featuring Letitia Dean and nine other former EastEnders actors to promote its Friends and Family promotion despite the BBC threatening them with legal action.[4] The BBC subsequently withdraws its threat to sue after BT pays it an undisclosed five-figure amount.[5]
  • 14 January – Viewing figures released for 1996 indicate BBC1 and BBC2 as the only terrestrial channels to increase their audience share during the year.[6]
  • 31 January – The Independent Television Commission receives two applications for the licence to operate digital terrestrial television in the UK. They come from British Digital Broadcasting (BDB) – a joint venture between Carlton Television, Granada Television and satellite company British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)[7] – and from Digital Television Network (DTN), a company created by cable operator CableTel (later known as NTL).[8]

February

  • 3 February –
    • Trouble launches, broadcasting programming aimed at teenagers and young adults, and Bravo changes its identity.
    • The Family Channel relaunches as a gameshow channel called Challenge TV although Family Late continues to broadcast as an overnight programming block.
  • 5 February – The first Wednesday edition of the National Lottery is aired with the introduction of a second weekly draw.[9]
  • 9 February – The live final of the 1997 Masters is interrupted by snooker's first ever streaker, 22-year-old secretary Lianne Crofts, who invaded the playing area at the beginning of the third frame. After stewards removed her from the arena, Ronnie O'Sullivan amused the crowd by comically wiping the brow of veteran referee John Street, who was refereeing his final match of his career.[10][11][12]
  • 14 February – Cable exclusive channel Carlton Select replaces SelecTV, which it acquired when Carlton bought Pearson Television.
  • 19 February – Ceefax ceases to provide information on Channel 5 test transmissions.[13]
  • 28 February – The BBC sells its transmitters and transmission services to Castle Transmission Services for £244 million, to help fund its plans for the digital age.

March

April

  • 1 April –
    • At 4:40 am, Channel 5 begins a rerun of the Australian soap Prisoner: Cell Block H. This is the series' first networked screening in the UK as, during its earlier run on ITV, scheduling of the programme had varied from region to region.
    • Quincy, another series previously shown on ITV, begins airing on BBC1 as part of the network's daytime schedule.[24]
  • 5 April – The 1997 Grand National is delayed after a suspected IRA bomb threat.[25] The race is run on Monday 7 April at 5:00 pm.[26] It is the last of 50 Nationals (including the void race of 1993) to be commentated on by Peter O'Sullevan.
  • 6 April – Channel 5 airs the British television premiere of Mrs. Doubtfire.[27]
  • 8 April – BBC journalist Martin Bell announces that he is to stand as a candidate against Neil Hamilton in the Tatton constituency on an anti-corruption platform.[28]
  • 9 April – BBC1 broadcasts American Canadian children's animated series Arthur for the first time in the UK.
  • 12 April – Final edition of ITV's stunt-based game show You Bet!.[22]
  • 25 April – The final edition of ITV's daytime quiz show Chain Letters is aired after 10 years of broadcast.
  • 27 April – The BBC confirms comedy duo Hale and Pace have signed a £1million two-year deal that will see them move from ITV.[29]
  • April – TLC is renamed Discovery Home & Leisure.[30]

May

  • 1 May – UK General Election night: for the first time, the brothers David Dimbleby and Jonathan Dimbleby anchor rival results programmes on BBC 1 and ITV respectively. The same arrangement will occur for the general elections in 2001 and 2005.
  • 2 May – BBC1 airs Falling Down, a 1992 action thriller starring Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall and Barbara Hershey.[31]
  • 3 May – Katrina and the Waves win the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Love Shine a Light", the first time the UK has won the competition since 1981.
  • 13 May – Jeremy Paxman speaks to Michael Howard on Newsnight, and the interview becomes the programme's most notorious. Howard, who had been Home Secretary until thirteen days earlier, had held a meeting with Derek Lewis, head of the Prison Service, about the possible dismissal of the governor of Parkhurst Prison, John Marriott. Howard, having given evasive answers, was asked by Paxman the same question – "Did you threaten to overrule him [Lewis]?"  – a total of twelve times in succession (14 if the first two inquiries worded somewhat differently and some time before the succession of 12 are included). Howard did not give a direct answer, instead repeatedly saying that he "did not overrule him", and ignoring the "threaten" part of the question.[32][33][34] Howard finally answered Paxman's question on his final edition of Newsnight in 2014, saying "No Jeremy, I didn't. But feel free to ask another eleven times."[35]
  • 21 May – Serena Martin wins the 1997 series of Junior MasterChef.
  • 23 May – Channel 4 quiz show Countdown celebrates its 2000th edition.[36]
  • 24–26 May – Channel 4 dedicates the Spring Bank Holiday weekend to sitcoms. It features classic episodes, 1970s Spin-off films, and documentaries about the genre's appeal.
  • 26 May – BBC1 airs the documentary Lenny's Big Amazon Adventure, which sees Lenny Henry travel to Peru with survival expert Lofty Wiseman.[37]
  • 31 May – Channel 5 airs its first international football coverage, a match between England and Poland. The channel experiments with a new presenting format which attempts to recreate the atmosphere of a bar, with presenters providing coverage against the backdrop of chatter from an invited audience. The format draws criticism, with The Independent's Glenn Moore describing it as a "shambles"[38] However, the coverage gives the channel its largest audience so far, with a viewership of five million.[39]

June

July

  • 3 July – Peter Snow presents Newsnight for the last time, though he will continue to make occasional appearances as a political analyst until 2005.
  • 4 July – The Battersby family, described by media as a "family from hell", make their debut in Coronation Street.[42]
  • 5 July – ITV screens the comedy pilot The Grimleys. A full series begins in 1999 and airs for three series until 2001.
  • 25 July – Channel 5 announces plans to run an advertising campaign on ITV in order to attract more viewers.[43]
  • 26 July – Midlands Today presenter Alan Towers announces live on air that he is leaving the programme after 25 years in broadcast journalism, describing BBC bosses as "pygmies in grey suits wearing blindfolds".[44]

August

  • 3 August – Julie Friend wins the 1997 series of MasterChef.
  • 26 August – It is reported that former Grandstand presenter Helen Rollason has been diagnosed with cancer and will undergo emergency surgery.[45]
  • 31 August –
    • Sky 2 and Granada Talk TV both cease broadcasting.
    • BBC1 continues to air through the whole night, simulcasting with BBC World News, to bring news updates of Diana, Princess of Wales's car accident. At 6am, a rolling news programme, anchored by Martyn Lewis and from 1pm by Peter Sissons, is shown on both BBC1 and BBC2 until BBC2 breaks away at 3pm to provide alternative programming. BBC1 continues to provide coverage until closedown when it once again hands over to BBC World. ITV's unbroken news coverage of the tragedy lasts until well into the evening; the first scheduled program being aired on that channel is Coronation Street. In the days following her death, regular programming is abandoned in order to allow for coverage of events.

September

  • 1 September –
    • National Geographic Channel is launched.
    • Channel 5's The Jack Docherty Show returns after the summer break with a relaunch, which includes new music and titles. The Friday edition is also dropped at Docherty's suggestion, ending the original five-nights-a-week format.[46]
  • 5 September –
    • Queen Elizabeth II addresses the nation with a special broadcast in which she pays tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, only the second time she has made a special broadcast to the nation. The address is broadcast live at 6pm, ahead of the early evening news broadcasts.[47][48]
    • The former ITV game show Name That Tune returns for a new series on Channel 5, where it is presented by Jools Holland.[49]
  • 6 September – The live broadcast of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales is watched by 2.5 billion viewers worldwide.[50] The ceremony's footage goes down in the Guinness World Records as the biggest TV audience for a live broadcast.[51] In the UK, 32.10 million viewers watch the broadcast. It is the UK's second most-watched broadcast of all time, behind 1966's World Cup final.[52]
  • 14 September – Gumby: The Movie is broadcast on The Disney Channel, marking the only time Gumby is aired in the UK.
  • 16 September –
    • The BBC announces a radical shake-up of news and current affairs programming that will see radio and television news services produced by the same production teams.
    • BBC One airs the documentary series Holiday Memories in which presenter Esther Rantzen re-visits Zimbabwe with her daughter.[53] Rantzen became severely ill after filming the episode and was subsequently diagnosed with Giardiasis. She is absent from her BBC Two afternoon talk show Esther for several months while recovering from the condition, returning to television in early 1998.[54]
  • 20 September – First appearance of the BBC promotional film featuring a version of Lou Reed's 1972 song Perfect Day performed by various artists including David Bowie, Bono, Brett Anderson and Laurie Anderson. Due to its popularity the version is released as a single on 17 November, with sales benefiting Children in Need.[55] The song ultimately spends three weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart, and raises £2,125,000 for Children in Need. By November 2016 it has sold 1.54 million copies, despite not being available for download.[56][57]
  • 22–25 September – BBC 1 soap EastEnders airs a series of episodes from Ireland which attract criticism from viewers and the Irish embassy because of their negative and stereotypical portrayal of Irish people. The BBC later issues an apology for any offence the episodes caused.[58][59]

October

  • 3 October – The 'Virtual Globe' ident is seen for the final time on BBC One after six years in use. The BBC logo changes from parallelogram to square.
  • 4 October – BBC One adopts new "hot air balloon" globe identifications to coincide with the introduction of the network's new corporate logo. See BBC One 'Balloon' idents. Also, new idents feature on BBC Two alongside existing one's first seen in 1991 with the new logo.
  • 16 October – Emmerdale celebrates its 25th Anniversary.
  • 19 October –
  • 27 October – UK Living changes its name to Living TV, to distance itself from the forthcoming UKTV network.
  • 30 October – BBC One airs Clive Anderson's infamous interview with the Bee Gees which ends with them storming out of the studio. Anderson repeatedly jokes about their life and career throughout the interview, but they decide to leave after he refers to them as "tossers".[61]
  • 31 October – Queen Elizabeth II opens a £5.5 million interactive visitors' centre, the BBC Experience at Broadcasting House. The venture proved to be loss-making for the Corporation and was closed in 2001.

November

December

Debuts

BBC1/One

BBC2/Two

BBC News 24

ITV

Channel 4

S4C

Channel 5

Disney Channel UK

Sky 1/One

Paramount Comedy Channel

Sci-Fi Channel

Nickelodeon UK

Cartoon Network UK

Challenge TV

Channels

New channels

Date Channel
3 February Trouble
30 March Channel 5
1 September National Geographic Channel
1 November UK Arena
UK Horizons
UK Style
9 November BBC News 24
22 November Rapture TV

Defunct channels

Date Channel
31 August Granada Talk TV
Sky 2 (original)

Rebranded channels

Date Old Name New Name
3 February The Family Channel Challenge TV
14 February SelecTV Carlton Select
April TLC Discovery Home & Leisure
4 October BBC1 BBC One
BBC2 BBC Two
1 November Sky 1 Sky One
Sky Movies Sky Movies Screen 1
The Movie Channel Sky Movies Screen 2

Television shows

Changes of network affiliation

Shows Moved from Moved to
Sale of the Century ITV Challenge
3-2-1
Paddington Channel 4 ITV
Blockbusters Sky1 BBC Two
United Kingdom/France Oscar's Orchestra The Children's Channel Nickelodeon
The Prince of Atlantis BBC One The Children's Channel
Danger Mouse Family Channel
Canada Stickin' Around Nickelodeon Channel 5

Returning this year after a break of one year or longer

1920s

  • BBC Wimbledon (1927–present)

1930s

  • BBC Cricket (1939–1999, 2020–2024)

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Ending this year

Births

Deaths

DateNameAgeCinematic Credibility
11 January Jill Summers 86 actress (Coronation Street)
19 June Julia Smith 70 television director and producer
26 June Charlie Chester 83 stand-up comedian and TV and radio presenter
24 July Brian Glover 63 actor
12 September Leonard Maguire 73
5 October Debbie Linden 36 actress
6 October Adrienne Hill 60

See also

References

  1. ↑ "BBC One London – 1 January 1997 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Brown, Mike. "Channel 5: The Test Transmissions". mb21. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Streeter, Michael (8 January 1997). "Monarchy should go, says a third of TV poll". The Independent. Independent Print Ltd. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "BT to defy the Beeb on Cindy's ad". The Sun. News Group Newspapers. 9 January 1997. p. 9.
  5. ↑ "Payout ends soap ads row". The Daily Mirror. MGN. 13 January 1997. p. 15.
  6. ↑ Macdonald, Marianne (15 January 1997). "BBC triumphant in ratings battle". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  7. ↑ "Carlton, Granada, and BSkyB form British Digital Broadcasting". Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "British Digital Broadcasting targets 1 million viewers". Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "The National Lottery Live – BBC One London – 5 February 1997 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  10. ↑ "The Daily Telegraph". Telegraph Media Group. 11 February 1997.
  11. ↑ "Benson & Hedges Masters 1997". Snooker.org. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Winning streak continues". BBC Sport. 22 April 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Villani, Lisa (20 August 2009). "MIC: GNM archive (microsite)". The Guardian. London.
  14. ↑ Willcock, John (4 March 1997). "Flextech to inject £20m into BBC deal". The Independent. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "BBC One London – 14 March 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  16. ↑ The Language Master at the British Film Institute Film & TV Database
  17. ↑ Campbell, Sophie (5 February 2005), "Now Repeat After Me", The Daily Telegraph, retrieved 14 February 2012
  18. ↑ Poole, Steven (26 March 1997). "Last night's television". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Lord of the Dance – BBC One London – 31 March 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "Pick of the Box". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 31 March 1997. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  21. ↑ "Teletubbies: Ned's Bicycle – BBC Two England – 31 March 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  22. 1 2 "You Bet!". UKGameshows. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  23. ↑ Stephen Sackur, Presenter, HARDtalk. "Two Decades of HARDtalking – BBC'S flagship interview programme celebrates 20th anniversary – Media Centre". BBC. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  24. ↑ "Quincy – BBC One London – 1 April 1997 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  25. ↑ Jury, Louise; McKittrick, David (5 April 1997). "IRA wrecks Grand National". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  26. ↑ Keating, Frank (7 April 1997). "Lord Gyllene turns the 150th Grand National into a One-horse race". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  27. ↑ Jones, Ian; Williams, Steve; Hughes, Chris (April 2007). "Days of Vine and Dozes". Off The Telly. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  28. ↑ ""BBC TV newsman turns politician" BBC On This Day". BBC News. 1997-04-08. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  29. ↑ "Beeb buy bad boys". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 28 April 1997. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  30. ↑ "MediaScan/Sweden Calling DXers 2268". Newsgroup: rec.radio.info. April 3, 1997.
  31. ↑ "Falling Down – BBC One London – 2 May 1997 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  32. ↑ Horrocks, Peter (21 January 2005). "Paxman versus Howard". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  33. ↑ "Paxman's most memorable Newsnight encounters". BBC News. BBC. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  34. ↑ "Michael Howard: Paxman grilling 'not my finest hour'". BBC News. BBC. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  35. ↑ "Jeremy Paxman hosts his final Newsnight". BBC News. BBC. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  36. ↑ "Countdown". UKGameshows.com. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  37. ↑ "Lenny's Big Amazon Adventure – BBC One London – 26 May 1997 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  38. ↑ Moore, Glenn (2 June 1997). "Nice commentary, shame about the presentation". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  39. ↑ Crawford, Anne-Marie (5 June 1997). "Channel 5 hits the net at last". Brand Republic. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  40. ↑ "Home Ground – BBC Two England – 10 June 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  41. ↑ Crawford, Anne-Marie (19 June 1997). "'One ITV' idea blasted". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  42. ↑ Kellaway, Robert (6 July 1997). "Curly's on a loser with the Street's bully boy bruiser". The People. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  43. ↑ "Channel 5 to put ad on ITV in drive for viewers". Campaign Live. 25 July 1997. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  44. ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa; Blackhurst, Chris (27 July 1997). "And finally, you're all BBC pygmies". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  45. ↑ "TV sports presenter fights cancer". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 27 August 1997. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  46. ↑ Rees, Jasper (7 September 1997). "It could be a job for Roland Rat". The Independent on Sunday. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  47. ↑ "Queen Broadcasts Live to Nation". BBC. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  48. ↑ Goodey, Emma (5 September 1997). "The Queen's message following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales". Royal UK. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  49. ↑ "Name That Tune". UKGameshows. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  50. ↑ "Diana's funeral watched by millions". BBC On This Day. 1997-09-06. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  51. ↑ "TV's world record breakers". BBC News. 22 March 2001. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  52. ↑ Tapper, James (1 May 2005). "The biggest TV audience ever ... it is now". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  53. ↑ "Holiday Memories – BBC One London – 16 September 1997 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  54. ↑ "Esther tells a long fight against killer bug". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. 26 January 1998. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  55. ↑ Tim de Lisle (1997-11-09). "Oh, it's such a perfect song". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  56. ↑ "Entertainment | Perfect Day for children". BBC News. 1998-10-12. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  57. ↑ Copsey, Rob (2017-11-07). "The biggest selling Children In Need singles ranked". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  58. ↑ "Italy's Square deal; LAST NIGHT'S VIEW". The Mirror. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  59. ↑ Summerskill, Ben (7 October 2001). "No soft soapbox". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  60. ↑ "Schindler's List – BBC One London – 19 October 1997 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  61. ↑ Wright, Matthew (30 October 1997). "Anderson's Walk Show: BBC to screen Bee Gees row". The Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  62. ↑ "Sky Channels To Be Rebranded". Mediatel. 10 October 1997.
  63. ↑ "BBC Two England – 2 November 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  64. ↑ "50 Golden Years – BBC One London – 20 November 1997 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  65. ↑ "Lou Reed and Pudsey aim to raise Ł20m". BBC News. BBC. 21 November 1997. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  66. ↑ Smith, Aidan (26 November 1997). "Toff luck at the horse of the rear show". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  67. ↑ "UK | Teletubbies top the charts". BBC News. 1997-12-07. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  68. ↑ "Teletubbies | The Teletubbies' rise to stardom". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  69. ↑ "UK | Girl power triumphs for second Christmas". BBC News. 1997-12-21. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  70. ↑ "Naked Gun 33⅓: the Final Insult – BBC One London – 24 December 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  71. ↑ Hagan, Angela (4 December 1997). "He's having a Vine old time; All present and correct for comic Tim". The Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  72. ↑ "The Flintstones – BBC One London – 25 December 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  73. ↑ "The Mask – BBC One London – 25 December 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  74. ↑ "Cold Enough for Snow – BBC One London – 31 December 1997". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
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