2007 in British television

|This Life returns for a ten-year reunion special.

|Celebrity Big Brother 5 is launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.{{cite news|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Who's+who+in+the+Celebrity+Big+Brother+house.-a0156684601 |title=Who's who in the Celebrity Big Brother house |publisher=Trinity Mirror |newspaper=Birmingham Post |date=4 January 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}

|Leslie Ash officially opens the Centre for Healthcare Associated Infections (CHIA), a national facility at the University of Nottingham dedicated to conducting research into superbug infections. Ash is also the Centre's patron.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/6233599.stm |title=Actress opens new superbug centre |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=5 January 2007 |access-date=28 June 2014}}

|Laura Pearce, a 24-year-old civilian employee of Gloucestershire Constabulary, becomes the first contestant to win the £250,000 on the British version of Deal or No Deal.{{Cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6241583.stm|title= Quiz star describes £250,000 win|work= BBC News|date= 8 January 2007|access-date=7 July 2009}}

|Michael Grade takes over as chief executive of ITV plc.{{Cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jan/08/television.citynews|title= Grade takes the helm at ITV|work= The Guardian|first= Chris|last= Tryhorn|date= 8 January 2007|access-date=30 April 2009}}

|Sky News hires Meridian Tonight presenter Charlotte Hawkins to co-present Sunrise alongside Eamonn Holmes; she makes her debut on 15 January.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jan/09/broadcasting.bskyb | title=Meridian presenter Charlotte Hawkins joins Eamonn Holmes at Sky News | publisher=Guardian Online | first=Chris | last=Tryhorn | date=9 January 2007 |access-date=29 January 2019}}

|Singer Leo Sayer becomes the third person to leave Celebrity Big Brother 5 after walking out of the show.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6256373.stm |title=Leo Sayer quits Big Brother house |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=12 January 2007 |access-date=26 May 2015}}

|Coronation Street actor Antony Cotton wins the second series of ITV's Soapstar Superstar.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6260649.stm |title=Corrie star wins TV talent show |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=14 January 2007 |access-date=7 June 2014}}

|Protests are held in India and the UK against Celebrity Big Brother after Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara are alleged to be racially abusive to Bollywood star, Shilpa Shetty. The programme has also attracted several thousand complaints from viewers to Ofcom, Channel 4 and the police, and is criticised by senior politicians both in the UK and India.{{cite news|last=Wilson |first=Graeme |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1539701/Brown-flies-in-to-Big-Brother-racism-row.html |title=Brown flies in to Big Brother racism row |publisher=Telegraph Media Group |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=17 January 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6270000/newsid_6273600/6273663.stm |work=CBBC Newsround |title=Shilpa says BB bullying is racist |publisher=BBC |date=18 January 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/01/17/protests-in-india-over-big-brother-559514/ |title=Protests in India over Big Brother |publisher=Metro |date=17 January 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}

|Jade Goody is evicted from Celebrity Big Brother following the racism row. Goody and Shilpa Shetty had both faced eviction, with Goody receiving 82% of the public vote. During a post-eviction interview, from which the wider public is banned, Goody says that she is "embarrassed and disgusted" by her behaviour. She had also apologised to Shetty before leaving the Big Brother house.{{cite news|first1=Karen |last1=McVeigh |first2=Jeevan |last2=Vasagar |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jan/20/raceintheuk.bigbrother |title=Jade evicted as poll reveals public anger with Channel 4 |publisher=Guardian Media Group |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 January 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}

|BBC News 24 is re-branded with new titles and on-screen graphics.

|Jo O'Meara is evicted from Celebrity Big Brother. Viewing clips of her behaviour in the Big Brother house during a post-eviction interview, she says that it looks "very bad", but says she is not a racist.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6304429.stm |title=Big Brother star Jo denies racism |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=26 January 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}

|The final edition of Grandstand, the flagship BBC sports programme, is aired after nearly 50 years on television screens.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/6271577.stm |title=Grandstand on the BBC |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=29 January 2007 |access-date=15 June 2014}}

|Plans by Channel 4 to air a series of documentaries about masturbation in March are postponed after the event has attracted controversy and criticism from senior television figures. The programmes are to be shown separately at a later date and not as part of a season.{{cite news|date=2 February 2007|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/feb/02/broadcasting.channel4|access-date=18 April 2012| title='Wank week' postponed|last=Deans|first=Jason|newspaper= The Guardian|publisher= Guardian Media Group}}

|Paul Merton presents his last edition of Room 101.

|BBC One airs the biopic Veronica Guerin, starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin.{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/53b36c61c73845c482e701c7a6c25f6e|title=Veronica Guerin – BBC One London – 14 February 2007 – BBC Genome|website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|access-date=24 October 2018}}

|Michael Starke, who played Sinbad in Brookside, is to join the cast of Coronation Street as take-away owner Jerry Morton. He will be seen onscreen from 18 March.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6365905.stm |title=Brookside's Sinbad joins Street |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=15 February 2007 |access-date=24 June 2014}}

|BBC Two launches 14 new idents designed by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and produced by Red Bee Media, with the "2" becoming a "Windows of the World" a portal through which the world is seen differently.

|The newly launched Virgin Media launches its new on-demand channel Virgin Central.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/feb/20/itv.television|title=Virgin Media's TV-on-demand service launches without ITV|first=Katie|last=Allen|date=20 February 2007|website=The Guardian|access-date=24 October 2018}}

|UTV in Northern Ireland splits UTV Live and UTV Life into separate programmes and all bulletins outside of the main early evening programme are retitled UTV News. This continues until April 2009.

|A channel agreement between Virgin Media and BSkyB for Virgin to broadcast non-premium Sky channels ends at midnight. Virgin Media and Sky have failed to reach agreement on the issue and subsequently Sky One, Sky Two, Sky Travel, Sky Travel Extra, Sky Sports News and Sky News are removed from the Virgin line-up. The Sky Movies and Sky Sports channels (aside from Sky Sports News) are unaffected and continue to broadcast on Virgin as normal.

|The Attorney General for England and Wales, Lord Goldsmith, obtains an injunction from the High Court preventing the BBC from broadcasting an item about investigations into the alleged cash for honours political scandal.

|ITV's quiz channel ITV Play is implicated in the phone-in scandal. As a result, ITV allow independent auditor Deloitte to review programmes with phone-ins that generate revenue such as Dancing on Ice and The X Factor.

|The BBC's correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Alan Johnston, who is the only foreign reporter from a major media organisation based in Gaza, is kidnapped. All the main Palestinian militant groups call for his release.

|The BBC's Castaway returns for a second, but shorter, series.{{cite news|last=Merritt |first=Mike |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Lambs+to+the+slaughter%3B+EXCLUSIVE+CASTAWAYS+WARNED+OFF.-a0160077869 |title=Lambs to the slaughter |newspaper=Sunday Mail |publisher=Trinity Mirror |date=4 March 2007 |access-date=20 February 2014}}

|ITV Play is shut down permanently due to the phone-in scandal.

|BBC children's programme Blue Peter is now involved with the phone-in scandal, after it is discovered they used a girl who was visiting the studio to pose as a caller live on the show.

|Steven Wallis wins the 2007 series of MasterChef Goes Large.

|During Comic Relief night, the last ever episode of The Vicar of Dibley is broadcast. BBC One's Red Nose Day 2007 also includes a special episode of Mr. Bean, a celebrity edition of The Apprentice, and a Catherine Tate sketch in which Lauren Cooper meets Tony Blair while on work experience at 10 Downing Street.{{cite news|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbcone/london/2007-03-16 |title=BBC One London – 16 March 2007 |work=BBC Genome |publisher=BBC |access-date=16 July 2017}}{{cite news|first=Alex |last=Needham |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2007/mar/19/blairmeetscatherinetatewer |title=Blair meets Catherine Tate: were you bovvered? |publisher=Guardian Media Group |newspaper=The Guardian |date=19 March 2007 |access-date=16 July 2017}}

|Rugby player Kyran Bracken and skating partner Melanie Lambert win the second series of Dancing on Ice.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6463227.stm |title=Bracken skates to ice dance glory |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=17 March 2007 |access-date=15 June 2014}}

|After 10 years, Formula One on ITV goes 16:9 widescreen, with the opening race, the Australian Grand Prix, watched by 6 million viewers.

|In the Night Garden... premieres on BBC Two in the same month as the Teletubbies 10th anniversary.

|Dancing on Ice reveals they lost 11,500 phone calls, as they were not delivered to Vodafone until next Monday morning (26 March), but confirm that the affected votes would not have altered the final result.

|Four years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a special edition of BBC One's Question Time debates the war's legacy.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/4549698.stm |title=Classic Question Times |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=20 February 2008 |access-date=7 April 2014}}

|Singer Katherine Jenkins will make a cameo appearance in Emmerdale, the soap's producers confirm. Her appearance will be in May, and coincide with the resolution of the Tom King murder storyline.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6495573.stm |title=Emmerdale cameo role for Jenkins |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=26 March 2007 |access-date=19 February 2015}}

|Moira Stuart is replaced as presenter of the news bulletin during Sunday AM, leaving her without a regular news slot.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6500013.stm |title=Moira Stuart loses BBC News slot |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=27 March 2007 |access-date=20 April 2014}} The decision to remove her from the programme prompts media allegations of ageism at the BBC, something which is rejected by Director-General Mark Thompson, who in April tells the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee that Stuart was replaced because of the changing role of television news presenting, which is moving towards television journalism rather than traditional news presenting.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6587667.stm |title=BBC boss defends Stuart's removal |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=24 April 2007 |access-date=20 April 2014}} Stuart continues to present for the broadcaster, but on 3 October, it is confirmed that she will leave BBC News.{{cite news|first=Leigh |last=Holmwood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/oct/04/1 |title=Moira Stuart leaves BBC news amid allegations of ageism |publisher=Guardian Media Group |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 October 2007 |access-date=20 April 2014}}

|ITV announces that Dermot O'Leary will replace Kate Thornton as host of The X Factor after Thornton was sacked from the programme after presenting three (and one celebrity) series.{{Cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/mar/31/uknews|title= O'Leary to host X factor|work= The Guardian|first= Owen|last= Gibson|date= 31 March 2007|access-date=14 June 2009}}

|Freema Agyeman makes her debut as Doctor Who assistant Martha Jones as the science fiction drama returns for a third series. Any Dream Will Do, a search for someone to play Joseph in the Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat also debuts on BBC One.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6515635.stm |title=Doctor Who series is ratings hit |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=1 April 2007 |access-date=12 June 2014}}

|The Sky at Night celebrates 50 years with a special anniversary edition.

|Sky Movies rebrands with each channel having its own genre.

|ITV News announces the award of a new six-year contract from ITV, worth £250 million.

|Debut of ITV's Grease is the Word which will search for two actors to play Danny and Sandy in a new stage production of Grease.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6536885.stm |title=Millions watch musical wannabes |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=8 April 2007 |access-date=18 January 2015}}

|BBC One airs the concluding episode of the second and final series of Life on Mars.{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ec34b0d3e5944c0fb5c5589f5df37fdd|title=Life on Mars – BBC One London – 10 April 2007 – BBC Genome|website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|access-date=22 November 2018}}

|Have I Got News for You starts to produce a video podcast featuring unbroadcast material.

|The University of Warwick wins the 2006–07 series of University Challenge, beating the University of Manchester 170–140.

|BBC sports journalist Jacqui Oatley becomes the first female commentator to appear on Match of the Day.{{cite news|first=Paula |last=Cocozza |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/apr/19/football.media |title=Paula Cocozza on Match of the Day's first female commentator Jacqui Oatley |publisher=Guardian Media Group |newspaper=The Guardian |date=19 April 2007 |access-date=6 January 2014}}

|A BBC Panorama discloses that callers to GMTV's phone-in competitions may have been defrauded out of millions of pounds, because the telephone system operator, Opera Interactive Technology, had determined the winners before the phone lines had closed. GMTV responded by suspending the phone-in quizzes, but claims that "it was confident it had not breached regulators' codes". Opera Interactive also denies any wrongdoing.

|It is announced that the BBC celebrity singing contest Just the Two of Us will not return for a third series.

|Channel 4 airs the Cutting Edge documentary Blind Young Things, a programme about students at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. The film won a Royal Television Society award for Channel 4 and the Cutting Edge team in 2008.{{cite web|url= http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/3221775.Hereford_students__key_role_for_Blind_Young_Things/|title= Hereford students' key role for Blind Young Things|work= Hereford Times|date= 21 July 2008|access-date=30 November 2009}}

|Serbia's Marija Šerifović wins the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest with "Molitva".

|BBC One broadcasts "Scientology and Me" a Panorama investigation into Scientology by journalist John Sweeney. A clip from the programme of Sweeney losing his temper and shouting at a disruptive scientologist representative is widely released on the internet and by DVD by scientologists prior to airing.

|Launch of Freesat, a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc.

|In Emmerdale, the Tom King whodunit storyline reaches its conclusion as the identity of the killer is revealed.{{cite news|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Shock+confession+at+trial%3B+Sunday+Mail+soap+whodunnit+special...-a0163297669 |title=Shock confession at trial; Sunday Mail soap whodunnit special |publisher=Trinity Mirror |newspaper=The Sunday Mail |date=13 May 2007 |access-date=19 February 2015}} The killer is Tom's son, Carl King (Tom Lister).{{cite news|url=http://www.itv.com/emmerdale/extras/christmas-moments-who-killed-tom-king |title=Christmas moments: Who killed Tom King? |publisher=ITV |work=itv.com |date=4 December 2014 |access-date=19 February 2015}} The episode also features a cameo appearance by singer Katherine Jenkins, who plays herself attending a village pageant as its guest of honour.{{cite news|author=WalesOnline |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jenkins-cameo-pivotal-episode-emmerdale-2250960 |title=Jenkins to cameo in pivotal episode of 'Emmerdale' |publisher=Trinity Mirror |newspaper=The Western Mail |date=12 May 2007 |access-date=16 July 2017}}

|Ofcom rules that Celebrity Big Brother breached its code of conduct during the last series, and that Channel 4 made "serious editorial misjudgements" in the way it dealt with some of the incidents that sparked the racism row.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6687091.stm |title=Big Brother rapped over race row |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=24 May 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}

|ITV axes its celebrity singing contest, Soapstar Superstar after two series, believing it to be too similar in format to The X Factor.{{cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a58374/soapstar-superstar-axed-after-two-series.html#~oGvWsCOCpZXMW4 |title='Soapstar Superstar' axed after two series |publisher=Digital Spy |date=29 May 2007 |access-date=7 June 2014}}

|The BBC Trust approves plans for several BBC departments, including BBC Sport, to be moved to a new development in Salford.{{cite news|title=BBC move to Salford gets green light|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/05_may/31/salford.shtml|access-date=23 June 2012|newspaper=BBC Press Office|publisher= BBC|date=31 May 2007}}

|It is announced that Dannii Minogue will replace Louis Walsh as a judge on the forthcoming series of The X Factor,{{Cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/6718815.stm|title= Dannii to become X Factor judge|work= BBC News|date= 4 June 2007|access-date=14 June 2009}} joining Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne. Walsh had intended to leave the show, but later decides to return after being invited back.{{Cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6229690.stm|title= Louis Walsh in X Factor comeback|work=BBC News|location=London|date= 22 June 2007|access-date=14 June 2009}}

|Following the Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy earlier in the year, a contestant on the eighth series of Big Brother is removed from the show after her use of the word "nigger" during a conversation with another contestant.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6729673.stm |title=Entertainment | Emily thrown out of Big Brother |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=7 June 2007 |access-date=9 June 2013}}

|Adele Adkins, a 19-year-old singer from London makes her television debut on BBC Two's Later... with Jools Holland, performing her song "Daydreamer", becoming one of the first artists to appear on the show without having released a record because producer Alison Howe booked her after hearing a demo tape. Adele's debut album, 19, is released in January 2008.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007ng7w |work=BBC Two – |title=Later... with Jools Holland, Series 29, Episode 6 |publisher=BBC |date=8 June 2007 |access-date=25 April 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/16df1c4bfc424ca4a93dbd6cbe0e9bed |title=Later with Jools Holland – BBC Two England – 8 June 2007 |work=BBC Genome |publisher=BBC |access-date=26 October 2016}}{{cite news|first=Caroline |last=Sullivan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/nov/23/popandrock1 |title=Caroline Sullivan meets Adele |publisher=Guardian Media Group |newspaper=The Guardian |date=23 November 2007 |access-date=25 April 2014}}

|Lee Mead wins BBC One's Any Dream Will Do and will take the lead role of Joseph in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre from 17 July. ITV's Grease is the Word is won by Danny Bayne and Susan McFadden, who will play Danny and Sandy in a forthcoming production of Grease beginning at the Piccadilly Theatre on 8 August.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6735303.stm |title=Lee becomes Joseph in TV victory |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=9 June 2007 |access-date=12 June 2014}}

|The Mirror reports that Emmerdale actress Adele Silva is to quit her role as Kelly Windsor.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jun/11/pressandpublishing |title=Weekend Media Briefing |publisher=Guardian Media Group |newspaper=The Guardian |date=11 June 2007 |access-date=25 September 2018}}

|Simon Ambrose wins the third series of The Apprentice.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6749303.stm |title=Simon named The Apprentice winner |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=14 June 2007 |access-date=5 May 2014}}

|A contestant on Britain's Got Talent is withdrawn from the contest after police contact the series to alert producers that he is on the Sex Offenders Register.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6759717.stm |title=Police alert over TV contestant |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=16 June 2007 |access-date=15 June 2014}}

|Opera singer Paul Potts wins the first series of Britain's Got Talent.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6762345.stm |title=Opera singer is TV talent winner |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=18 June 2007 |access-date=15 June 2014}}

|Nick Ross announces he is leaving Crimewatch, with July's edition of the show being the final one he will present.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6767463.stm |title=Crimewatch host Ross leaves job |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=19 June 2007 |access-date=20 April 2014}} The announcement renews media speculation that the BBC has an ageist policy towards its presenters.

| Live coverage of Wimbledon 2007 is aired by the BBC with the last Wimbledon season to be shot in 4:3 fullscreen and the second season to be shot in 16:9 widescreen.

|BBC One airs the Concert for Diana on what would have been the 46th birthday of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/eef194d1295341b392560a833d5a924e |title=Concert for Diana – BBC One London – 1 July 2007 – BBC Genome |publisher=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |access-date=2018-01-13}}

|Nick Ross presents his final episode of Crimewatch after 23 years at the helm. He had been on the programme since it began in 1984.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/06_june/19/ross.shtml |work=BBC Press Office |title=Nick Ross to leave Crimewatch |publisher=BBC |date=19 June 2007 |access-date=21 June 2014}}

|BBC Two debuts The Alastair Campbell Diaries, a series in which Campbell reads extracts from his memoirs over footage of key moments in the recently ended Blair government.{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9639dcb8fe1f465e8cad9616cc06e992|title=The Alastair Campbell Diaries – BBC Two England – 11 July 2007 – BBC Genome|website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|access-date=23 November 2018}} The three part series is aired over three nights, concluding on 13 July.{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/eeb58c215c26498bad9832d36eee75f5|title=The Alastair Campbell Diaries – BBC Two England – 12 July 2007 – BBC Genome|website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|access-date=23 November 2018}}

|The 28th series of Last of the Summer Wine begins on BBC One.

|Six BBC programmes, Children in Need, Comic Relief, Sport Relief, TMi and two radio programmes (The Liz Kershaw Show and White Label) have been discovered to have been involved in the phone in scandals.

|All music channels have permanently suspended their viewer selection aspects due to the ongoing premium rate phone-in scandals.

|The acclaimed US science fiction series Heroes makes its debut on BBC Two.{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/29f375599928445b81a3f24438c16ae8 |title=Heroes – BBC Two – 25 July 2007 |publisher=BBC |work=BBC Genome |access-date=10 March 2019}}

|The 2005 British Comedy Awards broadcast on ITV now become involved with the phone-in scandal, when it is discovered that people phoning in to vote for the People's Choice Award called when the programme was not being broadcast live, and the last half-hour of the show had been recorded when ITV showed a news broadcast.

|2007 sees the BBC celebrating their 75-year service in television (85 years for radio). The first BBC Television Service began on 2 August 1932.

|Former Peak Practice actor Gray O'Brien joins the cast of Coronation Street as catalogue salesman Tony Gordon.{{cite news|last=Roberts |first=Brian |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/corries-new-heartthrob-497147 |title=Corrie's new heartthrob |publisher=Trinity Mirror |newspaper=The Mirror |date=9 August 2007 |access-date=23 June 2014}}

|The success of Australian soaps such as Neighbours on British television has led to the wide use of phrases such as "no worries" in British English since the late 1980s, a report on Australia's Nine News suggests.{{cite news|first=Danielle |last=Cahill |date=9 August 2007|title=No worries infiltrates British English|work=National Nine News|publisher=news.ninemsn.com.au}}

|ITV1 airs the British terrestrial television premiere of the 2004 sci-fi action adventure film Thunderbirds. At the same time, the Motorola Razr V3X ITV Movies sponsorship idents return for one night only.

|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? returns to ITV1 for a new series and a revised format in which the number of questions to answer to win the £1 million prize is reduced from 15 to 12.

|The last episode of the BBC children's television series Smile is broadcast presented by Barney Harwood and Kirsten O'Brien, from 7:30 until 10:00 on BBC Two.

|Brian Belo wins series eight of Big Brother.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6971261.stm |title=Brian scoops Big Brother victory |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=31 August 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014}}

|CBBC identity relaunched, with its third marketing campaign since the launch of the CBBC channel. Escape from Scorpion Island premieres.

|BBC One airs the 2004 romantic comedy Raising Helen, starring Kate Hudson.{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/e9cb0d3bc06a4708b4b21586d2d2cd48|title=Raising Helen – BBC One London – 4 September 2007 – BBC Genome|website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|access-date=23 November 2018}}

|The BBC scraps plans for Planet Relief, a programme like Comic Relief and Sport Relief for fear of bias against critics of climate change and that people would prefer more factual programmes on the subject.

|ITV provides coverage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, hosted by France.

|In an advertising first, eBay begin showing live auction adverts between programmes, showing an auction with picture, current bid, time auction ends, and postage and packaging charges

|ITV and Trevor McDonald are cleared of racism by Ofcom over remarks made on McDonald's News Knight show. The remarks concerned comedian Bernard Manning, who had died a few months previously, with McDonald referring to Manning as a 'fat, white bastard'.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6987536.stm |title=TV's Sir Trevor cleared of racism |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=10 September 2007 |access-date=23 June 2014}}

|The BBC signs a two-year deal to provide coverage of the Super Bowl, the first time the event will be aired by the BBC. Super Bowl XLII will air in 2008, and Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/09_september/13/superbowl.shtml |title=BBC Sport to broadcast Super Bowl for first time |publisher=BBC |work=BBC Press Office |date=13 September 2007 |access-date=3 February 2019}}

|Children's show Mister Maker is first aired on CBeebies.

|It is announced that E.ON is to end its sponsorship of ITV Weather after 16 years.{{Cite news|url=http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/738465/EON-abandons-18-year-ITV-weather-sponsorship?DCMP=ILC-BETASEARCH |title=E.ON abandons 18-year ITV weather sponsorship |publisher=Marketing |first=Nicola |last=Clark |date=18 September 2007 |access-date=16 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006025122/http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/738465/EON-abandons-18-year-ITV-weather-sponsorship?DCMP=ILC-BETASEARCH |archive-date=6 October 2011 |url-status=live}} The sponsorship deal was the longest on UK terrestrial TV to date, beginning on 22 September 1991 (when sponsorship of ITV programmes was first allowed). Until June 2007, ITV Weather was sponsored by the energy supplier Powergen, and since then by Powergen's parent company E.ON.

|ITV postpone broadcasting the 2007 British Comedy Awards due to the phone-in scandals.

|ABC1 ceases broadcasting.

|Trapped! appears as CBBC's first ever Halloween-themed game show since CITV's Terror Towers.

|Date on which the BBC finally airs an unedited version of the 1990 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The High Ground", which caused controversy at the time when one of the characters made reference to an Irish reunification occurring in 2024.{{Cite web |first=Michael Sheils |last=McNamee |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68342135 |title=The 'banned' Star Trek episode that promised a united Ireland |date=3 March 2024 |accessdate=3 March 2024 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}

|Virgin1 launches at 9 pm, replacing Ftn.

|It is announced that ITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms are to switch from the traditional 4:3 format to 16:9 widescreen on 2 December.

|BBC newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky is to leave the broadcaster to present Five News, it is reported. She will take up the new presenting role in the New Year.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7029902.stm |title=Kaplinsky to leave BBC for Five |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=5 October 2007 |access-date=2 April 2014}}

|Five has bought the rights to 8 Simple Rules starting on 21 October.

|Sky One apologises to viewers after a "technical fault" during a public vote on the 7 October edition of its show, Cirque de Celebrite, meant some of the votes were not registered.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7035689.stm |title=Sky apologises for circus mix-up |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=9 October 2007 |access-date=21 June 2014}}

|UKTV Bright Ideas ceases broadcasting to be replaced on Freeview by Dave.

|UKTV G2 is rebranded as Dave and becomes a free-to-air channel replacing newly defunct UKTV Bright Ideas.{{cite news|last=Oatts |first=Joanne |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/news/a76007/uktv-g2-becomes-dave-joins-freeview.html#~oLfp1MzDCKK3sx |title=UKTV G2 becomes Dave, joins Freeview |publisher=Digital Spy |date=20 September 2007 |access-date=27 July 2014}} The name for the channel, aimed at a young male audience, was chosen by UKTV because "everyone knows a bloke called Dave".{{cite news|first=Leigh |last=Holmwood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/20/television |title=UKTV to launch channel called 'Dave' |publisher=Guardian Media Group |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 September 2007 |access-date=27 July 2014}}

|The town of Whitehaven in Cumbria becomes the first place in the UK to lose their analogue television signals and start the digital switchover, starting with BBC Two. The other four channels were switched off on 14 November.

|The BBC Switch teenage block of shows is launched to cater for the underserved 12- to 16-year-olds.

|Sky News issues an apology after an aside from presenter Julie Etchingham was accidentally broadcast during live coverage of a speech by Conservative Party leader David Cameron when Etchingham's microphone was accidentally left switched on.{{cite news | title= Sky apologies over Tory 'extermination' quip | publisher= Telegraph Media Group | newspaper= The Daily Telegraph | date= 30 October 2007 | url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/29/nsky129.xml | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071101033700/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F10%2F29%2Fnsky129.xml | url-status= dead | archive-date= 1 November 2007 | access-date= 23 March 2012 | location= London | first1= Emma | last1= Henry }}

|ITV confirms that Julie Etchingham will join the broadcaster to present a relaunched News at Ten alongside Sir Trevor McDonald from January 2008.{{cite news|title=News at Ten returns to ITV |publisher=itv.com |date=31 October 2007 |url=http://www.itv.com/news/articles/news-at-ten-returns-to-itv.html |access-date=23 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105114800/http://www.itv.com/news/articles/news-at-ten-returns-to-itv.html |archive-date=5 January 2008 }}{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/oct/31/itv.tvnews?gusrc=rss&feed=media|title= ITV confirms News at Ten return|publisher= Guardian Media Group|newspaper= The Guardian|first= Chris|last= Tryhorn|date= 31 October 2007|access-date=23 March 2012 | location=London}}

|Emily Nakanda withdraws from The X Factor due to a "happy slapping" video she had been involved in at her university.

|Insurance firm esure is revealed as E.ON's successor as the sponsor of ITV's national weather bulletins. The two-year deal, rumoured to be worth £10 million, was negotiated by Carat Sponsorship and will take effect from 1 January 2008, with esure and Sheilas' Wheels as the sponsors, alternating between the two brands every two months.{{Cite news|title=esure becomes new ITV Weather sponsor |publisher=Digital Spy |date=21 November 2007 |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a80312/esure-becomes-new-itv-weather-sponsor.html |access-date=16 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805055342/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a80312/esure-becomes-new-itv-weather-sponsor.html |archive-date=5 August 2009 |url-status=live}}

|The BBC announces that Billie Piper will reprise her role as Rose Tyler in the fourth series of Doctor Who after leaving at the end of the second series.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7114699.stm |title=Entertainment | Billie Piper to return to Dr Who |work=BBC News |date=2007-11-27 |access-date=2014-08-20}}{{cite web|url=http://uk.ign.com/articles/2007/11/28/billie-piper-returns-to-doctor-who |title=Billie Piper Returns to Doctor Who – IGN |publisher=Uk.ign.com |date=2007-11-27 |access-date=2014-08-20}}{{cite web |url=http://www.aoltv.com/2007/11/27/billie-piper-to-return-to-doctor-who/ |title=Billie Piper to return to Doctor Who |publisher=Aoltv.com |access-date=2014-08-20 |archive-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090627/http://www.aoltv.com/2007/11/27/billie-piper-to-return-to-doctor-who/ |url-status=dead }}

|Kelly Brook is forced to withdraw from Strictly Come Dancing following the death of her father, Kenneth.

|Christopher Biggins wins the seventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7120417.stm |title=Actor Biggins crowned jungle king |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=30 November 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}

|ITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms cease being broadcast in 4:3 aspect.

Freeview Channel in the UK also sees ITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms cease being cropped to 14:9 format.

|ITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms began using 16:9 widescreen.

|Jay Hunt is confirmed as the next Controller of BBC One, replacing Peter Fincham. She will take up the role in early 2008.{{cite news|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/bbc-names-new-bbc-one-controller/ |title=BBC names new BBC One controller |work=Press Gazette|date=3 December 2007 |access-date=11 November 2018}}{{cite news|first=Leigh |last=Holmwood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/dec/03/bbc.channelfive |title=Jay Hunt appointed BBC1 controller |publisher=Guardian Media Group |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 December 2007 |access-date=11 November 2018}}

|Boxer Joe Calzaghe is named as this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/7135700.stm |title=Calzaghe wins Sports Personality |publisher=BBC |work=BBC Sport |date=9 December 2007 |access-date=6 November 2015}}

|Leon Jackson wins the fourth series of The X Factor.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7146469.stm |title=Leon Jackson takes X Factor crown |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=16 December 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}

|Singer Alesha Dixon and her dancing partner Matthew Cutler win the fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7157971.stm |title=Dixon wins Strictly Come Dancing |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=23 December 2007 |access-date=23 April 2014}}

|BBC One gets its highest rated Christmas Day schedule in years, with "Voyage of the Damned", the Christmas special of Doctor Who, getting the shows' biggest audience since 1979 (13.31 million) and a special episode of EastEnders getting 14.38 million, that shows' biggest rating in three years and the highest rated show of 2007. Another success is a one-off special of To the Manor Born, returning after 26 years, with an audience of 10.25 million.

|"Assault on Sun Hill", a two-part The Bill story, features an armed siege at the fictional police station that leaves several characters traumatised.

|Babe is aired on BBC One for the last time.

|The Sarah Jane Adventures

|M.I. High

|Lilies

|Five Days

|Recovery

|Shaun the Sheep

|Celebrity Apprentice

|A Class Apart

|Play It Again

|Any Dream Will Do

|Inspector George Gently

|Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul

|Life Line

|HolbyBlue

|Ronni Ancona & Co

|Jekyll

|Finley the Fire Engine

|Empathy

|How to Live Longer

|Outnumbered

|Coming Down the Mountain

|Bear Behaving Badly

|Michael Palin's New Europe

|Trapped!

|Real Rescues

|The Armstrong & Miller Show

|The Omid Djalili Show

|Joe's Palace

|A Real Summer

|Capturing Mary

|Cranford

|Animalia

|Oliver Twist

|Ballet Shoes

|The Shadow in the North

|This Life + 10

|Bill Oddie Back in the USA

|The Verdict

|Fear, Stress & Anger

|In the Night Garden...

|The Underdog Show

|Roman's Empire

|Get 100

|Maxwell

|Heroes

|India with Sanjeev Bhaskar

|The Restaurant

|Stuart: A Life Backwards

|The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle

|The Tudors

|Rush Hour

|Coming of Age

|Gavin & Stacey

|How Not To Live Your Life

|Doctors to Be: 20 Years On

|Fanny Hill

|The History of the World Backwards

|Benidorm

|Primeval

|The Bad Mother's Handbook

|Instinct

|Fallen Angel

|The Yellow House

|City Lights

|Kingdom

|Talk to Me

|24 Hours with...

|Golden Balls

|Britain's Got Talent

|News Knight with Sir Trevor McDonald

|The Man Who Lost His Head

|The Alan Titchmarsh Show

|Torn

|Secret Diary of a Call Girl

|Emu

|Frankenstein

|Half Broken Things

|A Room with a View

|My Boy Jack

|Embarrassing Bodies

|Ugly Betty

|Consent

|Skins

|Trick or Treat

|Big Brother 8

|Win My Wage

|Britz

|Other People

|Ladies and Gentlemen

|Plus One

|Free Agents

|The Kevin Bishop Show

|Boy A

|Kitchen

|The Beeps

|The Milkshake! Show

|Roary the Racing Car

|Big School

|The Replacements

|Disney Channel

|Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue!

|Boomerang

|Skunk Fu!

|CBBC

|Lola & Virginia

|Pop Girl

|Storm Hawks

|Cartoon Network

|Discovery Turbo

|Cartoonito

|Film 24

|Pop Girl

|Ftn +1

|Channel 4 +1

|Virgin1

|Sky Real Lives

|Geo News UK

|Channel 4 HD

|Discovery Kids

|Discovery Wings

|ITV Play

|iBuy

|Toonami

|Bonanza

|ABC1

|Ftn

|Radio Music Shop

|UKTV Bright Ideas

|Sky Travel

|ITV Play

|ITV Bingo

|UKTV G2

|Dave

|Dave +1

| TWC Fight

| Bravo 2 {{ref|1}}

|rowspan=3| BBC Two

|rowspan=2| BBC One

| BBC Three

|rowspan="2"| Five

| Sky One

| Challenge

| ABC1

| Five

| CITV

| Cartoonito

|6 September 2001

|ITV

|12 February 2007

|N/A (Same channel as original)

|16 February 2001

|CBBC (BBC Two)

|31 March 2007

|CBeebies

|13 June 2003

|Channel 4

|May 2007

|rowspan=3|N/A (Same channel as original)

|13 May 1978

|ITV

|26 September 2007

|29 November 1981

|BBC One

|25 December 2007

|Green Wing

|Channel 4

|2004

|ITV

|1983

|rowspan="3"|BBC

|1969

|2001

|Just the Two of Us

|2006

|The Price Is Right

|rowspan="3"|ITV

|1984

|Soapstar Superstar

|2006

|Airline

|1998

| Grandstand

|rowspan="3"|BBC

|1958

| Bill Oddie Back in the USA

|2007

|The Verdict

|2007

| PokerFace

|ITV

|2006

| BrainTeaser

|Channel 5

|2002

| Fallen Angel

|ITV

|2007

|The Vicar of Dibley

|rowspan="4"|BBC

|1994

|Life on Mars

|2006

|Sea of Souls

|2004

|Rush Hour

|2007

|The Last Detective

|rowspan="2"|ITV

|2003

|Art Attack

|1990

|Popworld

|Channel 4

|2001

|PointlessBlog

|BBC Two

|2003

|The Time of Your Life

|ITV

|rowspan="3"|2007

|Jekyll

|BBC

|Win My Wage

|Channel 4

|The Chase

|BBC

|2006

|Dale's Supermarket Sweep

|ITV

|1993 & 2007

|School's Out

|BBC

|2006

|Born to Be Different

|Channel 4

|2003 & 2006

|Torn

|ITV

|rowspan="2"|2007

|Michael Palin's New Europe

|BBC

|The Bionic Woman

|ITV

|1976 & 2007

|Cranford

|rowspan="2"|BBC

|rowspan="2"|2007

|Oliver Twist

|ITV

|1971

! Rank

|EastEnders

|14.34 million

|Doctor Who

|13.31 million

|Rugby World Cup 2007

|13.10 million

|Coronation Street

|13.08 million

|The Vicar of Dibley

|13.08 million

|X Factor results

|12.23 million

|Concert for Diana

|12.22 million

|Strictly Come Dancing

|12.09 million

|The X Factor

|11.78

|Britain's Got Talent

|11.58 million

|Magnus Magnusson

|77

|television presenter (Mastermind)

|Barbara Kelly

|83

|actress and panelist (What's My Line?)

|Anna Cropper

|68

|actress (The Jewel in the Crown, Midsomer Murders)

|Griffith Jones

|97

|actor

|Dick Allen

|62

|television film editor (Hotel du Lac, Portrait of a Marriage)

|Ian Richardson

|72

|Scottish actor (House of Cards)

|Derek Waring

|79

|actor (Z-Cars)

|Keith Kyle

|81

|television presenter (Tonight)

|John Inman

|71

|actor (Are You Being Served?)

|Gareth Hunt

|65

|actor (Upstairs, Downstairs, The New Avengers)

|Dave Martin

|72

|television scriptwriter (Doctor Who, Z-Cars)

|George Sewell

|82

|actor (Softly, Softly, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Manhunt, The Sweeney)

|Terry Hall

|80

|ventriloquist on television

|Al Hunter Ashton

|49

|actor and scriptwriter

|Aubrey Singer

|80

|television executive

|Bernard Manning

|76

|comedian

|Tommy Eytle

|80

|actor (Jules Tavernier in EastEnders)

|Hugh Johns

|83

|football commentator

|Penny Thomson

|56

|television producer

|88

|voice actor (Blake's 7)

|Frank Maher

|78

|television stuntman

|Ivor Emmanuel

|79

|actor

|John Normington

|70

|actor (Softly, Softly, Crown Court; Upstairs, Downstairs, My Family and Other Animals)

|Phil Drabble

|93

|television presenter, author and countryman (One Man and His Dog)

|67

|comedian and actor (EastEnders, Runaround) aka Frank Butcher

|Peter Graham Scott

|83

|television producer and director

|Clive Exton

|77

|scriptwriter (Poirot, Jeeves and Wooster, Rosemary & Thyme)

|Michael Jackson

|65

|writer and television presenter (The Beer Hunter)

|Ronald Magill

|87

|actor (Emmerdale)

|Ronnie Hazlehurst

|79

|theme tune composer (Only Fools and Horses, Yes Minister, Are You Being Served?, The Two Ronnies)

|76

|television producer (That Was The Week That Was, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life)

|Rodney Diak

|86

|actor

|Noel Coleman

|87

|actor (Doctor Who, Emergency – Ward 10, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers)

|Deborah Kerr

|86

|actress (A Woman of Substance)

|Peter Moffatt

|85

|television director (All Creatures Great and Small, Doctor Who)

|Moira Lister

|84

|South African-born actress (Danger Man, The Avengers)

|Hilda Braid

|78

|actress (Citizen Smith, Nana Moon in EastEnders)

|Trish Williamson

|52

|TV weather presenter, journalist, producer and director{{cite news|url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2885413.ece|title= Trish Williamson: Television weather girl who became a noted producer and director|publisher= News International|work= The Times|location= London|date= 17 November 2007|access-date=7 May 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110524062413/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2885413.ece| archive-date= 24 May 2011 | url-status= dead}}

|Dick Wilson

|91

|actor

|Verity Lambert

|71

|TV producer (Doctor Who)

|Tony Holland

|67

|television writer (EastEnders)

|Anton Rodgers

|74

|actor (Fresh Fields, French Fields, May to December)

|Christine Finn

|77

|actress (Quatermass and the Pit)

|72

|television producer

|Donald Burton

|83

|actor (Upstairs, Downstairs, Public Eye, Minder)

|Pat Kirkwood

|86

|actress