The following is a list of British television related events from the year 2006.
Quick Facts List of years in British television (table) ...
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January
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February
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Date |
Event |
8 February |
Channel 4 confirms that its pay-per-view movie channel FilmFour will go Free-to-air from July, when it will launch on Freeview.[10] |
10 February |
The events of the 2006 Winter Olympics start broadcasting worldwide. |
14 February |
Coronation Street bosses defend their decision to film a storyline involving a car breaking down on Saddleworth Moor, scene of the 1960s Moors murders, saying the plot has nothing to do with the events that occurred there.[11] |
15 February |
BBC One debuts Davina, a chat show presented by Davina McCall. Guests on the first edition include Charlotte Church, Tess Daly and Vernon Kay.[12] The show proves to be a disaster, with The Guardian's Gareth Maclean noting that McCall "found herself floundering and foundering, struggling through [interviews], and exposing herself in a way from which even the hardiest flasher would recoil", while Jonathan Ross blames a poor guest line up. The 8 March edition gives BBC One its worst ever peak time ratings of 2.75 million.[13][14] By the time the show ends on 12 April ratings have fallen to below 2.5 million. It is axed shortly afterwards.[15][16] |
19 February |
Channel 4 airs the penultimate and final episode of Gene Simmons' Rock School where the band Hoax UK (formerly No Comment) opened for Judas Priest at Long Beach Arena. Members included the late Lil' Chris, Ellie Chapman, Samanie Warren-Close, Sammi Reeve, Lindsey Rose, Jess Reid and others. |
23 February |
Just the Two of Us debuts on BBC One.[17] |
26 February |
The events of the 2006 Winter Olympics end broadcasting worldwide. |
28 February |
L!VE TV is moved to the adult section of Sky's EPG, and is rebranded as "Babeworld" two days later. This is because the channel has moved to broadcasting an increasingly adult themed content. |
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March
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April
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Event |
3 April |
Graham Norton will present How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, a TV talent search for an actress to play Maria in a stage production of The Sound of Music, it is announced.[26] |
7 April |
12.6 million viewers watch long-running Coronation Street character Mike Baldwin die in the arms of his long-time rival, Ken Barlow. Baldwin, played by Johnny Briggs, had been in the show for 30 years.[27] |
13 April |
BBC daytime soap opera Doctors air the first same-sex marriage on British television when characters Greg Robinson (Ben Jones) and Rico Da Silva (Felix D'Alviella) get married.[28][29] |
17 April |
Peter Bayless wins the 2006 series of MasterChef Goes Large. |
19 April |
ITV launch ITV Play, a new 24/7 participation TV channel, on Freeview in the United Kingdom. It will launch on other platforms later in the year. |
21 April |
The Queen celebrates her 80th birthday at Windsor. The Prince of Wales (the future Charles III) makes a televised address in tribute. |
Denis Norden announces his retirement from his two ongoing ITV shows It'll Be Alright on the Night and spin-off show Denis Norden's Laughter File, after 30 years with ITV. |
ITV secures the terrestrial television screening rights to Casino Royale, the new James Bond film that will be released in November.[30] The film receives its terrestrial television premiere on 19 September 2009.[31] |
24 April |
Cartoon Network Too and Nick Jr. 2 are launched in the UK. |
25 April |
The BBC announces that Grandstand, its flagship sports TV programme, will be phased out within the next year after nearly 50 years on air.[32] |
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May
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Event |
5 May |
The BBC's local election coverage goes off air shortly before 3:00 am, due to a power failure at their Millbank studios. For the next hour coverage relocates to The Counting House pub, with results being read out using handwritten pieces of paper. |
6 May |
ITV1 broadcasts the network premiere of Peter Pan. |
8 May |
Guy Goma, a graduate from the Congo who went to the BBC to attend a job interview, appears on BBC News 24 in place of an IT expert after a mix-up. Guy Kewney had been scheduled to comment on the subject of Apple Computer's court case with The Beatles' record label, Apple Corps, but a producer collected the wrong man from the wrong reception at BBC Television Centre.[33] |
10 May |
Former supermarket cashier Michelle Dewberry wins the second series of The Apprentice and a £100,000 a year job working for Sir Alan Sugar.[34] |
14 May |
Producers of Coronation Street confirm that Debra Stephenson, who plays Frankie Baldwin, will be leaving the soap at the end of the year.[35] |
15 May |
BBC High Definition Television Trial commences. |
The University of Manchester wins the 2005–06 series of University Challenge, beating Trinity Hall, Cambridge 160–150. |
18 May |
Channel 4 airs the first ever Big Brother episode to be shot in 16:9 widescreen. |
20 May |
Just minutes before the live Eurovision Song Contest final begins, BBC One's live National Lottery draw is invaded by Fathers 4 Justice protestors. The show is temporarily taken off air, leaving just a programme logo and announcer Alan Dedicoat's voice until the problems are resolved.[36] |
Finland's Lordi win the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest (staged in Athens) with "Hard Rock Hallelujah". |
ITV airs The Princes' Trust 30th Birthday Concert Live which is a 4-hour fundraiser telethon that includes an outdoor concert, royal interviews and studio-based sketches. |
22 May |
BSkyB launch High-definition television in the UK under the brand Sky HD. |
26 May |
UTV changes its registered company name from 'Ulster Television plc' to 'UTV plc', the company's belief being that the existing name no longer reflected the full scope of the company's business.[37] |
27 May |
The BBC's first scheduled HDTV broadcast on BBC HD. |
The first ever Soccer Aid football match takes place at Old Trafford and is broadcast live on ITV1. England defeat the Rest of the World 2–1 and £2 million is raised for UNICEF, the event's charity partner. |
28 May |
It is announced that the traditional live Saturday morning kids' programmes are to be axed after 38 years on either channels, ending on July 1. This is because children have more choice to digital multichannels and ITV will rival Saturday Kitchen with Saturday Cooks!. |
30 May |
Scottish and Grampian are rebranded as STV Central and STV North respectively. |
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June
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July
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August
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September
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October
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Date |
Event |
5 October |
QI publishes its first book: The Book of General Ignorance. The book becomes a No. 1 best-seller for amazon.co.uk. |
6 October |
The BBC defends presenter Graham Norton after he admits to having taken recreational drugs, including ecstasy in an interview for Marie Claire magazine. Of Norton's revelation the broadcaster says: "The issues that Graham discusses in this interview are aimed at an adult audience and reflect the frank and open nature of his personality".[58] |
7 October |
After four and a half years, the BBC 'Rhythm & Movement' idents are shown for the final time on BBC One at 1:10 am, as part of a special montage (2:55 am on BBC One Northern Ireland). Their replacements, the 'Circle' idents, debut at 10 am. |
12 October |
ITV announce that Where the Heart Is will not be commissioned for a new series.[59] |
15 October |
Five Life is launched.[60] |
16 October |
Five US is launched.[60] |
Numberjacks, the 3D children's educational show, debuts on CBeebies. |
20 October |
Entertainer Jimmy Tarbuck is forced to withdraw from Strictly Come Dancing because of his health problems. |
26 October |
ITV confirms the axing of its prison drama, Bad Girls after eight series.[61] |
29 October |
After a six-year absence from television, The Royle Family returns for what is billed as its final episode, an hour-long show titled "The Queen of Sheba".[62] |
30 October |
In the Grid, a 70-part primetime game show, premieres on Five. |
Long running animated series for children Horrid Henry begins on CITV. |
31 October |
Pop star Madonna appears on Newsnight, where she gives her first British television interview about her controversial adoption of an African baby.[63] |
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November
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Date |
Event |
8 November |
Virgin Media comes into being when NTL Telewest does a deal to license the Virgin name.[64] |
10 November |
Lorraine Chase makes her final appearance in Emmerdale as Steph Stokes. |
13 November |
BBC Parliament broadcasts in full screen format for the first time on the Freeview service, having previously only been available in quarter screen format.[65] The BBC has eventually found the bandwidth to make the channel full-screen after receiving "thousands of angry and perplexed e-mails and letters",[66] not to mention questions asked by MPs in the Houses of Parliament itself. |
ITV launches some new idents themed around "alive with colour", replacing the previous "Emotions" set which have been in use since January. |
14 November |
Cadbury announces its intention to end its £10m a year sponsorship deal with Coronation Street after a decade. The current sponsorship contract is due to expire at the end of 2007, but Cadbury says it would end the deal earlier if another sponsor is found.[67] |
17 November |
Episode eight of Series D of QI is a Children in Need special with Alan Davies, Rich Hall, Jonathan Ross and Phill Jupitus, who discuss the topic of Descendants with presenter Stephen Fry.[68] |
24 November |
ITV Summer tropical reality series Love Island is axed after two series, due to poor ratings. The programme would see a successful return in 2015 on ITV2. |
27 November |
The BBC confirms that the long-running Holiday Programme is being axed after 37 years on air.[69] |
28 November |
ITV confirms that BBC chairman Michael Grade is to become its chief executive in early 2007.[70] |
Launch of 4 on demand, a service which allows some internet, Virgin Media Television, Tiscali TV and BT Vision users to view programming recently shown on Channel 4, E4 or More4, or from their archives. |
29 November |
After seven and a half years on air, Jungle Run airs its last episode. |
Channel 4 axes its music reality series Rock School due to Gene Simmons' other commitments, after two series. |
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December
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Date |
Event |
1 December |
Matt Willis, a former member of boy band Busted wins the sixth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[71] |
3 December |
The last edition of Central News South is aired. From tomorrow the Central South region will cease to exist. The east of the region including Oxford becomes part of ITV Thames Valley, the west half of the region, covering Cheltenham and Gloucester is absorbed into the ITV West region, while Herefordshire rejoins the Central West region. |
4 December |
The ITV Thames Valley region, a composite of the old Meridian West and eastern part of the Central South regions, goes on air with a new regional news programme Thames Valley Tonight. |
10 December |
Equestrian Zara Phillips is named as this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year, following her mother, Anne, Princess Royal, who won the title in 1971.[72] |
13 December |
The Berwick-upon-Tweed transmitter transfers from Border to Tyne Tees as part of the preparations for the digital switchover of the Border region in 2008.[73] |
16 December |
At 5.30am BBC Two airs the final Open University course-related television broadcast. With Open University course content now available through media such as podcasts and DVDs it is no longer necessary for the programmes to be aired on television and radio. However, the Open University continues to make programming for a broader audience, with series including Coast, Child of Our Time and Battle of the Geeks.[74][75] |
Leona Lewis wins the third civilian series of The X Factor, becoming the ITV show's first female winner. It is also the last edition to be presented by Kate Thornton who is replaced by Dermot O'Leary the following year.[76] |
19 December |
Following the success of How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, BBC One announces plans for Any Dream Will Do, a follow-up series that will search for someone to play Joseph in the West End musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.[77] |
22 December |
Desmond Lynam presents his last Channel 4's Countdown after over a year of presenting. |
23 December |
BBC One airs the network premiere of the 2003 DreamWorks animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. |
Cricketer Mark Ramprakash and his dancing partner Karen Hardy win the fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing.[78] |
Stars in Their Eyes ends, with the last special celebrity episode presented by Cat Deeley, due to the fact that she has moved to the US by this point. The show is revived in 2015, fronted by Harry Hill. |
24 December |
Christmas Eve highlights on BBC One include Calendar Girls, a film starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters along with an ensemble cast.[79] |
25 December |
Actress Wendy Richard makes her final appearance in EastEnders after her character, Pauline Fowler, is killed off in a dramatic storyline. She has been in the show since its inception in 1985. Richard dies in February 2009 at the age of 65.[80] |
Launch of Emmerdale's whodunit storyline involving the murder of Tom King (played by Ken Farrington). Tom is hit over the head and falls through a window to his death on his wedding day.[81][82] |
26 December |
Casper is aired on BBC One for the last time. Boxing Day highlights on BBC One include the films Freaky Friday and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. ITV airs a one-off dramatisation of After Thomas, with Keeley Hawes, Ben Miles, Sheila Hancock, Asa Butterfield and Andrew Byrne. It is produced by Beryl Vertue and Elaine Cameron, directed by Simon Shore, and written by Lindsey Hill. The film centres on the severely autistic child Kyle Graham and the progress he makes when his parents adopt a golden retriever named Thomas. It is based on the true story of Scottish child Dale Gardner and his dog Henry. |
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BBC One
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BBC Two
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BBC Three
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BBC Four
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ITV (1/2/3/4/CITV)
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Channel 4
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Five
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Disney Channel UK
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Cartoon Network UK
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Cartoon Network Too
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Playhouse Disney UK
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New channels
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Defunct channels
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Rebranded channels
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Returning this year after a break of one year or longer
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1920s
- BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–present)
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Date |
Name |
Age |
Broadcast credibility |
2 January |
John Woodnutt |
81 |
actor (Jeeves and Wooster, Doctor Who) |
28 January |
Henry McGee |
76 |
actor (The Benny Hill Show) |
5 February |
Peter Philp |
85 |
television presenter (Collectors' Club) |
16 February |
Dennis Kirkland |
63 |
television director and producer (The Benny Hill Show) |
20 February |
Lou Gish |
38 |
actress (Casualty, EastEnders, New Tricks) |
27 February |
Linda Smith |
48 |
comedian |
1 March |
Jack Wild |
53 |
actor (H. R. Pufnstuf, The Newcomers, George and the Dragon) |
7 March |
John Junkin |
76 |
comic actor and screenwriter (The Sweeney, Only When I Laugh, Inspector Morse) |
16 March |
Moira Redmond |
77 |
actress (Domitia in I, Claudius) |
18 March |
Michael Attwell |
63 |
actor (Kenny Beale in EastEnders) |
24 March |
Lynne Perrie |
74 |
actress (Ivy Tilsley in Coronation Street) |
12 April |
Richard Bebb |
79 |
actor (Compact, Poirot) |
13 April |
John Read |
85 |
television producer |
17 April |
Peter Cadbury |
88 |
television executive |
23 April |
Jennifer Jayne |
74 |
actress (The Adventures of William Tell) |
19 May |
Peter Bryant |
82 |
actor (The Grove Family) and television producer |
2 June |
Ronald Cass |
83 |
television scriptwriter |
4 June |
Alec Bregonzi |
76 |
actor (Hancock's Half Hour, The Two Ronnies, Filthy Rich and Catflap) |
25 June |
Elkan Allan |
83 |
television producer |
Kenneth Griffith |
84 |
actor and documentary film-maker (Minder, Lovejoy) |
6 July |
Tom Weir |
91 |
mountaineer and television presenter (Weir's Way) |
8 July |
Peter Hawkins |
82 |
actor and voice artist (Doctor Who, Rainbow, Captain Pugwash) |
18 July |
David Maloney |
72 |
television director and producer (Doctor Who, Blake's 7) |
25 July |
Bob Simpson |
61 |
BBC news correspondent |
28 July |
Patrick Allen |
79 |
actor (The Saint, UFO, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) |
6 August |
Stella Moray |
83 |
actress (Coronation Street, Crossroads, The Bill, Midsomer Murders, George and Mildred) |
13 August |
Tony Jay |
73 |
actor, voice actor and singer (Mighty Ducks, ReBoot, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Beauty and the Beast) |
19 August |
Joyce Blair |
73 |
actress (The Morecambe and Wise Show, The Benny Hill Show, The Adventures of Robin Hood) |
24 August |
David Plowright |
75 |
television producer and executive |
2 September |
Charlie Williams |
78 |
footballer, actor and comedian (The Comedians, Love Thy Neighbour) |
5 September |
Anne Gregg[86] |
66 |
travel writer and television presenter (Holiday) |
Hilary Mason |
89 |
actress (Maid Marian and her Merry Men) |
8 September |
Frank Middlemass |
87 |
actor (As Time Goes By, To Serve Them All My Days, Heartbeat) |
14 September |
Peter Ling |
80 |
television scriptwriter (Crossroads) |
15 September |
Raymond Baxter |
84 |
television presenter (Tomorrow's World) |
4 October |
Tom Bell |
73 |
actor (Prime Suspect) |
5 October |
Jennifer Moss |
61 |
actress (Lucille Hewitt in Coronation Street) |
15 October |
Derek Bond |
86 |
actor (Callan, Thriller) |
16 October |
Ross Davidson |
57 |
actor (Andy O'Brien in EastEnders) |
21 October |
Peter Barkworth |
77 |
actor (The Avengers, Manhunt, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years) |
Paul Walters |
59 |
television producer |
22 October |
Richard Mayes |
83 |
actor |
29 October |
Nigel Kneale |
84 |
television scriptwriter (The Quatermass Experiment) |
10 November |
Diana Coupland |
78 |
actress (Bless This House) |
Chubby Oates |
63 |
comedian |
11 November |
Ronnie Stevens |
81 |
actor (Goodnight Sweetheart, Only When I Laugh, Ever Decreasing Circles, Hi-de-Hi!, Yes, Prime Minister, As Time Goes By) |
14 November |
John Hallam |
65 |
actor (EastEnders) |
23 November |
Nick Clarke |
58 |
television presenter |
26 November |
Anthony Jackson |
62 |
actor (Rentaghost, Bless This House) |
27 November |
Alan Freeman |
79 |
radio DJ and presenter (Top of the Pops) |
6 December |
Mavis Pugh |
92 |
actress (Are You Being Served?, Fawlty Towers, You Rang, M'Lord?) |
7 December |
Desmond Briscoe |
81 |
television sound engineer |
23 December |
Charlie Drake |
81 |
comic performer (The Worker) |
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"Countdown". UKGameshows.com. Retrieved 21 February 2015.