BPG creates Top 50 Landmark TV Programme list
March 12, 2024
What are the 50 landmark TV Programmes of the last 50 years? The shows that changed broadcasting, influenced how audiences look at the world, made them laugh or think in a new way. This is the challenge the Broadcasting Press Guild set its members to mark its 50th anniversary.
The BPG Top 50 Landmark Programmes of the last 50 Years include 31 BBC shows and eight each from ITV and Channel 4 alongside notable Sky, Netflix and Disney+ programmes. There are 18 dramas, 15 comedies and seven documentaries plus a wide range of other genres.
The BPG members’ votes created the list that features recent shows like Michaela Coel’s extraordinary BBC drama I May Destroy You, Lisa McGee’s Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls and Peter Jackson’s painstaking archive documentary series The Beatles: Get Back for Disney+ alongside classics like David Attenborough’s remarkable Life On Earth, Dennis Potter’s exceptional The Singing Detective, the revolutionary reality TV of Big Brother and the comedy genius of Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash and Henry Normal’s The Royle Family.
The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than 110 members. They are journalists who specialise in covering television, radio and the media, and include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and websites.
BPG chair, Manori Ravindran, commented: “In our 50 years, members of the Broadcasting Press Guild have been the tastemakers of the British TV industry. As such, it felt appropriate to celebrate this milestone birthday with a Top 50 list reflecting the programmes we believe have created landmark TV moments or have been truly significant to the industry over that time. It wasn’t an easy process — and we welcome healthy debate about our selections — but we believe this list encapsulates the richness of the creative sector and its inimitable contribution to our culture and society.”
The BPG Top 50 Landmark Programmes of The Last 50 Years
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1 7 Up series – ITV/Granada + BBC, 1964-2019 |
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2 Life On Earth – BBC, 1979 |
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3 The World At War – ITV/Thames, 1973 |
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4 The Office – BBC, 2001 |
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5 Big Brother – Channel 4, 2000 |
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6 Planet Earth – BBC, 2006 |
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7 Have I Got News For You – BBC, 1990 |
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8 I May Destroy You – BBC, 2020 |
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9 The Singing Detective – BBC, 1986 |
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10 The Day Today – BBC, 1994 |
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11 The Royle Family – BBC |
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12 Our Friends In The North – BBC |
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13 I’m Alan Partridge – BBC |
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14 Boys From The Blackstuff – BBC |
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15 Blackadder – BBC |
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16 Strictly Come Dancing – BBC |
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17 The Thick Of It – BBC |
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18 Fleabag – BBC/Amazon |
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19 Only Fools And Horses – BBC |
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20 The Naked Civil Servant – ITV/Thames |
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21 Spitting Image – ITV/Central |
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22 Queer As Folk –-Channel 4 |
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23 The Family – BBC |
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24 Monty Python’s Flying Circus – BBC |
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25 House Of Cards – BBC |
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26 Gogglebox – Channel 4 |
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27 Goodness Gracious Me – BBC |
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28 The Crown – Netflix |
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29 Newsnight – BBC |
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30 Derry Girls – Channel 4 |
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31 Brideshead Revisited – ITV/Granada |
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32 Chernobyl – HBO/Sky |
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33 Cracker – ITV/Granada |
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34 Blue Peter – BBC |
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35 Inspector Morse – ITV/Central |
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36 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – BBC |
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37 The Beatles: Get Back – Disney+ |
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38 I, Claudius – BBC |
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39 Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave – BBC |
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40 The Word – Channel 4 |
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41 Death On The Rock – ITV/Thames |
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42 This is England – Channel 4 |
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43 The Great British Bake-Off – BBC + Channel 4 |
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44 Grange Hill – BBC |
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45 Pride and Prejudice – BBC |
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46 Pennies From Heaven – BBC |
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47 Desmond’s – Channel 4 |
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48 The Big Breakfast – Channel 4 |
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49 Parkinson – BBC + ITV |
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50 The Traitors – BBC |