2008 in British television
This is a list of events that took place in 2008 related to British television.
Events
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Debuts
BBC One
- 1 January – Sense and Sensibility
- 5 January –
- * Basil's Swap Shop
- *The One and Only
- 8 January – Mistresses
- 10 January – Fairy Tales
- 13 January – Lark Rise to Candleford
- 4 February – Frankenstein's Cat
- 7 February – Ashes to Ashes
- 10 March – Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
- 15 March – I'd Do Anything
- 28 March – The Passion
- 12 April – The Kids Are All Right
- 28 April – Out of the Blue
- 1 May – The Invisibles
- 30 June – Criminal Justice
- 5 July – Last Choir Standing
- 8 July – Bonekickers
- 30 July – Lost Land of the Jaguar
- 10 August – Britain From Above
- 26 August – Mutual Friends
- 11 September – The Planners Are Coming
- 14 September – Tess of the D'Urbervilles
- 18 September – The Undercover Soldier
- 20 September –
- *Merlin
- *Hole in the Wall
- 7 October Sunshine
- 12 October – Stephen Fry in America
- 19 October –
- 3 November – The Pinky and Perky Show
- 13 November – Apparitions
- 23 November – Survivors
- 30 November – Wallander
- 25 December – A Matter of Loaf and Death
BBC Two
BBC Three
BBC Four
ITV (1/2/3/4/CITV)
Channel 4
Five
E4
Sky1
Watch
Dave
FX
Changes of network affiliation
- It later moved to CITV in early 2009 for brand newer series and then in late 2012 back to Channel 5.
Channels
New channels
Defunct channels
Date | Channel |
1 February | MTV Flux |
15 August | The Hits |
Rebranding channels
Television shows
Returning this year after a break of one year or longer
Continuing television shows
1920s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
Ending this year
Deaths
Top 10 highest viewed programmes
Rank | Programme | Rating | Channel | Date |
1 | Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death | 16.15m | BBC One | 25 December 2008 |
2 | The X Factor Results | 14.06m | ITV | 13 December 2008 |
3 | Britain's Got Talent: Final Result | 13.88m | ITV | 31 May 2008 |
4 | The X Factor | 13.77m | ITV | 13 December 2008 |
5 | Doctor Who | 13.10m | BBC One | 25 December 2008 |
6 | Coronation Street | 13.02m | ITV | 18 January 2008 |
7 | Strictly Come Dancing | 12.97m | BBC One | 20 December 2008 |
8 | Dancing on Ice | 12.02m | ITV | 16 March 2008 |
9 | Britain's Got Talent | 11.86m | ITV | 30 May 2008 |
10 | EastEnders | 11.73m | BBC One | 24 March 2008 |